Originally Posted by
trektheusa
As I sat in 6A this morning, I was thinking the same thing. I think I googled it back when I encountered them in row 1 but forgot. But yes, apparently they are airbags and the sensor is a bank of seats as the other post has revealed. But I'm wondering what the idea is? I mean, they only seem to be in the bulkhead seats. Is it supposed to prevent you from bending too far forward? Since there isn't a seat to smack your head into
In 2009 new regulations limited the amount of 'head strike' force allowed in an accident. There are a few ways to meet the regs and the seat back in a normal row is designed to absorb enough force from behind (usually by folding forward) to be acceptable. The fixed bulkhead usually won't meet the standards so one solution is to fit airbags. These limit the force while allowing the seats to be close to the wall thus not giving up paying passenger space.