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US Government Regulation of Seat Pitch?

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US Government Regulation of Seat Pitch?

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Old Dec 12, 2018, 10:05 am
  #91  
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Originally Posted by GUWonder


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.
Sadly, it may be too late to make air travel more civilized GUWonder. No one seems to be willing to pay for 'civilized' any more.

As for overcrowding and where it leads, this might interest some people.
Overpopulated Mouse Colony Perishes
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Old Dec 12, 2018, 12:16 pm
  #92  
 
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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.)
Indeed. Knowledge is power. Outside of the FT-type world, most people in the US fly probably once or twice a year, or even less frequently. They're not really aware of the differences among aircraft types or even of the general downward trend in seat sizes. Certainly those folks are not "choosing low price over comfort" in a direct, meaningful way. Bring clarity to the information provided and there may begin to be more insight into what is driving consumer choices (and those factors will vary to some extent depending on the route and other particulars). Of course equipment swaps and mixtures of aircraft types on each leg make it imperfect. But it's something, at least.
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Old Dec 12, 2018, 8:09 pm
  #93  
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Originally Posted by GUWonder
Required disclosure is regulation.
Requiring disclosure is a form of regulation, but it's regulation information/advertising, not the item (seat size) itself.

Fares are unregulated, but the law limits how they can be advertised.
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Old Dec 13, 2018, 3:43 am
  #94  
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Originally Posted by sethb
Requiring disclosure is a form of regulation, but it's regulation information/advertising, not the item (seat size) itself.

Fares are unregulated, but the law limits how they can be advertised.
Well, I would welecome a law limiting fare advertisement so as to require that no fare could be advertised for airline passenger service unless it meets minimum comfort and safety standard regulations, including mandated minimum limit requirements to seat bottom dimensions, leg space, seat recline, space between seats, widths of seat, width of armrests, movability of armrests, and so on.

Originally Posted by 84fiero
Of course equipment swaps and mixtures of aircraft types on each leg make it imperfect.
Yet another reason why “I would welecome a law limiting fare advertisement so as to require that no fare could be advertised for airline passenger service unless the service provided meets minimum comfort and safety standard regulations, including mandated minimum limit requirements to seat bottom dimensions, leg space, seat recline, space between seats, widths of seat, width of armrests, movability of armrests, and so on.” Then equipment swaps won’t be a gamble in whether or not the customers face a more miserable seat or not in the main cabin.
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