At Dretloh we have been working on aircraft seats for over 40 years. We’ve seen a lot in our time. One of the most noticeable changes in aircraft seating are the size of the seats. No doubt, they’ve shrunk. But with a judge granting more seat room on airplanes, will passengers see the travel experience they want?
Turns out, patience isn’t the only thing that you’ve been losing on your flight. As time has passed, aircraft seat sizes have gradually gotten smaller. It’s relatively hard to notice those inches being shaved off in the past decades – and maybe you haven’t been too affected. But if you have, take comfort in knowing it’s not just in your imagination.
Judge Grants More Seat Room on Airplanes
It’s no myth that legroom is getting lesser, as well. For instance, AA’s aircraft seats are cutting economy legroom by 2 Inches and will be “closer in size to Spirit than to JetBlue.” As a result, the Flyers Rights passenger group challenged the Federal Aviation Administration in court in 2015 to implement new rules to regulate seat space.
Last week, a federal court ruled that the Federal Aviation Administration must review seat size and legroom on aircraft from the standpoint of safety issues. This means aircraft seat size is a safety and health issue! Flyers Rights noticed that small airline seats can actually be a health hazard to passengers.
For example, small airline seats can put passengers at risk for conditions such as deep vein thrombosis. As a consequence, it can potentially cause fatalities through blog clots in people’s legs. In addition, Flyers Rights stated that shrinking seats aren’t in-line with Americans’ needs. (Especially with climbing obesity rates.)
According to CNN, “Flyers Rights gave the court evidence that the average width of airplane seats has declined from 18.5 inches in the early 2000s, to 17 inches by about 2005″. Federal Judge Patricia Millet, called this “the case of the incredible shrinking airline seat”.
The federal court ruling forces the FAA to act on its mandate to regulate and possibly end the “herd of cattle” seating that’s been happening for the past decade. However, we would like to know: When will comfortable seating actually take off?
A great site to learn more about your aircraft seat is SeatGuru, which provides information for travelers about in-flight seating and entertainment options offered by airlines worldwide.