Bill Mandating Minimum Legroom On US Flights Was Voted On Today

by Eric

We have all been caught in the coach class crunch.  With shrinking legroom become the norm, rather than the exception, travelers riding in coach in the United States have become increasingly aware of the knees of the passenger behind them.

less-legroom

The Hill reported today on a pair of Democrats who are on the House Transportation Committee.  They tried today to make airlines provide more legroom for passengers. Reps. Janice Hahn (Calif.) and Steve Cohen (Tenn.) filed an amendment to a Federal Aviation Administration funding measure that would have required the agency to develop a minimum legroom requirement for U.S. flights.  It was voted down in 26-33 votes.  Reps. Hahn and Cohen indicated that their proposed legroom regulations were needed because airlines have reduced the average amount of space between seats from 35 to 28 inches.

For those of you so inclined, reading the full text of the proposed amendment is available here.

What is the minimum legroom you would like to see on U.S. flights?

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2 comments

02nz February 11, 2016 - 6:58 pm

Really, AVERAGE pitch has declined from 35 to 28 inches? I wasn’t around for the “good old days” of aviation (if they even existed) so I don’t know for sure what pitch was like in say the 70s, but I doubt it averaged 35 inches. The average these days is probably around 31 inches – not great, but much more humane than the 28 claimed. Spirit has planes with 28 inches of pitch, but I believe that’s as low as it goes. Even carriers that have reduced pitch by switching to slimline seats offer around 30 inches, and there are still some that offer more pitch throughout coach (e.g. 33-34 on JetBlue, 32 on Virgin America).

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CNN: Legislating minimum seat width/pitch? - FlyerTalk Forums February 11, 2016 - 9:09 pm

[…] The proposed amendment didn't make it out of committee http://pointmetotheplane.boardingare…577.1424656132 […]

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