Frontier Vows To Make The Middle Seat The Best Seat

Frontier Vows To Make The Middle Seat The Best Seat

We all know that middle seat is the dreadful place where so many travelers are unwilling to go, but Frontier is trying to change that with a new middle seat that is set to make it more comfortable for the unfortunate traveler who happens to be placed there.

The airline is introducing a middle seat that will be 19-inches-wide, the widest seats on any other U.S. airline and an inch larger than the seats that surround it.  According to the company, “This will make sitting in the middle seat a little less uncomfortable.” Notice, the airline is still not saying it will be a comfortable seat, just that it will be slightly less uncomfortable.

Before getting excited about the prospect of a larger seat, it’s important to note that the seats will be less padded and will be pre-reclined, meaning you won’t be able to recline them the same way that you can on other airlines.

The airline will also be using this opprtunirt to incease the number of passengers it holds on its flights.  According to USA Today:

Frontier is also jamming more seats into each plane, giving each of its customers even less room. Its Airbus A320s and A319s will each add another 12 seats. This brings the total number of seats in an A320 up to 180, a full 30 seats more than United puts on the same aircraft. In the future, the company hopes to increase that number to 186, by moving the bathroom into a space where most airlines put a galley. Presumably, a row of seats will then be added in the cockpit, then in the cargo hold, then on the wings, then under the wings, and so on… all in the name of progress (and profit, of course).

In my opinion, the middle seat is not uncomfortable based on the size of the seat, but more for the fact that you are crammed between two strangers who you have to wrestle to have space with.  Additionally, there’s always that spontaneous passenger who falls asleep on the flight and decided to lean their head on your shoulder.  I don’t think one inch added to the middle seat will cure those problems.