A new study from Airport Parking & Hotels has analyzed data from 2017 up until 2025 to answer the question: Which airlines have raised their fees for extra legroom?
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Once upon a time, metrics like seat pitch and seat width were more or less standard across airlines and even economy tiers. However, upcharges for amenities like legroom, window seats, and even carry-on bags have skyrocketed since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The recent study from APH found that some airlines have doubled their prices for extra legroom tiers in economy. But—the silver lining—other airlines have actually reduced their legroom fees by 70%.
Let’s dig in to see what we can learn about specific airlines and what they’re charging for legroom today.
Changes in legroom fees from different airlines
The study from APH takes a look at global airlines, from KLM to Qantas to Air Seychelles. It ranks the change in the overall price to book an economy seat with extra legroom between 2017 and 2025.
These airlines posted the most dramatic upcharges:
- British Airways (93% increase)
- SAS Scandinavian Airlines (56% increase)
- Virgin Atlantic (38% increase)
- KLM (37% increase)
- Aer Lingus (34% increase)
- Air France (33% increase)
- Air New Zealand (25% increase)
- Singapore Airlines (19% increase)
- Ryanair (10% increase)
- Lufthansa (7% increase)
These airlines actually dropped their prices for legroom charges for economy seats:
- Qantas (70% decrease)
- easyJet (45% decrease)
- Air Canada (28% decrease)
- Jet2 (27% decrease)
- Air Seychelles (20% decrease)
- Emirates (5% decrease)
- Cathay Pacific (4% decrease)
