Overhead: Some of the proposed changes appear to respond directly to incidents aboard planes. Photo / Robert Nickelsberg, Getty Images
Overhead: Some of the proposed changes appear to respond directly to incidents aboard planes. Photo / Robert Nickelsberg, Getty Images
We can endure the flight delays and questionable in-flight meals, but if there's one thing we, the air-travelling public, can no longer stand, it's the ever-shrinking aeroplane seat.
As airlines cram more and more seats onto planes, the size of seats have accordingly grown smaller — and legroom has disappearedbefore our eyes.
Airlines have been carrying on like this with impunity. Thankfully, justice might be on the way.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which regulates civil aviation in the United States, could have to set a minimum requirement for aircraft seat width and legroom as part of a five-year extension of aviation rules.
The minimum requirements would mean seats and leg room couldn't get any smaller — and they could set the trend for aviation globally.
Leg room: The US FAA will look into seat size as part of a five-year extension of aviation rules. Photo / Getty Images
The regulations were part of a FAA funding plan being considered by US Congress this week.
Last year the FAA rejected the idea of setting minimum standards for seat width and legroom but it appears Congress is pushing the aviation authority to go ahead with it, AP reported.
And taking action on the phenomenon of "ever-shrinking seats" was something both chambers of Congress agreed on, Democratic senator Bill Nelson said.
"Relief could soon be on the way for weary airline passengers facing smaller and smaller seats," he said, reported AP.
Illegal: Dr David Dao was dramatically dragged from a flight in April last year. Photo / Facebook.com
Those weren't the only changes set out in the proposed bill, which Congress had until Sunday to agree on or extend.
It would also stop airlines from kicking passengers off overbooked flights, a practice made globally infamous with the case of David Dao, a doctor who was dramatically dragged from a United Airlines plane in April 2017.
It would ban pets from being stowed in the overhead compartment, which appeared to be in response to another infamous case from this year involving the in-flight death of a family's beloved french bulldog.
The FAA would make airlines give refunds to passengers for services not received, including if their in-flight entertainment system didn't work.
And among other provisions, it would also see pregnant passengers were boarded early.
While that would all be welcome news to flyers, the bill overlooked a key issue that was also a big gripe for passengers.
Flight regulations: The FAA will be reviewing many contentious areas of air travel. Photo / Gary Hershorn, Getty Images
The version of the bill announced on the weekend removed a provision to regulate what airlines could charge in fees, such as for baggage and seating reservations.
This year, US airlines were expected to fetch about $6.5 billion in such fees by the end of the year, the Washington Post reported.
The provision that was removed would have allowed the US Department of Transport to decide whether extra charges were "unreasonable" or out of line.
"Airline travellers are being gouged by exorbitant fees, but the airlines will stop at nothing to protect this billion-dollar profit centre," Democratic senator Edward J Markey said.
