Airline Seat Width Explained: How It Is Measured

Most advice about airline seat width starts with the wrong question. Travelers are told to ask whether seats are “shrinking,” but that single frame mixes up comfort, physical fit, and safety, and those are not the same thing. A seat can feel cramped without raising an evacuation problem, and a cabin can look tighter on one aircraft while still feeling better on another. That's why the seat-width debate keeps...