With all the Hoo-Ha on the United Polaris reveal, and their new Boeing 777-300ER, we couldn’t help notice what a tight squeeze it was in the back of the bus. Being that the 777-300ER is one of the more popular long-haul craft (sorry A380), we wanted to see how United compared to some of the others who fly this mighty beast. Of course, seat type & manufacture can make a big difference on the long haul, not all seats are created equal, but how much you really want to be elbow rubbing with your neighbor and knee knocking the seat in front really does matter.
Cathay Pacific will be updating their fleet to a 3-4-3, and add WiFi at the same time as the upgrade. For Cathay the Wifi is a much missed feature, and the promise these are going to be the best state of the art seats for additional comfort… as long as you don’t have a super big booty, sounds good to us.
GOOD (3-3-3 in standard Economy):
Airline Pitch / Width
Japan Airlines 34″ / 19″ (Sky Wider version)
Singapore Airlines 32″ / 19″ (Three Class version)
Virgin Australia 32″ / 18.5″
EVA Air 31-32″ / 18.3″
Air China 32″ / 18″
Cathay Pacific 32″ / 18.5″
Kenya Airways 31.9″ / 18.5″
Korean Air 33-34″ / 18″
Qatar Airways 31-33″ / 18.5″
Saudia 32″ / 18″
THAI 31-32″ / 18″
Turkish Airlines 31-32″ / 18″
NOT AS GOOD (3-4-3 in standard Economy):
Airline Pitch / Width
United 31″ / 17.1″
Aeroflot 30-32″ / 17.8″
Air Canada 31″ / 17″
Air France 32″ / 17″
Air New Zealand 32-33″ / 17.1″
American Airlines 31″ / 17″
ANA 31″ / 17.0″
British Airways 31″ / 17.5″
China Eastern 32-33″ / 17″
China Southern 31-33″ / 17.2″
Emirates 32″ / 17″
KLM 31″ / 17.5″
LATAM Brasil 32″ / 17″
SWISS 32″ / 17.3″
Seat Pitch: The measure of legroom that refers to the space between a point on one seat and the same point on the seat in front of it.
Seat Width: The distance between the inner sides of the armrests on a seat.
Over at THE POINTS GUY they just did a really great write up on the United 777-300ER on the same basic topic. A fun read.
Still there is nothing like that new plane smell, and the United 777 is a pretty bird.
United Spec Sheet
Thanks to SeatGuru for the basic stats used on this page, go to their run down for a more complete overview.
page updated: 22 July 2017
The Celestial
Ewe economy might as well not go.