Effects of aircraft tray table height and neck posture on passenger comfort: A study of the economy class cabin

BACKGROUND

The tray table in economy class air travel may cause excessive neck flexion and discomfort in passengers.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of different tray table heights on the neck posture and discomfort perception of passengers.

METHODS

A passenger experience survey was used to determine the passengers' view that the tray table was not high enough, and that most passengers were dissatisfied with the overall comfort evaluation of the tray table, especially passengers with obesity. Three head-neck angles and discomfort perceptions of six body parts in 58 participants were recorded by neck posture 3D scanning and perceived level of discomfort assessment, respectively.

RESULTS

Tray tables at the original height (68 cm) caused unnatural neck posture and discomfort in participants. Raising the tray table can improve the neck posture of participants and reduce discomfort. However, raising the tray table too high will cause more shoulder discomfort in participants. Based on the results, 78 (±2) cm is suggested as the suitable thresholds range of tray tables for economy class air travel.

CONCLUSION

The results and findings of this study could provide a theoretical base for the optimization of tray table design.

The effects of seat width, load factor, and passenger demographics on airline passenger accommodation

The objective of this work is to demonstrate a method for examining the competing effects of secular trends in body size, seat size and configuration, and the increased load factor of aeroplanes. The method uses statistical modelling and virtual fit testing to provide a flexible environment for exploring the impact of various parameters on passenger accommodation. A case study demonstrates the method by exploring the effect of seat width on the accommodation of US civilians (based on seated hip breadth). The case study demonstrates that recent trends of decreasing seat widths and increasing load factors lead to higher disaccommodation. Based on anthropometry and virtual fit, women are also shown to be disproportionately disaccommodated compared to men. Practitioner summary: Airlines are reducing seat width at the same time that individuals worldwide are getting larger. Flights are increasingly crowded, with load factor at a record high. This paper explores the effects of seat width on passenger accommodation under several scenarios involving load factor, demographics, and passenger seating allocation strategies.