Lords urge more air seat space

[Robbien]

Source: BBC

There must be a new minimum distance between seats on UK airlines in order to ensure passenger health and safety, an influential report says.

The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee says limited space on some carriers may stop passengers properly adopting the brace position.

It is also concerned about the risk of blood clots in more cramped seating.

Most UK airlines meet the Lords' recommended 30" (76 cm) pitch. Others, including Easyjet, do not on all seats.

. . .

A spokeswoman for Monarch, the majority of whose seats on short haul flights are 29" (73.7cm), said the airline would be "evaluating the recommendations", but stressed that roomier seats were available for a small fee.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7140002.stm

[LeftyMom]

1. I've been saying for ages this is a safety issue. The seats are too small for me and I'm 5'2".

Being cramped into seats that tiny with limited opportunity to get up and move around puts people at an unacceptable risk of blood clots.

[Gormy Cuss]

2. Average pitch on American carriers is somewhere between 31 -32" in economy

and THAT's crowded. Thirty years ago the pitch was 34" or so.

The seats are only 17" wide in many cases too (18" for others.) That's fine for a dining room chair but for three strangers seated next to each other there's not much elbow room. That's another reason why the wider pitch was useful.

[Jacobin]

3. Oh NO!! Gubmint regerlashon!!

I'm old enough to long for the days of regulation of airlines. Pre-1978 things were far better, although it is true that you couldn't fly round trip NYC to LA for $99.

[caligirl]

4. BA is 31" in economy class, I've been looking at paying the difference for

economy premium for a long haul flt to Copenhagen from San Francisco. all the reviews I read at Skytrax say its crowded there except seat 52 in the back.

[pimpbot]

5. www.seatguru.com

Your friend for choosing a seat on a plane :)

[caligirl]

6. Hey thanks. Great site. Niced to have this.