7 Best Economy Seats on International Flights

29.05.2024 - 22:09 / cntraveler.com

Flying in economy class on a long-haul route is often a necessary sacrifice travelers make in order to afford a far-flung trip. But just thinking about spending hours in coach—with the cramped legroom, lack of recline, and crowded seating arrangements—is enough to send a shiver down any flier’s spine.

Fortunately, there are a handful of airlines that still offer decent space and comfortable seats on long-haul routes, even in their regular no-frills economy classes. Here, we’ve rounded up seven of the most comfortable economy seats available for long-haul flights, based on criteria like legroom pitch, recline depth, seat width, and the overall seating configuration of the economy cabin.

As these seats are still in regular economy, they don’t offer as much space as the more upscale products in premium economy cabins. The below selections may just have a few extra inches of space or recline over their competitors—but even an inch or two can make a world of difference on an hours-long flight, especially if you’re trying to sleep.

If you must fly coach on your next long-haul journey, these are the best economy seats on international flights. (Or, check out these affordable business class cabins that won't break the bank.)

JetBlue is one of the best US carriers when it comes to legroom, even in economy.

The New York-based carrier is one of the top US airlines in terms of legroom. Its Airbus A321 long-range planes, used for its transatlantic routes to Europe, are no exception. In regular economy, called “Core” on JetBlue, expect to see 32 inches of pitch and 18 inches of width, and three inches of recline at your seat. You’ll also find a headrest with adjustable wings and power outlets (though not enough for every passenger to have their own charging port). On planes that also feature Mint business class, the Core cabin has 102 seats in a 3-3 layout, so the one drawback is a potential lack of elbow room as the A321 is just a single-aisle plane.

Much of the attention on board JAL’s new A350 plane, which debuted in January 2024, has been focused on its luxurious first and business class suites. But even the back of the plane offers fliers a respectable amount of comfort. In the regular economy cabin, seats offer about 34 inches of legroom pitch and more than 18 inches of seat width, making them one of the roomiest long-haul economy options on the market. Plus, in the fully upright position, the seats sit back at a deeper angle than standard economy seats—before you even engage the recline function, which also offers several more inches of tilt. Extra bells and whistles include a large 13-inch 4K entertainment screen, water bottle pouch and separate cupholder, power outlet and USB-A and -C charging ports. The