US court hears ‘case of the incredible shrinking airline seat’
The US Court of Appeals has ordered the Federal Aviation Administration to review seat pitch guidelines on aircraft.
The court was hearing a case brought by passenger group Flyers Rights, which had asked for minimum sizes to be set.
The group had argued seat pitch had shrunk from an average of 35 inches in the 1970s to 31 inches, and even 28 inches in some cases.
The FAA had refused the request by Flyers Rights, claiming it ‘does consider seat pitch in testing and assessing the safe evacuation of commercial, passenger aircraft’.
However the court said the FAA had used ‘off-point studies’ with ‘undisclosed tests using unknown parameters’ to refuse the request.
The three-judge panel said: "That type of vaporous record will not do."
It criticised the FAA for refusing to disclose any data on tests and describing the hearing as: "The case of the incredible shrinking airline seat."
Judge Patricia Ann Millett wrote: "As many have no doubt noticed, aircraft seats and the spacing between them have been getting smaller and smaller, while American passengers have been growing in size.
"The problem here is that the administration has given no reasoned explanation for withholding the tests in their entirety, and it has declined to file them under seal or in redacted form."
Flyers Rights president Paul Hudson said: "We hope the FAA will now take it up as a proper rule making."
US rules state that aircraft manufacturers must prove a fully loaded plane can be evacuated within 90 seconds under low lighting conditions and with up to half the exit doors blocked.
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive
Euromonitor International unveils world’s top 100 city destinations for 2025