Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a senior member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and its Subcommittee on Aviation, today submitted a joint comment letter to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) seeking to ensure that it takes into consideration the demographics of all members of the flying public before promulgating a rule on minimum seat dimensions for airplane seats that are necessary for passenger safety. He was joined by 24 members of the House of Representatives..
The SEAT Act, included in the 2018 FAA Reauthorization Act and authored by Congressman Cohen, directed the FAA to establish minimum seat size and distance between rows of seats on commercial aircraft to protect the safety of the flying public after a notice and comment period. It also included a provision to review the evacuation certification of transport-category aircraft used in air transportation and report the results to Congress, both to be completed within one year.
After missing the deadline, the FAA finally released the results of its study in March 2022 and acknowledged the study did not use an accurate sample of the flying public by omitting passengers who were younger than 18, older than 60, overweight or handicapped, in addition to missing factors such as lap children, service animals and hand luggage. The letter submitted for public comment demands that all the aforementioned factors be considered before establishing minimum seat size dimensions that could potentially be smaller than current standards due to its flawed study
The letter reads in part:
“Unsurprisingly, when the FAA finally released results from the CAMI study in March 2022, it found that ‘seat size and spacing did not adversely affect the success of emergency evacuations.’ While these results are to be expected from such a deeply flawed study, it is concerning that they may be used as guidance for future decisions that will impact the health and safety of the flying public…
“The average width of an airline seat has also shrunk from 18 inches to about 16 ½ inches. While seat sizes have been shrinking, the average size of Americans has been growing...
“We are encouraged that over 20,000 comments have already been filed by flying passengers around the country, many of whom have articulated the miserably dreadful experience these small seats provide. We urge the FAA to use due diligence to comprehensively analyze how minimum seat dimensions impact all passengers’ health and safety, including every demographic that was not represented…”
See the entire letter here.
The letter was signed by Congressman Cohen and Representatives Adriano Espaillat, Albio Sires, Alma S. Adams, André Carson, Andy Levin, Barbara Lee, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Brad Sherman, Dina Titus, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Grace Meng, Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr., James R. Langevin, Jan Schakowsky, Jerrold Nadler, Jesus G. “Chuy” Garcia, Judy Chu, Karen Bass, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Mark DeSaulnier, Michael F. Doyle, Raúl M. Grijalva, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Stephen F. Lynch
It is also supported by American Economic Liberties Project and Consumer Federation of America.
Original source can be found here.
