American Airlines’ New Planes Will Only be Slightly More Cramped Than Their Current Planes

Last month, it was reported that on the new planes they are developing, American Airlines would be cutting the amount of legroom for passengers flying coach. Right now, the company’s current Boeing 737 jets have 31 inches between the rows of seats. The plans reported May 2 revealed that, for the next generation of planes, they’d be dropping down to 29 inches.

That’s about as cramped as planes get. (Spirit Airlines and a few other budget carriers shrink things down to 28 inches.) But after public outcry—and internal grumblings—the Fort Worth-based airline opted to reconsider the decision, replacing one row of premium seats on the planned planes with regular ol’ coach seats to get things back up to 30 inches of legroom.

That is, of course, still an inch shy of the current set-up in coach, and nobody who flew coach on any airline ever said, “Man, my biggest problem with that flight is just too much legroom.” American—along with Delta and United—has long held the line at 31 inches in its jets, but the airline industry is competitive and cost management is tricky, so it’s not shocking that dropping from an already-cramped 31 inches of legroom to 30 inches is being treated as a victory for consumers.

In an internal memo posted Tuesday, the company said it reached the decision after receiving “a lot of feedback from both customers and team members.”

“It is clear that today, airline customers feel increasingly frustrated by their experiences and less valued when they fly,” the memo said. “We can be leaders in helping to turn around that perception, and that includes reviewing decisions that have significant impact on the flying experience.”