Commercial aviation has become increasingly more accessible during last decades, due to a higher flight frequency, launch of new routes and affordable prices. Low cost airlines are playing an important role in this process, since these companies have achieved spectacular reduction in operational costs. In this context, users, companies and employees are conferring an increasing importance to certain terms, such as comfort, ergonomics or, in last term, work related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs). These concepts are widely employed in the corporate sector, and most of companies incorporate occupational health and safety departments.This project aims to import this methodology to commercial aviation, in order to define and assess a group of activities and seated positions commonly adopted by airplane passengers on their aircraft seats. The research employs direct methods of biomechanical analysis and specific software to evaluate whether biomechanical risk factors are present. Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) will be employed as an auxiliary method to prioritize what postures require the implementation of modifications.An important objective of this paper is to approximate and differentiate where is the limit between commodity and ergonomics, and in which cases a position ceases to be ergonomic, becoming uncomfortable.Seated positions have been identified and grouped in five different categories: neutral postures, laptop/iPad postures, reading positions, sleeping postures and, finally, in order to group baby posture and eating posture there is a group under the denomination of other postures.The research evidences different medium risk level postures that air passengers are exposed to develop, which are in the limit between commodity and ergonomics, as well as it is proceeded to detect factors and cabin layouts that directly affect in the flight ergonomics conditions.
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