I have what may be a fairly unique question on this beautiful Friday afternoon. Are pilot seats comfortable?
I’ve sat in the cockpit of an A320 and was quite impressed with the space and comfort of the seats. The seats are seemingly built for several hours of comfortable work. However, its been a real long time since I was in the front of Cessna 152. For an average-sized person, do the trainer aircraft and smaller corporate jets have comfortable seats? Good lumbar support? Adequate butt padding?
The older you get, the more things like this matter.
Honestly I think it’s a matter of personal preference (or maybe personal padding?). I’ve never had a problem with any cockpit seat ever but I know tons of folks who have. I’m currently on the 717 and find it to be more than comfy. However half the pilots I know carry their own seat cushions with them? Was the same when I was on the Airbus, the Embraer and even the trainers. What’s even more interesting to me is I find most commercial airplane passenger seats to be horrible and I can never get comfortable in those (unless we’re talking First Class).
Long short I’m sure you’ll find some you like and others you don’t but if you don’t mind schlepping a cushion you’ll be fine.
Clearly the United guys and gals are tougher than the Hawaiian ones because I almost never see pilots carrying a seat cushion and make sure to shame those that do.
I have found most of the airliner seats to be rather comfortable, with the one exception being that the armrests on the Airbus 320 are made of a very hard plastic, Boeing’s are leather wrapped.
As for training aircraft, I do not remember the seats themselves being uncomfortable, but I do remember it feeling rather cramped in the cockpit. The Seminole had the roomiest cockpit of any small airplane that I ever flew.
Haha, in defense of those United pilots, Chicagoland has a lot of good steak and BBQ to eat. I know from first-hand experience how its possible a Midwesterner can come with “extra padding.”
Interesting that the Boeing pilot seats are more comfortable than Airbus. I also have found non-first class passenger seats quite lacking in comfort (and legroom). But for whatever reason, Airbus seats seem to be a little more comfortable than Boeing.
Thanks, Chris - that is an important distinction. I recall hearing that from another commercial aviator as well.
Relatedly, I read the other day that a few commercial airlines are eliminating the ticket-change fees that were inherent pre-pandemic. Perhaps the current climate will also spur some cabin comfort initiatives in order to spur demand, like more legroom and comfier seats!
I feel I can say with some confidence that ain’t gonna happen. Right now ALL the airlines are in crisis cost saving mode and the decisions are being made primarily by the bean counters. Cash is king and holding on to as much of it for as long as they can is priority one. With that in mind the last thing they’re going to do is spend money on new seats.
