Qantas Airways joins the squeeze and adds more seats to planes

At some point the squeeze has to stop. Only so many passengers can fit Tetris-style into a plane cabin before someone loses an eye, or breaks into another air rage incident. In fact, the squeeze has become so pronounced that officials in the air industry, such as the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, are expressing concern about passenger health and safety.

Qantas Airways, however, is throwing caution to the wind, and adding six seats to its Boeing 737s, which run the short-haul routes inside of Australia. But airline officials insist there is no noticeable change for passengers and that “seat pitch” (the distance between a point on your seat and the same on the one in front of you) remains the same, as CEO Alan Joyce explained in a press conference:

"What customers get out of this is new fabric, new seats, all refreshed. Qantas will still have less seats on this aircraft than all of its competitors, we still have the most luxurious level of comfort on our 737s.”

Based on an average fare of $200 AUD ($145 USD), the additional seats can generate up to an extra $1,200 AUD per flight. To help you forget any reductions in space, Qantas is also installing in-flight wireless streaming films and television as well on every 737.

Of course, it’s understandable that the airline wants to increase revenue, and the design is still a far cry from the horrific “honeycomb” Economy Class Cabin Hexagon proposed some months ago. And frankly, the old excuse — everybody’s doing it  — seems to still apply, as American Airlines president Scott Kirby said at an investment conference last March:

“All airlines for the most part are putting more seats on airplanes. We’re doing it. United’s doing it. Delta’s doing it. Even Southwest is continuing to put more seats on their existing aircraft. Once you’ve done that, you’re done.”

Perhaps the loss of space wouldn’t bother economy fliers so much, if they weren’t also bombarded with the ever-growing amenitiesadded to the classes above, including private cabanas and boarding ramps in the lounges, expanded amenity kits, Ottomans, privacy shells, and seats that unfold into full beds.

Road Warrior Voices has reached out to Qantas for comment and will update the story when we hear back.