Have you ever noticed that, on a lot of airlines, the seats are usually some shade of blue?
Granted, they may have a little splash of color, like red or gray or yellow, but for the most part, they’re blue. And usually a pretty dark blue, at that.
In fact, if you go searching, you’ll only find a handful of airlines with seats that aren’t blue. Emirates’ seats are brown and tan. Singapore Airlines’ seats are purple and gray. The Sukhoi Superjet‘s seats are gray with a strip of blue in them. SWISS’s Bombardier CS100 seats are grayish-white. Korean Air’s are green and teal. And, of course, Virgin has planes with black seats, white seats or red seats (as well as purple lighting), because Richard Branson. 
There are, of course, others – you can add to the list in the comments ;-).
But otherwise, chances are good that your seat will be blue if you go on a plane.
Why are they blue?
Not surprisingly, it’s another one of the little mind games that airports and airlines play. These are some that we’ve discussed in the past:
- Airports are specifically designed to influence what you do
- Why airports have carpeting (even when it annoys everyone)
The blue seats are another way to help people stay calm.
The people who maintain the Color Psychology website say:
Blue is a color that suggests peace. The color of the calm sea and clear sky are both blue which helps promote inner serenity, calm, and clarity. Blue can also slow your heart rate and breathing, making it the perfect color to choose when mediating and relaxing.
Blue seats are yet another subtle way airlines try to influence how passengers feel during a flight.
Blue has a psychological push for loyalty and trust and is generally considered a “non-threatening” color.
When you’re 35,000 feet in the air, you want people to be as calm as possible and trust their cabin crew. So…blue it is!
There’s also a practical side. Blue—especially darker blue—does a decent job hiding stains, scuffs and general wear. And when thousands of passengers sit in the same seats every year, that matters.
Of course, not every airline sticks with blue. Some use colors that better fit their branding or cabin design, and premium cabins often have different color schemes altogether.
But for the vast majority of economy cabins around the world, blue remains the color of choice. If it helps passengers feel just a little calmer, a little safer and a little more comfortable while hurtling through the sky at 500-plus mph, it’s probably one of the simplest—and cheapest—design decisions an airline can make.
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