Citation

Miller EL, Lapp SM, Parkinson MB. Ergonomics 2019; 62(2): 330-341.

Affiliation

Engineering Design, Mechanical Engineering, and Industrial Engineering, Penn State University , University Park , PA 16802 , USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/00140139.2018.1550209

PMID

30604652

Abstract

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 airplanes. The method uses statistical modeling 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.

Language: en

Keywords

Design for Human Variability; anthropometry; aviation; seating