Originally Posted by
sethb
I don't believe that seat size should be regulated. I do believe that it should be revealed. Perhaps require that any airline ad specify the minimum seat size for what it's advertising (e.g. if it's advertising a low fare from NYC-LAX, it must include the minimum seat size for any seat at that fare). Let *knowledgeable* customers decide.
Years ago airlines advertised fares bogusly ("one way based on a round trip, taxes and fees additional"). That was stopped by law. (I'd love to see the same done to hotels now, but that's a different issue.)
Required disclosure is regulation.
I would welcome more minimum comfort and safety standard regulations applicable to airlines, and that should include mandated minimum requirements to seat bottom dimensions, leg space, seat recline, space between seats, widths of seat, width of armrests, movability of armrests, and so on. The government enabling better ability for consumers to engage in comparison shopping is important, but so are better minimum standards applicable to flight seating, lavatories as aisle space. Once the passengers comfort/safety/security baseline is raised, the airlines’ “race to the bottom” won’t only be undermined, it will also enable consumers to shop knowing better the basics of what the airline is selling them and to engage more easily in better comparison shopping upon the basics alone.
It’s been shown that rats become much more aggressive when subjected to overcrowding. I doubt passengers become less aggressive due to the kind of plane overcrowding foisted upon passengers by the airlines. Regulations are part and parcel of civilization. It’s not too late to try to make air travel more civilized.