Skyscanner has crowned Qatar Airways as the best value legroom airline of 2017, closely followed by Air India, Delta Air Lines, Etihad Airways and Turkish Airlines who all made it into the top five₁.  It comes after a third (31%) of travellers cited legroom as being the thing that annoys them most on a plane and one in ten (10%) naming their pet peeve as being charged for more extra legroom₂.

The global travel search engine undertook a review of the legroom on offer on the most popular airlines departing the UK for long haul destinations in 2016, looking at the cost per cm in economy, as well as the price paid for extra leg room.

(note: these are the top five airlines, i.e. Turkish Airlines is not the most expensive of all airlines)

When breaking down the research and looking at the cost per cm for legroom in economy, Turkish airlines came out on top, with £4.97 per cm

(note: these are the top five airlines for price per cm ONLY, i.e. Etihad is not the most expensive of all airlines and is not the overall results)

Airlines which achieved top marks for not charging for extra legroom included Qatar, Delta, Etihad and Emirates.  Of those that did charge for extra legroom, Air India came out on top, closely followed by British Airways, KLM and Virgin Atlantic₄.

The survey also found that over half (54%)3 of people found it annoying when the person in front of them reclined their seat.   However, this may soon be a thing of the past as Qantas has just announced a change to their premium economy seating which will allow passengers to recline in comfort without annoying the passenger behind. Skyscanner has looked into the debate as to whether it is acceptable to decline a seat on plane or not, check it out here: www.skyscanner.net/news/tips/should-you-recline-your-seat-on-plane

Skyscanner's travel editor Cat McGloin comments:

“Legroom, or seat pitch as it's known in the industry, is certainly one of the most important things than can make or break a long haul flight, just a few cm can sometimes make the difference between your trip being heaven or hell.  Legroom on planes can differ from airline to airline and there can be up to 4.5cm difference between the most popular carriers₄. Those travellers seeking affordable comfort should do their research before booking a flight, whilst it might cost slightly more to travel with one carrier you might find you lose out if your legroom is significantly shorter and you have to pay for extra for the comfort you need.”

Skyscanner's team of travel experts have compiled a guide to the best value legroom airlines, check this out before booking a flight: www.skyscanner.net/news/leg-room-how-much-will-you-get

For travellers who are struggling in economy, Cat and the travel bods at Skyscanner have pulled together top tips to make economy feel like first class - www.skyscanner.net/news/10-ways-make-economy-feel-first-class

Travellers can also check out how to survive a long haul flight - www.skyscanner.net/news/tips/how-to-survive-a-long-haul-flight

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For more information, please contact Emma Wiseman on 07747 343233 or emma.wiseman@skyscanner.net

Notes to Editors

₁Skyscanner undertook a review of the legroom on offer for top 10 most popular airlines to destinations outside of Europe during 1st January 2016 and 31st December 2016.  Cost per cm for legroom coupled with charges relating to extra legroom were scored to uncover the Best Five Value Legroom airlines.

₂Cost per cm calculated using the average flight price of the top ten most popular airline for destinations outside of the UK between 1st January 2016 and 31st December 2016, divided by the seat pitch provided on www.seatguru.com.

₃Twitter Poll study of 671 travellers March 2017

₄ Airlines reviewed: 10 most popular airlines to destinations outside of Europe during 1st January 2016 and 31st December 2016.  Cost per cm for legroom coupled with charges relating to extra legroom were scored to uncover the Best Five Value Legroom airlines

About Skyscanner:

• Skyscanner is a leading global travel search company, providing free search of flights, hotels and car hire around the world
• Founded in 2003, Skyscanner helps over 50 million people each month to find their travel options
• Skyscanner is available in 30 languages
• Skyscanner's highly-rated free mobile apps have been downloaded over 50 million times
• Skyscanner employs over 800 staff and has ten offices across the world: Barcelona, Beijing, Budapest, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, Miami, Shenzhen, Singapore and Sofia
• Skyscanner is part of the Ctrip group

For more information, please visit www.skyscanner.net

LINK FOR INFORGRAPHIC:

https://infogr.am/legroom_test-5556