By Sonya Sondhi
The golden days of air travel are long gone. The double decker 747’s that used to crisscross the globe in the 1980’s and 1990’s – the first jumbo jets, with their smooth ride and decent seat pitch – were taken out of service by many U.S. airlines in 2017. Replacing them were smaller planes, A380s and B787s, which boast both increased fuel efficiency and fewer seats.[1] Generally, that would seem to indicate these planes could have seats that may be slightly larger or more comfortable, but that could not be further from the truth.
As air travel has evolved, seats have decreased in size so that airlines can squeeze more passengers onto already crowded planes. Anyone who has flown on a plane within the last five years knows this has led to less legroom and decreased the ability to recline and possibly get a little shuteye. These seats have also made it difficult for passengers to get on and off planes, concerning flight crews about emergency evacuations.[2] A new seat design by Italian design firm AvioInteriors takes the concept of seat efficiency to places it has never been before.[3]
At the Paris Air Show this year, the company showed off its new Skyrider 3.0 seat to journalists and members of the aviation industry. These seats appear to be no more than several inches apart and boast a seat reminiscent of a bicycle saddle. That is just what it is – a bicycle saddle with a back. This leaves passengers almost standing rather than sitting. The seats did not go over well with members of the aviation industry and journalists, despite the trend of shrinking seats.[4] This may lead travelers and the general public to wonder why the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) has yet to step in.
The distance between rows of seats, otherwise known as seat pitch, has been a contentious issue for years. In 2017, the FAA was ordered by a federal court to “consider regulating minimum seat dimensions.”[5] In response to the court order and lawsuit by the group Flyers Rights, the FAA said[6] that shrinking seats do not pose a safety issue for passengers, and thus the regulatory body would be declining to regulate seat width and pitch. Flyers Rights had sued the FAA, alleging that seat size posed an issue during emergency situations, especially for “larger passengers.”[7] In response to the FAA’s letter ruling, Flyers Rights said that the small seats on aircraft could lead to “stiff and sore joints” and possibly life-threatening blood clots for passengers.[8]
In July 2019, members of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants testified before the House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee explaining that smaller seats on airplanes are an uncomfortable safety risk, and are difficult for passengers to get into or out of.[9] Now, Congress has mandated that the FAA set minimum standards for seat pitch, width, and length for passenger safety.[10] It is expected that these regulations will be set out some time within 2019.[11]
In the meantime, journalists in the aviation industry have voiced concerns about the size and comfort of the Skyrider model shown at the Paris Air Show. Several said that they were unable to even fit into the seats and wondered what made the company design such a “torture chamber.”[12] Some even begged airlines not to install them.[13]
Up until this time, it is unclear whether any airline has committed to these teeny tiny seats. At least one model of the seats had a pitch of just 23 inches. For reference, seat pitch in economy class on many airlines across the globe hovers somewhere around 30 inches. That is a difference of seven inches. This seven inch difference is likely to exacerbate potential health problems for passengers.[14]
Those who fly often know the struggle with a 30 inch seat pitch. You get on a plane hoping to maybe get some sleep before you get to your destination. Instead, you get to your seat and try to sit down but you are unable to without some maneuvering. Your seat is so narrow once you sit down, that if you try to do a lumbar twist you hit the seat in front of you. After sitting for an hour and a half to two hours, your joints begin to hurt. There is no way you can relax or sleep without your joints talking to you.[15]
The anecdote above is what happens with a 30 inch seat pitch. Now try to imagine the same scenario with a 23 inch seat pitch. Instead of hitting the seat back in front of you, you may end up with a bruised elbow or bruise the passenger in front of you. Good luck trying to sit down or even get some sleep. The moment you sit down, the saddle seat ends up pressing on your bladder and you now have to go to the lavatory, which you were hoping to avoid until after the second beverage service. You try to get up and end up grabbing the hair of the passenger seated right in front of you, while trying to get some leverage to get out of your very cramped seat.[16]
Aside from increased bladder pressure, these seats could put pressure on people’s reproductive organs or bowels, causing many issues. People who travel significantly for work could deal with weeks of discomfort. Individuals with hemorrhoids may be in extreme discomfort when flying. Those who do not have hemorrhoids will likely develop saddle sores. Pregnant individuals may be in extreme pain as the seats may cause pressure on their bladders and bowels.
Another issue with these seats is the possibility of the spread of communicable diseases.[17] With a 23 inch seat pitch, passengers will be closer than ever. Thus, if the passenger in 11A has a cold or some other potentially serious virus passed via droplets, and sneezes, they could infect the passenger sitting behind them in 12A very easily. Now, once the passenger seated in 12A disembarks or reaches their destination, they could potentially spread the virus they were exposed to, to others, until it is widespread in a community, causing an outbreak.[18]
It is imperative that the FAA regulate seat pitch for passenger safety and well-being. The FAA should mandate seat pitches so that airlines increase the space between their seats and ensure seats with a 23 inch pitch are not installed on any airlines. Increasing the pitch between seats will mean that passengers’ joints will not hurt and that they will not have difficulty entering or exiting their seats. This will also increase the likelihood that aircraft can be evacuated in 90 seconds or less with more ease.[19]
The congressional mandate that the FAA regulate seat pitch could not come at a better time. AvioInteriors new seat design has pushed the limit on seat pitch too far. The seats could pose issues not just for passenger safety, but also passenger health and well-being. Regulation needs to be imposed so that these horrendous seats do not become a reality.
Sonya Sondhi is a 2L student at Suffolk University Law School and a staff member on the Journal of Health and Biomedical Law. Sonya is interested in compliance, healthcare law, trusts and estates, employment, and business law.
Sources
747 Timeline, Boeing-747.com, (2017), https://www.boeing-747.com/747_timeline.php
Jon Ostrower, Boeing’s 747 jumbo passenger plane is on the way out, CNN Business, (July 19, 2017), https://money.cnn.com/2017/07/19/news/companies/the-last-747-jumbo-jetliner/index.html
Ben Mutzabaugh, United Airlines completes its last Boeing 747 flight, USA Today, (Nov. 8, 2017) https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/todayinthesky/2017/11/07/united-airlines-final-boeing-747-flight-today/838922001/
Robert Wall, The Last 747: Airlines Dump the Jumbo Jet, Transforming International Travel, Wall St. J., (Dec. 29, 2018), https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-last-747-airlines-dump-the-jumbo-jet-transforming-international-travel-11546059601
Gregory Wallace, Flight attendant union calls cramped airplane seats ‘torture’, CNN, (July 17, 2019), https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/17/politics/airplane-seat-torture/index.html
Charlie Sorrel, World’s Most Cramped Airline Seat to Launch Next Week, WIRED, (Sept. 13, 2010), https://www.wired.com/2010/09/worlds-most-cramped-airline-seat-to-launch-next-week/
Jennifer Newton, ‘Stand up’ aircraft seats are branded ‘torture’ and a ‘no go’ after being trialled by aviation experts, Daily Mail, (June 24, 2019), https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-7175387/Stand-aircraft-seats-branded-torture-no-trialled-aviation-experts.html
Amy Held, FAA To Passengers: Not Our Job To Regulate Seat Size, Legroom On Planes, NPR, (July 5, 2018), https://www.npr.org/2018/07/05/626090518/faa-to-scrunched-passengers-sardine-seats-won-t-be-regulated
Elliott Hester, Feeling Cramped in an airline coach seat? You should, and this flight attendant tells you why, Los Angeles Times, (Dec. 22, 2017), https://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-fly-guy-20171224-story.html
Seat Pitch Guide, Skytrax, (2019), https://www.airlinequality.com/info/seat-pitch-guide/
Alexandra Mangili et al., Infectious Risks of Air Travel, 3 Microbology Spectrum 5 (2015).
14 C.F.R. §25.803 (2019)
Flyers Rights Educ. Fund, Inc. v. FAA, 864 F.3d 738 (D.C. Cir. 2017)
Letter from Dorenda D. Baker, Executive Director of Aircraft Certification Service of FAA to Paul Hudson, President of FlyersRights.org, (July 2, 2018), available at http://files.constantcontact.com/7a85813b001/d1d4f4f1-9864-46a2-a056-69180fe2f2ed.pdf
[1] See Robert Wall, The Last 747: Airlines Dump the Jumbo Jet, Transforming International Travel, Wall St. J., (Dec. 29, 2018); Jon Ostrower, Boeing’s 747 Jumbo Passenger Plane is on the Way Out, CNN Business, (July 19, 2017); Ben Mutzabaugh, United Airlines Completes Its Last Boeing 747 Flight, USA Today, (Nov. 8, 2017)
[2] See Gregory Wallace, Flight Attendant Union Calls Cramped Airplane Seats ‘Torture’, CNN, (July 17, 2019). Flight crews are particularly concerned about evacuating aircraft during emergency scenarios, which by federal regulations, must be evacuated in 90 seconds or less. Id.
[3] See Charlie Sorrel, World’s Most Cramped Airline Seat to Launch Next Week, WIRED, (Sept. 13, 2010); Gregory Wallace, Flight Attendant Union Calls Cramped Airplane Seats ‘Torture’, CNN, (July 17, 2019); Elliott Hester, Feeling Cramped in an Airline Coach Seat? You Should, and This Flight Attendant Tells You Why, Los Angeles Times, (Dec. 22, 2017)
[4] See Jennifer Newton, ‘Stand Up’ Aircraft Seats Are Branded ‘Torture’ and a ‘No Go’ After Being Trialled By Aviation Experts, Daily Mail, (June 24, 2019)
[5] See Flyers Rights Educ. Fund, Inc. v. FAA, 864 F.3d 738 (D.C. Cir. 2017); Jackie Wattles, Judges Order FAA to Review Airplane Seat Sizes, CNN Business, (July 29, 2017); Gregory Wallace, Flight Attendant Union Calls Cramped Airplane Seats ‘Torture’, CNN, (July 17, 2019)
[6] In a letter responding to the lawsuit, the FAA indicated it would not be regulating seat pitch. See Letter from Dorenda D. Baker, Executive Director of Aircraft Certification Service of FAA to Paul Hudson, President of FlyersRights.org, (July 2, 2018), available at http://files.constantcontact.com/7a85813b001/d1d4f4f1-9864-46a2-a056-69180fe2f2ed.pdf; Amy Held, FAA to Passengers: Not Our Job to Regulate Seat Size, Legroom on Planes, NPR, (July 5, 2018)
[7] See Amy Held, FAA to Passengers: Not Our Job to Regulate Seat Size, Legroom on Planes, NPR, (July 5, 2018)
[8] Id.
[9] Gregory Wallace, Flight Attendant Union Calls Cramped Airplane Seats ‘Torture’, CNN, (July 17, 2019)
[10] FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, Pub. L. No. 115-524 §577, 132 Stat. 3186 (2018); Gregory Wallace, Flight Attendant Union Calls Cramped Airplane Seats ‘Torture’, CNN, (July 17, 2019)
[11] Gregory Wallace, Flight Attendant Union Calls Cramped Airplane Seats ‘Torture’, CNN, (July 17, 2019)
[12] Kathryn Creedy, quoted in Jennifer Newton, ‘Stand Up’ Aircraft Seats Are Branded ‘Torture’ and a ‘No Go’ After Being Trialled By Aviation Experts, Daily Mail, (June 24, 2019)
[13] Jennifer Newton, ‘Stand Up’ Aircraft Seats Are Branded ‘Torture’ and a ‘No Go’ After Being Trialled By Aviation Experts, Daily Mail, (June 24, 2019)
[14] Seat Pitch Guide, Skytrax, (2019)
[15] See generally Elliott Hester, Feeling Cramped in an Airline Coach Seat? You Should, and This Flight Attendant Tells You Why, Los Angeles Times, (Dec. 22, 2017); Gregory Wallace, Flight Attendant Union Calls Cramped Airplane Seats ‘Torture’, CNN, (July 17, 2019)
[16] See generally Elliott Hester, Feeling Cramped in an Airline Coach Seat? You Should, and This Flight Attendant Tells You Why, Los Angeles Times, (Dec. 22, 2017); Gregory Wallace, Flight Attendant Union Calls Cramped Airplane Seats ‘Torture’, CNN, (July 17, 2019)
[17] See Alexandra Mangili et al., Infectious Risks of Air Travel, 3 Microbology Spectrum 5 (2015).
[18] See id.
[19] See 14 C.F.R. §25.803 (2019)
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this blog are the views of the author alone and do not represent the views of JHBL or Suffolk University Law School.