Have plane seats shrunk? Of course they have - what a ludicrous question. Just take a look at the happy folk on board any passenger aircraft during the so-called “golden age” of flying. What luxury. There’s so much legroom they don’t know what to do with themselves.

A Lockheed L-1011 Tristar in 1970 - and doesn’t it look comfy Credit: Museum of Flight Foundation

So how much space have we lost?

Exact specifications for older aircraft are hard to come by. Only after passengers started feeling the squeeze did publications like The Telegraph start keeping track of legroom and seat width. But economy class “pitch” on these early jet airliners - the distance between two rows of seats - generally ranged from 34 to 36 inches.

The Boeing 707, for example, which entered service in 1958 and is widely credited with ushering in the “Jet Age”, offered 34 inches. So too did the first 747s, operated by the likes of Pan Am and TWA.

This started to change in the Eighties. In 1981, the New York Times reported that manufacturers were, for the first time, starting to cut seat pitch in economy from the “industry standard” of between 34 and 35 inches to just 32. A McDonnell Douglas executive tried to justify the changes. “With newer, less bulky seats, you might get as much legroom with the 32 inches pitch as you would with the 34 inches,” he claimed.

So began the ongoing trend for increasing profits by squeezing in as many passengers as physically possible.

The Consumers Union, a US watchdog, began keeping tabs on seat pitch in 1985. Its records clearly demonstrate how America’s four biggest airlines (American, Delta, United and Southwest) have cut legroom over the last three decades. In 1985, Southwest offered as much as 35 inches, while United’s upper limit in economy was 36. None of the four went below 31.

Fast forward to 2019 and none of the four go above 33, while three (American, Delta and United) go as low as 30.

In 1990, The Telegraph compared seat pitch on a handful of major airlines, including BA and Virgin. For long-haul flights, Lufthansa, Qantas and Virgin all offered 34 inches in economy, while BA offered between 31 and 34, depending on the aircraft. Now only Qantas offers more than 31 inches (its Boeing 787s provide 32), while Virgin goes as low as 29.

How low do they go?

Just how tight can seat pitch get? The 29 inches found on Virgin Atlantic’s A330s is pretty rare for a long-haul airline, and only applies to eight seats on each of three A330-200s. Last year the consumer magazine Which? examined more than 30 carriers and only found two that offer less than 30 inches on long-haul flights: Virgin and the now defunct Thomas Cook Airlines. But the website SeatGuru reveals more, including Iberia (based in Spain), China Southern, Lion Air (Indonesia), Vanilla Air (Japan), and Fiji Airways.

For short-haul flights it is another matter. Dozens now offer as little as 29 inches, including BA, Turkish Airlines, SWISS, Norwegian, KLM, easyJet and Air Canada, while some have taken things even further and dropped to 28.

Here are the members of the 28 club, which offer - on some services at least - the stingiest legroom in the sky:

Jet2.com

CEBU Pacific (Philippines)

HK Express (Hong Kong)

Jetstar (Australia)

LATAM Brasil

Qantas (Australia)

Scoot (Singapore)

Spicejet (India)

Wizz (Hungary)

TAP Portugal

Thai Airways

Tui Airways

Volaris (Mexico)

Spirit Airlines (US)

Spring Airlines (China)

Frontier Airlines (US)

Iberia (Spain)

Air Mauritius

Boeing concedes that seat pitch has been reduced (by three inches, on average, for long-haul flights, it says). But it added: “Today’s seat pitch and seat design with composite materials provide similar, if not improved, comfort from the bulky metallic structure and foam-dense designs used in the past. In general, the new seat designs and materials provide two to three inches of ‘equivalent pitch’ over older seat designs.”

The 27-inch seat pitch

No airline has dared to offer less than 28 inches. But this terrifying prospect is quite possible. Airline interiors manufacturer Zodiac Aerospace is just one firm to have pitched concept cabins with 27 inches of pitch, something it says is possible thanks to ultra slimline seats. No airlines have have taken the bait - yet.

The issue of width

Economy class passengers have lost up to eight inches of legroom since the so-called golden age of flying. But manufacturers will regularly suggest that it is seat width, not pitch, that really matters when it comes to comfort.

A spokesman for Boeing claimed that “single-aisle airplane seat widths have remained constant for over 60 years. They are the same width since the 707 opened up the world for economy class passengers”.

Research, however, suggests otherwise. In 1985, according to the Consumers Union, none of America’s big four airlines offered less than 19 inches of width. Now, 17 inches is the norm, while American goes as low as 16.2, and United just 16.

If 29 inches is the threshold for seat pitch, then 17 inches appears to be marker for width. The following airlines are members of the sub-17 club, offering the worst seat widths in travel.

United

Jet2

Delta

Philippine Airlines

American

CEBU Pacific

Air Caraibes (Guadeloupe)

Hawaiian Airlines

Air Transat

AirAsia X (Malaysia)

Saudia

ANA (Japan)

Qatar Airways

LOT Polish Airlines

French Bee

Ukraine International

China Southern

Caribbean Airlines

Nok Air (Thailand)

Air Austral (Réunion)

Uzbekistan Airways

Turkish Airlines (note that just six seats on a handful of its 737-800s offer 16 inches, the rest offer 17)

How many abreast?

Narrower seats mean there’s room for more. British Airways last year faced criticism for introducing a new 10-abreast configuration on some of its 777s. But it was only following in the wake of most other airlines. United, Cathay Pacific, EVA Air, Emirates, Air France and Qatar are doing likewise.

On the 787, eight-abreast was popular at first, but now nine is universally seen as the magic number. Virgin offers nine, as does American, Etihad and TUI.

Will airlines ever go 11 abreast? A number of carriers, including Air France, were supposedly flirting with the idea, first put forward by Airbus back in 2015, of purchasing an A380 with a 3-5-3 configuration. If you’re thinking the middle, middle seat would be bad, take a look at the window seat (below). Thankfully the demise of the A380 - Airbus stopped production of the model in February - has put that prospect on ice.

Crowded house

Boeing might point to slimline seats and “composite materials”, but even if comfort is not compromised by cutting seat pitch, cramming more people onto the same plane certainly makes it feel more crowded.

Take the 707. It was 44 meters long with a cabin width of 3.56m, and it carried 174 passengers in a single class configuration. That’s 0.9 square metres per passenger. The new 737 MAX8, however (currently grounded over safety concerns), is 39.5 metres long, 3.54 metres wide and carries 200 fliers. That’s 0.7 square metres each. It’s an imperfect calculation (it refers to the length of the plane rather than the length of the cabin), but it illustrates the problem.

What’s more, planes today fly much closer to full capacity than they did in the past. In 2018 the average passenger load factor, for all airlines around the world, was 80.4 per cent, in 2011 it was 78.1 per cent, and in 2005 it was 75.1 per cent, and before 2000, around 70 per cent was the norm.

The conclusion

Seats are shrinking, they are being squeezed closer together, and airlines are packing more of us into the same space. So what’s the solution?

You could lessen the nightmare by opting for an airline that offers more. Ryanair, remarkably, trumps many short-haul rivals when it comes to legroom, offering 30 inches. The likes of Air France, Asiana, Egyptair, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian, Saudia and Vietnam Airlines still provides 32 inches on most flights. Seatguru’s comprehensive website lists the best and worst performers for both short-haul and long-haul flights.

You could also fork out for premium economy. Ask when you check in at the airport and upgrades are often available for a relatively small sum.

Why not treat yourself to airport lounge access – then you can at least put your feet up for an hour before having your knees crushed for three.

Or take a train. They are better for the environment, don’t involve airports, baggage fees, rip-off transfers, or turbulence – and there’s almost always room to stretch your legs.