TY - JOUR
T1 - The effects of seat width, load factor, and passenger demographics on airline passenger accommodation
AU - Miller, Elizabeth L.
AU - Lapp, Samuel M.
AU - Parkinson, Matthew B.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2019/2/1
Y1 - 2019/2/1
N2 - The objective of this work is to demonstrate a method for examining the competing effects of secular trends in body size, seat size and configuration, and the increased load factor of aeroplanes. The method uses statistical modelling and virtual fit testing to provide a flexible environment for exploring the impact of various parameters on passenger accommodation. A case study demonstrates the method by exploring the effect of seat width on the accommodation of US civilians (based on seated hip breadth). The case study demonstrates that recent trends of decreasing seat widths and increasing load factors lead to higher disaccommodation. Based on anthropometry and virtual fit, women are also shown to be disproportionately disaccommodated compared to men. Practitioner summary: Airlines are reducing seat width at the same time that individuals worldwide are getting larger. Flights are increasingly crowded, with load factor at a record high. This paper explores the effects of seat width on passenger accommodation under several scenarios involving load factor, demographics, and passenger seating allocation strategies.
AB - The objective of this work is to demonstrate a method for examining the competing effects of secular trends in body size, seat size and configuration, and the increased load factor of aeroplanes. The method uses statistical modelling and virtual fit testing to provide a flexible environment for exploring the impact of various parameters on passenger accommodation. A case study demonstrates the method by exploring the effect of seat width on the accommodation of US civilians (based on seated hip breadth). The case study demonstrates that recent trends of decreasing seat widths and increasing load factors lead to higher disaccommodation. Based on anthropometry and virtual fit, women are also shown to be disproportionately disaccommodated compared to men. Practitioner summary: Airlines are reducing seat width at the same time that individuals worldwide are getting larger. Flights are increasingly crowded, with load factor at a record high. This paper explores the effects of seat width on passenger accommodation under several scenarios involving load factor, demographics, and passenger seating allocation strategies.
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U2 - 10.1080/00140139.2018.1550209
DO - 10.1080/00140139.2018.1550209
M3 - Article
C2 - 30604652
AN - SCOPUS:85061338139
SN - 0014-0139
VL - 62
SP - 330
EP - 341
JO - Ergonomics
JF - Ergonomics
IS - 2
ER -