Get extra legroom when you fly

Charter airlines claimed last week that further rises in air passenger duty could force them to scrap cabins that give passengers extra space on long-haul flights, which is a shame because getting more legroom is a definite bonus when flying for more than a couple of hours.

Thomson (www.thomson.co.uk), First Choice (www.firstchoice.co.uk), Thomas Cook (www.thomascook.co.uk) and Monarch (www.monarch.co.uk) are continuing to offer premium cabins for the time being, which give passengers at least a couple of inches more legroom than economy cabins.

Several scheduled airlines also offer premium economy cabins that have bigger seats with bigger seats and more legroom than economy. These include British Airways (www.ba.com), Virgin Atlantic (www.virginatlantic.com), Air New Zealand (www.airnewzealand.co.uk) and Singapore Airlines (www.singaporeair.com).

If flying with a scheduled airline, make sure you choose the one that offers the roomiest seats. You can check how much legroom you get - that is the measurement from the back of your seat to the back of the seat in front - at www.seatguru.com.

According to seatguru, seats in British Airways' long-haul economy cabins give only 31 inches, but switch to Air New Zealand and you'll get a more spacious 34 inches or American Airlines, whose seats have a pitch of 32 inches.

Passengers lucky enough to bag an exit row seat will get heaps more legroom than other economy passengers, but these roomier seats usually come at a price. Monarhc charges from £15 to £35 per passenger per flight for exit row seats, depending on the length of the journey; British Airways charges £50.

Exit row seats cannot be occupied by passengers travelling with babies and very young children or by less able-bodies travellers who might not be able to open the doors in an emergency.

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