American Airlines Group Inc (NASDAQ:AAL) is planning to cut down on legroom for some passengers.
Passengers that fly in American Airlines Group Inc’s economy class will be the ones facing less legroom. The economy class will have three rows on the flight dropping from 31 inches of legroom to 29 inches.
Other passengers in American Airlines Group Inc’s economy class will also see their legroom decrease. Instead of the drop to 29 inches, these seats will reduce legroom from 31 inches to 30 inches. These changes are coming to the airline’s new 737 Max jets from Boeing Co (NYSE:BA). The seats with less legroom won’t cost less than other economy seats.
American Airlines Group Inc is reducing legroom in its economy class to fit more seats on its jets. This will allow it to have more than 170 seats on each flight. Current flights offer 160 seats. The changes won’t affect its main cabin economy seats or its first class ones. The changes will also reportedly include a smaller bathroom, reports CNNMoney.
American Airlines Group Inc’s changes are parts of its efforts to better compete with cheaper airlines, such as Spirit Airlines Incorporated (NASDAQ:SAVE). The changes also make sense as Americans aren’t interested in paying more for extra conveniences.
A study from 2016 found that only 21% of Americans would pay extra for more benefits while flying. It also found that only 17% would pay extra for wider seats and 7% would pay more for carry-on space, MarketWatch notes.
AAL stock was up slightly as of Wednesday afternoon, but is down 5% year-to-date.
