The Case of the Incredible Shrinking Airline Seats…

Unless you have the luxury of flying first-class or some other form of premium package, air plane journeys can be a nightmare with the small space you’re sometimes allocated. However, a recent ruling in the U.S. held that there are health and safety risks associated with having such a small space whilst flying, and this is something we’re going to watch closely here in the U.K.

Although the ruling technically has no legal bearing on us here in Britain, it may lead to similar investigations and cases being tried with similar outcomes.

No legroom?

The issue of aircraft legroom has been an issue for quite some time, but it seemed to strike a chord with many more when some airlines reported that they plan to add more seats to aircrafts. In May, American Airlines announced it would shrink the space between the rows to 76cm on its newest Boeing Co. 737 Max jetliners.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has previously said that it would not regulate the size of airline seats and the distance between the rows of seats, but the recent decision held by the courts may change this decision.

U.S. Court of Appeals

On 28^th July, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia favoured a claim that was brought by the Flyers Rights passenger group (non-profit organisation) against the FAA in court.

The passenger group claimed that smaller seats are a safety hazard that may slow down evacuations in the event of an emergency and can also potentially cause deep vein clots; a fatal condition of blood clots that is regularly associated with long-haul flights.

Flyers Rights argued that the average seat width has narrowed from approximately 47cm to 43cm from early 2000s to mid-2010. Their research shows that in recent decades, the distance between seat rows has apparently decreased from 89cm to 79cm.

Some airlines even report as low as 71cm, according to their findings.

FAA’s attempt to defend against the case

According to Reuters, the FAA tried to justify its reasoning behind smaller seats for passenger safety, but this line of reasoning didn’t convince the judges at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Colombia Circuit.

The U.S. Court of Appeals ordered FAA to consider imposing a minimum standard for seat size and space for passengers. Judge Patricia Ann Millett who headed the three-judge panel said:

“This is the ‘Case of the Incredible Shrinking Airline Seat’. 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.”

Paul Hudson, president of Flyers Rights, hailed the success of the judgment saying “We hope the FAA will now take it up as a proper rulemaking.”

However, the FAA hasn’t substantiated whether or not Flyers Rights’ grounds are true; i.e. whether there is a real safety risk with the legroom space.

In the U.K.

British Airways announced they’d be cutting legroom for economy passengers for shorter flights, reducing the space from approximately 76cm to 74cm. Will we see similar action here?