You still have a few more weeks to tell the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) what you think about the size of airline seats. Already, though, a passenger advocacy group fears the federal government won’t take strong enough action when it comes to aircraft seating, and is therefore demanding action.
In a rulemaking petition filed this week, the non-profit organization FlyerRights, for years an advocate for larger onboard seats, called on the FAA to set minimum seat standards “that accommodate 90 to 92% of the population.”
The group cited the need for passenger safety in case of an emergency, as well as comfort and health needs as the basis for its calls for stricter seat regulations.
FlyersRights has also called for a moratorium "on further seat size shrinkage."
With regard to the 26-page rulemaking petition, FlyersRights argues it “exhaustively proves that half of adults can no longer reasonably fit in most airline seats," the organization said in a statement Friday.
The filing comes more than two months into the FAA’s three-month comment period regarding airline seats; a study that appears to be related, most centrally, to safety. It's not clear at this point whether there will, in fact, be any new rules related to seat standards.
However, FlyerRights argues that previous legislation has called for the FAA to issue requirements on seats.
An FAA spokesperson told TPG Saturday, the rulemaking petition filed by FlyersRights will be considered under the agency's rulemaking procedures. The FAA gets six months to decide whether to accept or reject the petition.
This article originally appeared in The Points Guy
Photo: ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY