Based on a recent report from the Center of Disease Control, From 1999 –2000 through 2017 –March 2020, US obesity prevalence increased from 30.5% to 41.9%. During the same time, the prevalence of severe obesity increased from 4.7% to 9.2%. So lets call a spade a spade folks. Americans are getting larger and the data proves it. So with our body sizes getting larger expanding our hips sideways and every which way. You would think the US airlines with your comfort in mind in economy class would make allowances and expand the width of their seats by a few inches right? Wrong!
Hard fact. Airlines care about one thing more than any other. Profitability. The way to increase profitability is to squeeze as many seats into the airplane. The real estate on those planes is fixed, you can't exactly stretch the airplane, make it larger and heavier to accommodate larger seats. What the airlines can do is make the seat width bigger by a few inches which could mean fewer seats or narrower aisle and that folks is not what airlines want to do. There is one key safety element here that goes against narrower aisles. In the event of an emergency the aircraft needs to be evacuated within 90 seconds.
So who exactly is advocating on behalf of the consumer? Back in 2018 the US Congress had set a 1 year timeline for the Federal Aviation Administration to define the minimum seat dimensions for US carriers. The advocacy group FlyersRights had its petition rejected by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2022 to force the FAA to adopt the recommended seat dimension minimums.
Why was it rejected?
The three panel judges rejected the claim that "tight seating materially slowed emergency exits and posed medical risks such as blood clots". Everyone acknowledges the current seat dimensions in economy can be uncomfortable, but courts and FAA will not project that to safety concerns, hence no law is in place to mandate any standards. This gives the airlines a free hand in planting what ever size seats on board to maximize revenue without eroding customer experience substantively. The airlines have got passengers by the butt. If there is only one carrier that flies between point A and B and that is your only option to fly on a cramped seat, tough! oh or pay the premium and buy two seats or buy a business or first class seat.
It's interesting though that the FAA can mandate seat belts during take off and landing which in theory can also delay emergency evacuations but not mandate minimum seat sizes where larger passengers may struggle exiting a cramped seat and cause a evacuation bottleneck. Kudos to FlyerRights for sticking up for the millions of customers who have to suffer the indignation of this situation.
Seat Pitch, recline and width
Whilst so far we have been discussing width of seats to accommodate larger Americans. It is equally important to understand how seat pitch and recline can impact the quality of your trip. If you have long legs chances are you will need a good seat pitch (A). Whether the seat reclines (B) or not could be also a key comfort factor on longer flights. When you are researching the best seats in the cabin i highly recommend Seatguru web site which has a comprehensive compendium of data to help you locate the best seat on the plane.
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