GoAir’s fix: To have reclining seats or not in its new Airbus carriers

NEW DELHI: Cramped leg space and wafer thin seats with barely any cushioning may not remain the only grouse for flyers in India. Now, even reclining that seat may become a dream in coach here.

European aircraft major Airbus offered its fuel efficient A-320 new engine options (Neo) with a seating capacity of up to 189 seats to Wadia group's GoAir. The low-cost carrier (LCC) currently uses A320s with 180 seats — just like IndiGo.

Sensing that nine more seats may make things bit too tight for its passengers, GoAir has opted for six more seats — meaning one more row in the aircraft. But it is yet to decide whether the 186 seats on its A320 Neos should be reclining or fixed upright.

"Our A320 Neos will have 186 seats, while Airbus offered us up to 189-seater planes. The leg room will be the same as that on our 180-seater planes due to certain changes in cabin made by Airbus. We have so far not decided on whether the seats should be reclining or not. I will travel to Toulouse (Airbus' headquarters in France) this month to take a call on that issue," GoAir CEO Giorgio De Roni told TOI, adding that at present "few actually recline their seats".

He said that the decision on having reclining seats will be "based on passenger comfort and technical enhancements that seat vendors are offering which would be analyzed." Go has ordered 72 A320 Neos, which it will receive from next April to December 2020.

"We aim to offer the best value for money to our flyers. If our aircraft has six more seats and better fuel consumption (the Neo is a 15-20% thriftier version of the current 320), then we can offer more affordable fares. But travel with us will always remain comfortable from customer perspective," the Italian CEO, who has made GoAir profitable, said.

Some full service European carriers have non-reclining seats for their domestic flights. India is now seeing all its airlines switch to aircraft with more 'slimline' (read wafer thin with less cushioning) seats, leading to cramped cabins. If one of them goes in for non-reclining seats, all others — at least budget airlines or all-economy aircraft of full service carriers — may follow suit to pack in more seats.

Go's 186-seater may be the biggest capacity A320, the most popular single aisle plane with Indian carriers, here. IndiGo says it has no plans to have over 180 seats in its A320s. Tata-AirAsia JV CEO Mittu Chandilya had recently ruled out getting A320s with more seats. Air India also plans to have 180 seats in the A320 in an all economy configuration. But if Go goes upright way, other Indian carriers may follow suit.