When the United States Federal Aviation Administration opened up a system for public comment on the size of airplane seats, more than 21,000 travelers chimed in to share their thoughts.
The news isn’t good. Thousands of travelers feel that the size of airplane seats has gotten unacceptably small. The effort to seek commentary from travelers was part of the FAA‘s decision-making process and setting minimum size for seats.
Although the effort has no particular timeframe, the administration wanted to get feedback from actual flyers. Clearly, people are unhappy with small seats. The size of seats has become noticeably smaller over the years, and some airplanes now accommodate 10 people across in economy class.
Bigger, More Expensive Seats
A minimum seat size might help to accommodate certain passengers with disabilities or with conditions that prevent them from fitting into a standard seat. Although larger seats might make travelers happier, they would also likely make air travel more expensive.
One of the reasons that the cost of travel has decreased over the decades is that airplanes have been able to accommodate more people. Reversing that trend could bump up the cost of a flight.
Tiny seats aren't great, but neither are expensive tickets. We’ll see what the FAA ends up doing in their new survey data.
What do you think about the size of airplane seats? Would you pay a bit more for your ticket if the seats were bigger? Have you ever hard trouble fitting into a standard seat? Let me know in the comments.
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