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CNN: Legislating minimum seat width/pitch?

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CNN: Legislating minimum seat width/pitch?

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Old Feb 11, 2016, 8:00 am
  #1  
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CNN: Legislating minimum seat width/pitch?

A U.S. Representative has proposed minimum standards for airline seats, basing his argument more on safety during an evacuation than comfort. Full article on cnn.com here.

(I urge posters not to digress into their opinions of the role of government in regulating private enterprise, lest this thread be shut down or moved to OMNI/PR.)
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Old Feb 11, 2016, 8:42 am
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It's not as though this requires legislation. If it's what consumers want, air carriers will provide it. But, they don't. They want cheap seats. That translates into more passengers crammed into the same number of cubic feet and thus less width/pitch.

Why do people purchase Y in cramped aircraft which they hate when F is available? Because it's cheaper?

Why do they purchase "basic" fares with no seat assignments when they could book aisle seats forward? Because it's cheaper?

Why aren't there two full meals served in Y on TCON flights when there are on TATL? Because consumers want cheaper fares.
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Old Feb 11, 2016, 9:09 pm
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The proposed amendment didn't make it out of committee

http://pointmetotheplane.boardingare...577.1424656132
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Old Feb 12, 2016, 3:14 pm
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Originally Posted by Often1
It's not as though this requires legislation. If it's what consumers want, air carriers will provide it. But, they don't. They want cheap seats. That translates into more passengers crammed into the same number of cubic feet and thus less width/pitch.

Why do people purchase Y in cramped aircraft which they hate when F is available? Because it's cheaper?

Why do they purchase "basic" fares with no seat assignments when they could book aisle seats forward? Because it's cheaper?

Why aren't there two full meals served in Y on TCON flights when there are on TATL? Because consumers want cheaper fares.
^^
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Old Feb 13, 2016, 7:51 am
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This is just political grandstanding.
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Old Feb 14, 2016, 2:07 pm
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I can see the safety angle, and there are already regulations about seat pitch at exit rows.

Probably a faster way to get airlines to stop the squeeze would be to adjust the regulation on minimum number of FAs - perhaps 1:40 instead of 1:50.
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Old Feb 15, 2016, 4:29 am
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Originally Posted by Often1
It's not as though this requires legislation. If it's what consumers want, air carriers will provide it. But, they don't. They want cheap seats.
I don't.

And if there weren't super cramped, super cheap seats available, consumers would adjust.
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