Airbus is currently proposing to offer extra-wide seats for larger passengers on its A320 aircraft.
The company is planning on reducing all seats on the aircraft from the current 18 inches to 17 and increasing the aisle seat to 20 inches to accommodate larger passengers.
However, it appears that frequent fliers are against this idea. A staggering 87 percent who participated in a poll run by travel website Skyscanner disagreed with the proposed plan.
In a statement, Airbus said, “This innovative layout responds to the needs of travellers that are larger physically, and provides added convenience for other passengers – making it easier and more comfortable to work on a laptop or sit together with young children, among other benefits.”
Many suspect that airlines could take advantage of the new layout and charge extra to passengers wishing to utilise the larger seats.
Spokesman for Skyscanner Sam Poullain said, “The issue of charging more for bigger seats is a contentious one as it gives airlines a financial incentive to reduce standard seat sizes.
“Extra-wide seats are a clever way for airlines to generate more revenue, but it’s inevitable that some passengers will feel hard done by as they’ll be losing an inch from their seat widths.”
According to Airbus around 20 airlines have expressed an interest in the design, which will be available at the end of 2013.
