A United Airlines passenger said he was thrilled about being served a first-class manicotti meal in an economy-plus seat — until he says it almost landed him on a no-fly list.
27.07.2023 - 18:53 / smartertravel.com / Delta Ceo / Tim Winship
Tired of squeezing your ever-expanding frame into those ever-shrinking coach-class seats? So is Tennessee Congressman Steve Cohen, a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on Aviation. And he wants the government to do something about it.
In his proposed legislation, the Safe Egress in Air Travel Act of 2016, or SEAT, Cohen is taking a novel tack in arguing for more capacious seating. Rather than whine about discomfort or claustrophobia—complaints that have gotten no traction with either airlines or legislators—he stresses the relationship between seat size and both safety and health.
Consumers are tired of being squeezed both physically and fiscally by airlines. Shrinking seat sizes isn’t just a matter of comfort but safety and health as well. The Federal Aviation Administration requires that planes be capable of rapid evacuation in case of emergency, yet they haven’t conducted emergency evacuation tests on all of today’s smaller seats. Doctors have also warned that deep vein thrombosis can afflict passengers who can’t move their legs during longer flights.
RELATED: Airlines to Harried Flyers: ‘Relax, Have a Pretzel’
Cohen plans to introduce SEAT as an amendment to the pending FAA reauthorization bill. The Act, if approved, would not itself define the minimum seat dimensions. Rather, it calls for the Secretary of Transportation to establish the minimums, within one year of the Act’s passage.
The Congressman claims that seat pitch, the distance between rows, has decreased from 35 inches in the 1970s to 31 inches today, and seat width has decreased from 18 inches to 16.5 inches.
What Cohen didn’t mention was the other half of the equation: Even as seating has become tighter, passengers have been getting taller and heavier. That’s a sure recipe for discomfort. And it raises legitimate safety and health concerns as well, as Cohen warns. We’ll see whether Congress agrees or not.
Reader Reality Check
Is it time the government put a stop to the airlines’ seat squeeze?
More from SmarterTravel: JetBlue Cuts Legroom, Doubles Down on Distraction Flyers’ Surprising Reaction to Delta CEO’s Departure Unlimited Flying from $1,500 – Is It for You?After 20 years working in the travel industry, and 15 years writing about it, Tim Winship knows a thing or two about travel. Follow him on Twitter @twinship.
We hand-pick everything we recommend and select items through testing and reviews. Some products are sent to us free of charge with no incentive to offer a favorable review. We offer our unbiased opinions and do not accept compensation to review products. All items are in stock and prices are accurate at the time of publication. If you buy something through our links, we may
A United Airlines passenger said he was thrilled about being served a first-class manicotti meal in an economy-plus seat — until he says it almost landed him on a no-fly list.
United Airlines recently introduced new, more high-tech first-class seats on some of its U.S. routes—the first update to its domestic first-class product since 2015.
Thompson Seattle has long been my go-to hotel in downtown Seattle, just steps away from Pike’s Place Market and with an excellent restaurant (Conversation Kitchen & Bar), and a spectacular 4,500-square-foot rooftop bar (The Nest) from which you can survey the city’s iconic PNW landscape. This luxury boutique hotel has upped its own ante with the opening of two new 1,000 square-foot penthouse suites that have unparalleled views of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains from the 12th floor and are decked out with local artwork and other design touches.
Ever since Delta began ramping up operations in Seattle, Alaska Airlines’ hometown and main flight hub, the relationship between the two airlines has been disintegrating. And there was plenty to disintegrate. The carriers were long-time partners in each other’s frequent-flyer programs, and they code-shared on a host of flights. They were, in the industry vernacular, preferred marketing partners.
U.S. commuters wasted 8 billion hours sitting in traffic last year.
In April, when the FAA removed restrictions on additional flights at Newark Liberty International Airport, the hope was that other airlines would increase their share of the airport’s flights, in the process eroding United’s dominance and near-monopoly pricing in that important market.
Enter the Cupcake Vineyards “Treat Today” sweepstakes by March 15, 2016, for a chance to win the grand prize: a five-day trip for two to the 2016 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, including air, hotel, airport transfers, and event passes. Runner-up prizes include $100 and $50 gift cards.
How much should you expect to spend to visit each of the largest 100 U.S. cities?
The Christmas travel season is upon us. While perhaps not as narrow and intense as the Thanksgiving holiday, Christmas is nevertheless an extremely busy time of year at airports across the country. In addition to an influx of travelers, late December is infamous for throwing weather curveballs that can further snarl already maxed-out airline operations.
If you’re reading this post while waiting for your departure from Seattle, chances are it loaded quickly. That’s because Seattle-Tacoma International has the fastest airport Wi-Fi in the country, according to a new study by Speedtest.
Delta is all in on Seattle.
Free meals in coach? Holy throwback!