Shrinkflation has hit the friendly skies.
Passengers are already feeling the fallout from airlines scaling back on seating space. A pair of WestJet passengers was so constrained that the seats in front of them were literally over their knees, as seen in a claustrophobia-inducing clip on Reddit.
“WestJet changed their seats, and this is how much leg room basic fares get,” the Redditor declared.
They were referring to the Canadian carrier’s fixed recline design in its new planes that prevents passengers from leaning their seats back unless they pay extra for premium seats.
This policy allows them to add one more row, making the seats cheaper but also allowing flyers much less space to stretch their legs.
The video, filmed by the couple’s daughter, shows the pair struggling to get comfortable in a space so tight that their legs extend under the seats in front of them like something out of a Viking longboat’s galley.
“Can you straighten out your legs there?” their daughter asks while chuckling in disbelief, to which they reply, “Impossible.”
At one point, the mom even quips that she’s going to be “sharing the leg space” with her husband.
“You have to pay for the other leg,” the daughter quips.
Reddit users were appalled by the confined configuration, which the airline billed as a “modern cabin experience” that helps “preserve personal space.”
“So don’t fly WestJet. Got it,” said one appalled Redditor, while another wrote, “I’d rather drive than sit like that for hours.”
“To scale, that’s less room than a farmed chicken,” said a third. “And you’re paying for it. Best of luck to WestJet staying afloat.”
Others wonder if the cramped cabin was a safety hazard. “You’d be f–ked in an unexpected rough or emergency landing,” said one critic.
Another wrote, “Death trap right there.”
Despite the flurry of complaints, WestJet brass has defended their decision to “streamline” airline seats.
“The cabin has been thoughtfully designed to offer WestJet’s welcoming service at every budget,” Samantha Taylor, WestJet executive vice president and chief experience officer, said in a statement when the policy was announced. “It reflects our commitment to elevating every aspect of the travel experience and meeting guest demand for a broader range of product offerings.”
It’s not just WestJet passengers that are feeling the squeeze as airlines take pains to widen profit margins by narrowing seats.
According to analysis by William McGee, a senior fellow for the American Economic Liberties, American, Delta, Southwest, and United have each lost between 2 and 5 inches of legroom since the 1980s, putting the average legroom at approximately 31 inches, down from 35 inches in the late 20th century.
Budget airlines are hit even harder with Spirit and Wizz Air boasting just 28 inches in which to stretch one’s legs.
