Aviation is a “one-size-fits-all” business, but passengers are increasing in girth. The proportion of plus-size people in the UK is rising. The NHS says that the percentage of obese people almost doubled in a quarter-century from 15 per cent in 1997 to 29 per cent in 2022. Older adults are even more likely to be obese: at least 35 per cent of people aged 55-74 are in this category.
Yet at the same time airlines are “densifying” aircraft cabins – with British Airways and other airlines squeezing 10 seats abreast into Boeing 777s, where previously there were nine.
