Ryanair Seats Felt Bigger, But How???
Discussion
Maybe a bit of an odd question but I can't seem to figure this one out as it makes no sense to me.
I just had the most horrendously uncomfortable flight ever on an airline that says it crosses the t's and dots the i's. It was on a 767 which has a seat pitch of 33". The seats felt unbelievably thin and my knees were right against the seat in front of me. Everytime the passenger in front of me tried to put their seat back they would push the metal frame of the chair into my knee caps. In the end I had to ask the head flight attendant if I could move into one of the extra legroom seats because I just couldn't stand the pain any longer. Top marks for her customer service for letting me.
I've flown with Ryanair before but although they only have a seat pitch of 30" I've never had this problem and was a lot more comfortable.
So I can't figure it out, how can an aircraft with a bigger seat pitch feel smaller and less comfortable? Do Ryanair just have very clever seat designs despite their small seat pitch?
I just had the most horrendously uncomfortable flight ever on an airline that says it crosses the t's and dots the i's. It was on a 767 which has a seat pitch of 33". The seats felt unbelievably thin and my knees were right against the seat in front of me. Everytime the passenger in front of me tried to put their seat back they would push the metal frame of the chair into my knee caps. In the end I had to ask the head flight attendant if I could move into one of the extra legroom seats because I just couldn't stand the pain any longer. Top marks for her customer service for letting me.
I've flown with Ryanair before but although they only have a seat pitch of 30" I've never had this problem and was a lot more comfortable.
So I can't figure it out, how can an aircraft with a bigger seat pitch feel smaller and less comfortable? Do Ryanair just have very clever seat designs despite their small seat pitch?
The Turbonator said:
Maybe a bit of an odd question but I can't seem to figure this one out as it makes no sense to me....so I can't figure it out, how can an aircraft with a bigger seat pitch feel smaller and less comfortable? Do Ryanair just have very clever seat designs despite their small seat pitch?
The seats are thinner, no drop down tables, they don't need all the gubbins for the seat back displays etc, & you're only on them for a couple of hours, usually, short haul vs long haul. Ryanairs fleet is comparatively new, seat design improves over time, chances are a 767 is quite an old interior fit.Fundamentally, the seats themselves are around 2" thinner and so even at the same pitch (distance between the seats) then they give you more space.
When I was at Monarch, we worked with a small British seat company to bring in a new design of "lightweight" seats to replace the old fashioned monstrosities that had been fitted for years.
They saved us hundreds of kilos of weight (over a tonne on some aircraft) and meant that passengers had what felt like a lot more room. We made sure they were fixed back for a number of reasons. Firstly, arguments between passengers about reclining seats was for us the number one cause of conflict on baord, secondly, the recline mechanism (hydrolocks) were always going wrong and cost a bomb to maintain. So being able to fix the seat back in a slightly more reclined position (rather than the bolt upright on) meant passengers would be more comfortable, the seats simpler, lighter and easier to maintain.
It was a win/win for us and once we put on leatherette seat covers instead of fabric, then the cost of washing them went down massively too, they still needed cleaning, but this could be done in-situ rather than having to strip the covers off and send away to wash.
The ones on RYR are made called Zodiac Fireflies and I'll be blunt, they aren't very good. They are fairly light, but they are uncomfortable and not particularly well made, however they are cheap, which for RYR is all that matters!
When I was at Monarch, we worked with a small British seat company to bring in a new design of "lightweight" seats to replace the old fashioned monstrosities that had been fitted for years.
They saved us hundreds of kilos of weight (over a tonne on some aircraft) and meant that passengers had what felt like a lot more room. We made sure they were fixed back for a number of reasons. Firstly, arguments between passengers about reclining seats was for us the number one cause of conflict on baord, secondly, the recline mechanism (hydrolocks) were always going wrong and cost a bomb to maintain. So being able to fix the seat back in a slightly more reclined position (rather than the bolt upright on) meant passengers would be more comfortable, the seats simpler, lighter and easier to maintain.
It was a win/win for us and once we put on leatherette seat covers instead of fabric, then the cost of washing them went down massively too, they still needed cleaning, but this could be done in-situ rather than having to strip the covers off and send away to wash.
The ones on RYR are made called Zodiac Fireflies and I'll be blunt, they aren't very good. They are fairly light, but they are uncomfortable and not particularly well made, however they are cheap, which for RYR is all that matters!
IforB said:
Fundamentally, the seats themselves are around 2" thinner and so even at the same pitch (distance between the seats) then they give you more space.
When I was at Monarch, we worked with a small British seat company to bring in a new design of "lightweight" seats to replace the old fashioned monstrosities that had been fitted for years.
They saved us hundreds of kilos of weight (over a tonne on some aircraft) and meant that passengers had what felt like a lot more room. We made sure they were fixed back for a number of reasons. Firstly, arguments between passengers about reclining seats was for us the number one cause of conflict on baord, secondly, the recline mechanism (hydrolocks) were always going wrong and cost a bomb to maintain. So being able to fix the seat back in a slightly more reclined position (rather than the bolt upright on) meant passengers would be more comfortable, the seats simpler, lighter and easier to maintain.
It was a win/win for us and once we put on leatherette seat covers instead of fabric, then the cost of washing them went down massively too, they still needed cleaning, but this could be done in-situ rather than having to strip the covers off and send away to wash.
The ones on RYR are made called Zodiac Fireflies and I'll be blunt, they aren't very good. They are fairly light, but they are uncomfortable and not particularly well made, however they are cheap, which for RYR is all that matters!
That's very informative and explains a lot, thanks for that. It probably wouldn't have been too bad if the seats were fixed but it was definitely the constant trying to recline the seats that was the problem. I know passengers have a right to decline them so I didn't want to make a fuss but my knees were right against the seat. I was hoping he'd give up eventually but he was trying constantly for a solid 2 hours.When I was at Monarch, we worked with a small British seat company to bring in a new design of "lightweight" seats to replace the old fashioned monstrosities that had been fitted for years.
They saved us hundreds of kilos of weight (over a tonne on some aircraft) and meant that passengers had what felt like a lot more room. We made sure they were fixed back for a number of reasons. Firstly, arguments between passengers about reclining seats was for us the number one cause of conflict on baord, secondly, the recline mechanism (hydrolocks) were always going wrong and cost a bomb to maintain. So being able to fix the seat back in a slightly more reclined position (rather than the bolt upright on) meant passengers would be more comfortable, the seats simpler, lighter and easier to maintain.
It was a win/win for us and once we put on leatherette seat covers instead of fabric, then the cost of washing them went down massively too, they still needed cleaning, but this could be done in-situ rather than having to strip the covers off and send away to wash.
The ones on RYR are made called Zodiac Fireflies and I'll be blunt, they aren't very good. They are fairly light, but they are uncomfortable and not particularly well made, however they are cheap, which for RYR is all that matters!
It was definitely an old interior, I know the plane was 20+ years old and the interior probably was too. It reminded me of the aircraft I used to fly to America in back in the early 00's.
I never thought I'd be in a posistion where I'd be choosing a Ryanair or Easyjet flight out of preference but after the experience I just had, I definitely will be doing. I had the option of choosing flights with Easyjet, but I thought I was doing the right thing by choosing the companies own airline but I'll never be doing that again!
The Turbonator said:
Maybe a bit of an odd question but I can't seem to figure this one out as it makes no sense to me.
I just had the most horrendously uncomfortable flight ever on an airline that says it crosses the t's and dots the i's. It was on a 767 which has a seat pitch of 33". The seats felt unbelievably thin and my knees were right against the seat in front of me. Everytime the passenger in front of me tried to put their seat back they would push the metal frame of the chair into my knee caps. In the end I had to ask the head flight attendant if I could move into one of the extra legroom seats because I just couldn't stand the pain any longer. Top marks for her customer service for letting me.
I've flown with Ryanair before but although they only have a seat pitch of 30" I've never had this problem and was a lot more comfortable.
So I can't figure it out, how can an aircraft with a bigger seat pitch feel smaller and less comfortable? Do Ryanair just have very clever seat designs despite their small seat pitch?
Do you think the seat definitely had 33" pitch? We had an oddly spacious amount of room on Virgin Jumbo once and I noticed the seat was out of line with others - like they'd put it in the wrong holes. I just had the most horrendously uncomfortable flight ever on an airline that says it crosses the t's and dots the i's. It was on a 767 which has a seat pitch of 33". The seats felt unbelievably thin and my knees were right against the seat in front of me. Everytime the passenger in front of me tried to put their seat back they would push the metal frame of the chair into my knee caps. In the end I had to ask the head flight attendant if I could move into one of the extra legroom seats because I just couldn't stand the pain any longer. Top marks for her customer service for letting me.
I've flown with Ryanair before but although they only have a seat pitch of 30" I've never had this problem and was a lot more comfortable.
So I can't figure it out, how can an aircraft with a bigger seat pitch feel smaller and less comfortable? Do Ryanair just have very clever seat designs despite their small seat pitch?
The Turbonator said:
IforB said:
Fundamentally, the seats themselves are around 2" thinner and so even at the same pitch (distance between the seats) then they give you more space.
When I was at Monarch, we worked with a small British seat company to bring in a new design of "lightweight" seats to replace the old fashioned monstrosities that had been fitted for years.
They saved us hundreds of kilos of weight (over a tonne on some aircraft) and meant that passengers had what felt like a lot more room. We made sure they were fixed back for a number of reasons. Firstly, arguments between passengers about reclining seats was for us the number one cause of conflict on baord, secondly, the recline mechanism (hydrolocks) were always going wrong and cost a bomb to maintain. So being able to fix the seat back in a slightly more reclined position (rather than the bolt upright on) meant passengers would be more comfortable, the seats simpler, lighter and easier to maintain.
It was a win/win for us and once we put on leatherette seat covers instead of fabric, then the cost of washing them went down massively too, they still needed cleaning, but this could be done in-situ rather than having to strip the covers off and send away to wash.
The ones on RYR are made called Zodiac Fireflies and I'll be blunt, they aren't very good. They are fairly light, but they are uncomfortable and not particularly well made, however they are cheap, which for RYR is all that matters!
That's very informative and explains a lot, thanks for that. It probably wouldn't have been too bad if the seats were fixed but it was definitely the constant trying to recline the seats that was the problem. I know passengers have a right to decline them so I didn't want to make a fuss but my knees were right against the seat. I was hoping he'd give up eventually but he was trying constantly for a solid 2 hours.When I was at Monarch, we worked with a small British seat company to bring in a new design of "lightweight" seats to replace the old fashioned monstrosities that had been fitted for years.
They saved us hundreds of kilos of weight (over a tonne on some aircraft) and meant that passengers had what felt like a lot more room. We made sure they were fixed back for a number of reasons. Firstly, arguments between passengers about reclining seats was for us the number one cause of conflict on baord, secondly, the recline mechanism (hydrolocks) were always going wrong and cost a bomb to maintain. So being able to fix the seat back in a slightly more reclined position (rather than the bolt upright on) meant passengers would be more comfortable, the seats simpler, lighter and easier to maintain.
It was a win/win for us and once we put on leatherette seat covers instead of fabric, then the cost of washing them went down massively too, they still needed cleaning, but this could be done in-situ rather than having to strip the covers off and send away to wash.
The ones on RYR are made called Zodiac Fireflies and I'll be blunt, they aren't very good. They are fairly light, but they are uncomfortable and not particularly well made, however they are cheap, which for RYR is all that matters!
It was definitely an old interior, I know the plane was 20+ years old and the interior probably was too. It reminded me of the aircraft I used to fly to America in back in the early 00's.
I never thought I'd be in a posistion where I'd be choosing a Ryanair or Easyjet flight out of preference but after the experience I just had, I definitely will be doing. I had the option of choosing flights with Easyjet, but I thought I was doing the right thing by choosing the companies own airline but I'll never be doing that again!
IforB said:
Which row were you sitting in? If you were in an over-wing exit, then there is a bigger pitch to allow for quicker egress in the event of an evacuation. From memory I think you have to have 32-33" pitch in those rows.
I was in row 18 and seat A by the window. The "extra leg room" seats were in front of me. So I was sitting in the 2nd row of a cluster of seats, if that makes sense. I have no idea if it was a genuine 33" pitch (it didn't feel like it) but everywhere online says that a 767 of that airline has a 33" pitch.ETA: When I asked to move they put me in row 17 and seat E. So it was at the front of the middle seats
The Turbonator said:
IforB said:
Which row were you sitting in? If you were in an over-wing exit, then there is a bigger pitch to allow for quicker egress in the event of an evacuation. From memory I think you have to have 32-33" pitch in those rows.
I was in row 18 and seat A by the window. The "extra leg room" seats were in front of me. So I was sitting in the 2nd row of a cluster of seats, if that makes sense. I have no idea if it was a genuine 33" pitch (it didn't feel like it) but everywhere online says that a 767 of that airline has a 33" pitch.
The Turbonator said:
I just had the most horrendously uncomfortable flight ever on an airline that says it crosses the t's and dots the i's. It was on a 767 which has a seat pitch of 33". The seats felt unbelievably thin and my knees were right against the seat in front of me. Everytime the passenger in front of me tried to put their seat back they would push the metal frame of the chair into my knee caps. In the end I had to ask the head flight attendant if I could move into one of the extra legroom seats because I just couldn't stand the pain any longer. Top marks for her customer service for letting me.
Wasn't Air Canada Rouge was it? I recently endured by far my worst flight ever on one of their A319s. 29" seat pitch, and after being on the aircraft for a good 6 hours (with the seat in front reclined for most of it), I was in some considerable pain. uncinqsix said:
Wasn't Air Canada Rouge was it? I recently endured by far my worst flight ever on one of their A319s. 29" seat pitch, and after being on the aircraft for a good 6 hours (with the seat in front reclined for most of it), I was in some considerable pain.
I didn't want to fall foul to the naming and shaming rules but the airline in question was Tui. It was my first ever package holiday (I've always arranged everything myself previously) and to be fair to them, the rest of the holiday was amazing and the customer service exceptional. It's just a shame the experience was ruined by the return flight.You can always use some Knee Defenders if you really want to kick off and annoy the person infront by preventing their seat from reclining.
http://www.gadgetduck.com/goods/kneedefender.html
http://www.gadgetduck.com/goods/kneedefender.html
I find Ryanairs seats the most comfortable out of all of the budgets, Jet2's are awful and the last 2 Monarch flights i went on, one was ok but the other was really bad, both were the fake leather look.
On Ryanair, the seats in 16/17 by the windows are narrower than the middle and isle seats.
On Ryanair, the seats in 16/17 by the windows are narrower than the middle and isle seats.
48k said:
You can always use some Knee Defenders if you really want to kick off and annoy the person infront by preventing their seat from reclining.
http://www.gadgetduck.com/goods/kneedefender.html
Oh that's hilarious http://www.gadgetduck.com/goods/kneedefender.html
CAPP0 said:
Long, old, boring topic but it REALLY is time that seats in economy were not able to recline at all.
I've noticed that Squeezyjet now have seats that can't recline - they also appear to be about an inch thick so seem much kinder on the knees. I've been on a similar Ryanair flight too, if memory serves.Gassing Station | Boats, Planes & Trains | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff