A Guide to Seat Belt Length by Airline

Seat belt length varies by airline and type of aircraft. While you can find out seat widths and pitches online, many airlines do not provide information about seat belt lengths on their websites. If you’re concerned about the length of a seat belt, the best way to get current seat belt information is by contacting your airline.

Passengers are required by law to wear a seat belt on the plane unless the seat belt sign is turned off. If the belt doesn’t close, you may be asked to deplane. To avoid last-minute boarding problems, you should call, email, or start an online chat with your airline whenever you have any questions or concerns about your tickets, itinerary, or flight. This process may take some time, particularly if you contact your airline by email or happen to talk with a customer service agent who does not know the answer to your question.

Ask all your questions before you buy your tickets so that you have plenty of time to get the answers you need and make informed decisions about which tickets to buy.

Seat Belt Length

By law, airlines can establish policies for passengers who are overweight. Such passengers, often called “passengers of size” or “passengers requiring extra space,” can be required to purchase a ticket for a second seat if they meet certain criteria, like if the passenger’s body extends a certain distance beyond their seat and requires a seat belt extender, or if a passenger cannot perform a specific action or combination of actions such as lowering both armrests comfortably, or lowering the armrests and fastening a seat belt with an extender. Some airlines do not require larger passengers to purchase a second seat, but if other passengers in the row raise complaints, larger passengers might be asked to move to a different seat.

If you cannot comply with your airline’s policy and cannot purchase a second seat because the flight is sold out, you may be denied boarding until the next day a flight with unsold seats is available.

Airlines usually publish information about these policies in their Contract of Carriage. Your airline’s Contract of Carriage, the legal document that spells out the airline’s obligations to its customers, is available online or at the ticket counter.

Seat Belt Extenders

Seat belt extenders are completely free on airlines. It may feel awkward, but you only have to ask. It’s advisable to talk to the airline in advance or speak to the gate agents prior to boarding to ensure that there are enough seat belt extenders available. It’s important to remember, airlines will not allow you to use your own seat belt extender because these are not FAA-approved. Note that seat belt extenders are not allowed in exit rows.

North American Airlines

To help you find out the seat belt lengths for airlines, we contacted several North American airlines to find out how long their seat belts are, on average. Not all North American airlines are represented in this seat belt length table.

While this information is current as of this writing, please bear in mind that airlines frequently purchase new aircraft and upgrade their existing equipment on a regular basis, so your experience may differ from the data presented here. Contact your airline to get the best available information for your aircraft.

Seat Belt Lengths by Airline 

All lengths are given in inches.
Airline	Seat Belt Length	Extender Length
Aeroméxico	51	22
Alaska Airlines	46	25
Allegiant Air	40	21
American Airlines	45-47	24
Delta Air Lines	40-45	25
Hawaiian Airlines	51	25
JetBlue	45	25
Southwest Airlines	39	24
United Airlines	39	25
Virgin America	43.7	25

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