Originally Posted by
Rebelyell
At the very least, if airlines are going to be allowed to fly with these super-narrow seats then we need some system that will provide statutory damages to those who suffer seat encroachment from obese flyers. The airlines should be required to provide passengers with a specific procedure to follow when dealing with a seat encroacher, and passengers who are harmed should get automatic and substantial damages of say $10,000 per incident. This will cause the airlines to address the issue.
Hear, hear! A standard Economy Class seat width across all airlines would also make it easier for someone who's heavy (but not 400 lbs) to know in advance if they will actually fit in the seat. With economy class seat widths varying as much as they do, right now for the average person it's a guess (because they don't know about Seat Guru, and because equipment changes are a Thing). I don't want to buy a second seat because I thought the economy class seat on flight 1234 was going to be 16.8" inches wide, only to discover that in fact it's 17.5" or 18" wide and I fit it just fine. I also don't want to squish my fellow passengers because I guessed wrong.