Consumer Protection

CFA Tells the FAA to Increase Seat Sizes on Airplanes

Four years after a mandate from Congress, the Federal Aviation Administration finally created an opportunity for the public to comment on the safety of airline seat sizes. Instead of taking a holistic approach to the ways in which smaller seats affect the health and safety of passengers, the FAA relies on an evacuation study which concludes that current seat sizes are safe for 99% of the flying public in an evacuation. Alarmingly, this study excluded people with disabilities, people with small children, and people over the age of 60. The study also dismissed over 60 people for whom the seats were prohibitively small and could not fit into the seats. CFA partnered with coalition advocates to tell the FAA why it should prohibit smaller seats and rethink its approach to ensure that airplane seats are safe for consumers of all sizes, abilities and ages.