The pitch and width of airline seats are crucial factors on the comfort of passengers. The aim of this study is to measure the comfort feeling of passengers regarding different widths and together with data from a previous study, to offer suggestions on the aircraft interior design. 311 participants were recruited and were asked to sit in 17-inch-wide and 18-inch-wide aircraft seats in a Boeing 737 fuselage for 10 min, respectively. Questionnaires on psychological comfort and overall discomfort, as well as an additional questionnaire on the discomfort of different body parts, were used to evaluate the comfort and discomfort experience of participants. Experiment results indicated that the comfort scores were significantly higher, and the discomfort scores were significantly lower for sitting in the 18-inch-wide seats than that of sitting in the 17-inch-wide seats. It was also found that rather than the buttock, the shoulders, knees, lower legs and feet contributed significantly to the reduction in overall discomfort by providing more space for movements. Regarding anthropometric measurements, participants with smaller hip-breadth felt more comfort while sitting the 18-inch-wide seat, which highlights the importance of the freedom of movement. By synthesizing the results of a previous study on the relations of the seat pitch and comfort, it was found that given the same amount of additional floor area, widening the seat is more effective on comfort than increasing the pitch.

Relevance to industry: This discovery might be useful for the airline industry for a more effective and efficient usage of floor area.

飞机座椅的间距和宽度是影响乘客舒适度的关键因素。这项研究的目的是测量不同宽度乘客的舒适感，并结合以前的研究数据，为飞机内部设计提供建议。招募了311名参与者，他们被要求分别坐在波音737机身的17英寸宽和18英寸宽的飞机座椅上10分钟。使用心理舒适度和总体不适感问卷以及有关身体不同部位不适感的附加调查表来评估参与者的舒适感和不适感。实验结果表明，舒适度评分明显更高，而坐在18英寸宽的座椅上的不适分数明显低于坐在17英寸宽的座椅上的不适分数。还发现，肩部，膝盖，小腿和脚部不是臀部，而是通过提供更多的运动空间来显着降低整体不适感。关于人体测量，髋部较小的参与者坐在18英寸宽的座椅上会感到更加舒适，这突出了行动自由的重要性。通过综合先前关于座椅间距和舒适性关系的研究结果，发现在给定相同额外地板面积的情况下，加宽座椅比增加间距更有效。小腿和脚通过提供更多的运动空间，极大地减轻了总体不适感。关于人体测量，髋部较小的参与者坐在18英寸宽的座椅上会感到更加舒适，这突出了行动自由的重要性。通过综合先前关于座椅间距和舒适度关系的研究结果，发现在给定相同额外地板面积的情况下，加宽座椅比增加间距更有效。小腿和脚通过提供更多的运动空间，极大地减轻了总体不适感。关于人体测量，髋部宽度较小的参与者坐在18英寸宽的座椅上会感到更加舒适，这突出了行动自由的重要性。通过综合先前关于座椅间距和舒适性关系的研究结果，发现在给定相同额外地板面积的情况下，加宽座椅比增加间距更有效。

与行业的关系：这一发现对于航空业更有效地利用建筑面积可能是有用的。