Crewed Talk: The DOT Knows Cabins Are Cramped, But Will They Ever Do Anything About It? Maybe! Here’s Why!

You know how in some sci-fi movies, when a ship is traveling for light years through space, the characters onboard go to sleep in a pod until they reach their destination? Well sometimes, when I’m working coach, I watch passengers board — people elbowing each other for bin space and fretting over seat assignments — and I imagine a flight where everyone gets put into the same sort of “transit sleep” upon boarding, only to later awaken when the plane lands.  I think we’d serve you a meal first, that’d be nice, which would deliver the sleep chemical. Then it’s a sea of zzzzz; a cabin packed with rows and rows of happy, loll-headed passengers.

This is my fantasy solution for the state of Personal Allocated Space Per Passenger. Did you know that’s a thing? Yes, believe it or not, the Department of Transportation (DOT) is looking into how tightly the airlines keep packing you in! A press release from American Airlines’ flight attendant union (APFA) brought this to my attention, as it gave testimony to the DOT’s Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protection (ACACP) on the matter.

Normally, when someone complains to me that flight attendants “should serve as passenger advocates,” my response is something like: “We’re kinda busy fighting our own battles, like for food and enough sleep” and/or “You think they listen to us more than they listen to you? Bless.” But today I get to point out proof of my third answer (“Often, we are.”) and highlight the fact that our interests often align.

While passengers speak about comfort when seat space comes up, the APFA’s testimony shows it’s about a lot more than that — stuff the DOT is literally built to care about, such as the following:

Egress & Accidents

Reduced passenger space is a hindrance to evacuation. All airplanes and staffing levels are tested to produce a 90-second evacuation with half of the exits blocked. That test has not changed, but the real life situation has. It’s not just about seat pitch (for which, the APFA notes, the previous standard is now sold as a premium main cabin experience).

Reduced Allocated Passenger Space is partnered with other changes. Passengers’ attention is now hoarded by electronic devices, and the cabin sees more carry-on luggage than ever.Way more. In a real accident, these items would pile onto footpaths and tumble onto heads. Furthermore, recent incidents show over and over again that many passengers stubbornly protect those items instead of a speedy, life-and-death evacuation. Evacuation trials do not reflect any of this reality.

In the 1980s, FAA research proved that the “brace position” — when passengers put their heads down and wrap arms around their knees — can reduce fatalities and serious injuries during an accident. With seatbacks too close, I cannot even twist into the brace position on some aircraft, and I’m only 5’4 and slim! How in the world would anybody larger get into the same position in an emergency? That’s a demonstrable issue.

Air Rage

We all hear enough news reports to know what we’re talking about here. The relation between “air rage” and the current, continuing trend of reducing passenger space has been discussed all over the place. I can personally confirm that these incidents are vastly underreported.

Frankly, if a crew manages to get an “air rage” situation under control, we usually just let it go and get on with our day. Why? Because offenders tend to either get off lightly or punishment-free altogether. That’s a-whole-nother topic – for today, just know it happens even a lot more than you know.

Medical Assistance

The APFA said that American Airlines alone averages 25 in-flight medical incidents per day. Again, I can attest from first-hand experience that when it comes to responding to ill passengers, space to treat them is a concern in a way it has never has been before.Remember when I had two medical emergencies at once on a loaded 757 to Europe? There was literally nowhere to place or properly access one passenger, never mind two.

In that situation, the crowding issue was exacerbated by the fact that we had to make passengers clear a row of seats so one of the men had a place to lie down where a doctor could get beside him (and he still struggled to do so). There was simply no where for the removed passengers to resettle. It was ridiculous.

What is clear is that the airlines’ love of packing people in has more consequences than a bit of discomfort. Disappointingly, no one has asked me to give testimony about my amazing “transit sleep” idea. That’s cool — as long as the ACACP will do something about a cabin so crammed we might as well call it “The Ragemaker” or something equally appropriate.

Come on, DOT! It looks like you’re our only hope.

[Photo: iStock]