FAA Refuses to Act as Shrinking Airline Seats Pose Dilemma for Travelers and Agents

The “incredible shrinking airline seat” – as a federal judge described the typical airline seat in a ruling last year – is again a front page news story. And for travel agents, it’s yet another case of where a confusing airline policy has generated more work, and client concerns, for their business.

In the latest development, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) declined to issue regulations governing the width or seat pitch aboard U.S. airliners, arguing that there’s no evidence that tighter legroom in coach impedes the evacuation of a plane in an emergency. 

The FAA’s decision was in response to a lawsuit by Flyers Rights, a not-for-profit airline consumer group, which had charged that cramped seating made it more difficult for passengers to get off the aircraft during an emergency.  Flyers Rights said that the average seat pitch had dropped from 35 inches before the industry was deregulated in 1978, to around 31 inches now; seat width has also dropped to as low as 16. 5 inches from more than 18 inches in the past, it said.  

The group also complained that the results of government mandated evacuation tests have been kept from the public. Under FAA rules, airlines must demonstrate a fully occupied plane can be safely evacuated with 90 seconds.  Last summer, the U.S. Court of Appeals judge hearing the case ordered the FAA to examine the issue with an eye to possible new regulations; the FAA has since released some videos of evacuation tests.  

But the FAA, in a letter to Flyers Rights, said that the consumer group is missing the point – the factors that affect the speed of an evacuation have nothing to with seat size. 

“The time it takes passengers to get out of their seats, even if those seats are relatively narrow and close together, is less than the time it takes for the emergency exists to begin functioning and for the line that beings forming in the aisle to clear,” said Dorenda Baker, the FAA’s executive director for aircraft certification.  She added that the process is influenced more by the actions of flight crews and how well passengers pay attention to instructions.

And other sources, such as seatguru.com, which provides airplane seating charts, say the real story is more complicated – as many carriers offer a variety a seat pitches for customers willing to pay fees to escape the tightest quarters.  According to the seatguru data, most U.S. airlines have seat pitch in coach ranging from 30 to more than 35 inches, and seat width is, on average, over 17 inches, with many airlines offering 18 inches. 

But travel agents say it’s those fees that put them in a bind—as airlines slap an array of fees on the more desirable coach seats that in the past could be reserved free of charge, clients are increasingly airing their frustrations to agents.

“Clients do ask about the seats with more legroom and but they do not want to pay for them,” said Rick Ardis, owner of Ardis Travel in East Rutherford, N.J. and an ASTA national director.  He said for agents that means spending additional time explaining the intricacies of airline policies that may not make sense to the layman. “I tell people that these days almost every seat in coach from the window exits forward will incur an extra charge.” He said he recommends clients spend the extra money to get the “more space” seats in coach, but many balk at what they see is an unfair charge. 

“For longer flights, I usually suggest they fly premium economy; it’s one less seat across, more legroom, and the service is better,” he said.

But the story isn’t over yet – despite the FAA’s refusal to take action, the DOT’s inspector general is looking into how the agency has handled the matter.  And Flyers Rights said it is considering an appeal.