Public can comment on FAA airplane seat size rules until Nov. 1

The public has until Nov. 1 to comment to the Federal Aviation Administration on new regulations setting minimum seat sizes for airlines.

As the approaching holiday season packs more travelers into planes out of the region's airports, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) Sunday called on the public to make its feelings known to the FAA and stop shrinking seats.

At a news conference in Manhattan, Schumer said airline travelers will once again be facing the prospect of seats that “are much smaller both in width and in leg room than they were a few years ago.”

“When talking to travelers on airplanes, the number one complaint I get is how cramped the seats are, how you can’t fit yourself and anything in them and how your knees bump up,” Schumer said.

For years, the FAA’s position on the matter has been that regardless of size, if airplane seats don’t increase the evacuation time on planes beyond 90 seconds, there was no reason for them to step in and create minimum seat standards. However, pressure from consumer advocates and lawmakers caused the agency in August to consider setting regulations on minimum seat size standards.

“If they get thousands and thousands of comments, they’re much more likely to listen. But if it’s all done quietly and in secret and the airlines are whispering to the FAA ‘No one minds if they shrink their seats any further,’ they may well do it,” Schumer said, in urging the public to comment.

The public can comment to the FAA on the resolution at: https://www.regulations.gov/document/FAA-2022-1001-0001.  

Over time, the average distance between rows of seats — which is known as seat pitch, a measurement which serves as a proxy for legroom — fell from 35 inches before airline deregulation in the 1970s to about 31 inches currently, according to statistics provided by Schumer’s office. In addition, the average width for airline seats shrunk over time from 18.5 inches in the 1990s and 2000s to about17 inches today.

Airlines for America, a Washington, D.C.-based trade association and airlines lobbying group, issued a statement on Sunday to Newsday.

"Safety is, and always will be, our top priority and we support the federal government’s determination regarding what seat size is safe. The Federal Aviation Administration has affirmed that all U.S. carriers meet or exceed federal safety standards regarding seat size, and the FAA continues to approve seat configurations before they go into service," the statement said.