In October 2018, Donald Trump signed an FAA reauthorization bill, which extends another 5 years of funding to the agency. Who cares, right?
But included in that bill was the much-praised SEAT Act, which was written by a Democratic Congressman from Tennessee.
The bill easily passed the House and Senate, with wide bipartisan support, in the fall of 2018.
The SEAT Act requires the FAA to set guidelines "within a year" regarding minimum seat size. That year will be up in October 2019, meaning it will happen before then.
Airline seat sizes have shrunken greatly over the past 5 decades, despite the average height and BMI of Americans rising in that time. Americans are now taller and fatter than ever before, yet the seats are much smaller.
The size of an airline seat is defined by "pitch" (distance between seats, which is basically legroom) ad "width" (obvious).
It's the pitch which has especially shrunken over time.
In 1972 when I was born, the pitch of economy (then called "coach") seats was 35 inches, and the width was 18 inches.
Today, standard US airlines have a pitch of 31 inches, and discount airlines have a pitch of 28-29.
That might not sound like a big difference, but it's actually huge. An adult who is 5'7" will not fit comfortably in a seat with a 28" pitch, whereas a tall man my size (6'2-6'3) is quite comfortable with a 35 inch pitch.
Why? Because your height isn't just in your legs, so each inch reduced of pitch makes it feel like the way the old seat felt for someone 2 inches taller than you! A small woman about 5' tall would have about the same legroom in a 28" pitch seat as a 6'2" guy in a 35" pitch seat!
Here's a picture of me flying on Air Canada Rogue in 2014. The pitch was 29 inches. I could not sit straight. I had to sit diagonally, and STILL my knee touched the seat in front of me, and my right foot went far up the aisle. You can see a pic of it here: https://pokerfraudalert.com/forum/sh...ir-Canada-JOKE
However, prior to 2019, the pitches under 31 were simply the domain of discount airlines in the US. If you flew any of the major airlines (AA, Delta, United, etc), you always had a minimum of 31 inches.
Not anymore!
American Airlines actually had plans to reduce to pitch down to 28 on its new 737s, but they abandoned the plan after public outrage. However, they still are rolling out the planes with only 30 inches of pitch!
Delta, for the moment, has pledged to keep a minimum of 31 inches.
You need to fly Economy Plus or First/Business Class if you want a pitch of 35 or higher -- something which has basically become a requirement for me.
I always felt that pitches under 31 should be illegal, as that starts to venture into territory where even average-height adults cannot fly comfortably.
In fact, I think the minimum should be 32, given the increasing number of men over 6' in this country. It's one thing not to have to cater to the freakishly tall, but when a substantial portion of the male population is too tall for most of the seats on a plane, that's a problem.
I would actually be fine with pitches of 29 on discount airlines (28 is too small, though), provided that it's clearly disclosed to the customer prior to purchase that anyone 5'7" or above will be uncomfortable. That was my biggest problem with Air Canada Rouge, when I purchased a ticket in 2014 without any knowledge that the pitch was 29 (I've since checked this carefully on any unfamiliar airline!)
It will be interesting to see which regulations the FAA comes up with.
Due to my recent anxiety disorder, I will be flying first/business class from now on anyway, as flying has become much more difficult for me.
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Originally Posted by sonatine
