Why Passengers are Fighting Over Airline Seats Ahead of the Holidays
Just weeks ahead of the busiest time for airplane travel, the Federal Aviation Administration wrapped up a public forum for comments on the size and safety of seats aboard planes.
The FAA received more than 26,000 comments after requesting feedback from passengers about whether standard seat sizes are needed for safety reasons, like emergency evacuations.
“Flying has become torture,” one person wrote. “My legs are so cramped, it is painful.”
“Not only do smaller seats affect comfort, they are also a safety issue,” another commenter said.
Scott Keyes, the founder of Scott’s Cheap Flights, told TODAY that if the seats are too cramped, it can make it hard for passengers to get off of the plane quickly.
"That’s one of the reasons why the FAA is looking at why they should impose a minimum seat requirement," Keyes said.
Since the 1990s, the width of airplane seats has shrunk from 18 inches to about 16 inches, and the distance between seat backs has decreased from 35 inches to sometimes less than 28 inches, according to FlyersRights, a passenger advocacy group.
FlyersRights is pushing the federal government to prevent airlines from making seats even smaller.
"If we don’t get minimum standards, then airlines will continue to shrink the seats," Paul Hudson, president of FlyersRights, told TODAY.
"People have been getting larger, both in weight and in height," Hudson added. "And the seats on the other hand, have been shrinking ... so we feel this is a safety risk."
According to Scott's Cheap Flights, airlines like JetBlue, Southwest, Delta, American and United have the most legroom, while budget airlines like Spirit, Frontier and Allegiant have the least.
"Airlines continue to invest in a wide range of innovative technologies to maximize personal space in the cabin," Airlines for America, an industry group representing major airlines in the U.S., said in a statement to TODAY. "Safety is, and always will be, our top priority, and we support the federal government’s determination regarding what seat size is safe."
On Nov. 1, the last day of the FAA's public forum, six Democratic senators wrote a letter pushing the FAA to act and prevent further shrinking of seat sizes.
"We urge the FAA to comprehensively review the safety factors impacting seat pitch, width, and length and ensure that such safety factors take into account the entirety of the American public — including children, senior citizens, individuals with disabilities, and others," the senators wrote. "To prevent further harm to travelers in the interim, the FAA should immediately issue a moratorium prohibiting additional reduction in seat size."
Some passengers at New York's LaGuardia airport also agreed that seat sizes should not get any smaller.
"I think it’s a good idea," a traveler told TODAY of mandatory seat minimums. "Because people come in different shapes and sizes."
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
