14/02/2016

LawmakerloseswaragainstsmallairlineseatsCNN.com

Congressman loses battle in war on shrinking airline seats

By Thom Patterson, CNN
Updated 2143 GMT (0543 HKT) February 11, 2016

9 photos: 7 terrifying airplane seat patents

9 photos: 7 terrifying airplane seat patents

Is this the future of flying? With

New Airbus patent Airbus

airlines under pressure to slash fares and cram in ever more people without

extending cabin space, passengers might soon be stacked on top of each other -- literally. This is our

hellish
version. Click on to see what real aviation engineers are coming up with.

1 of 9

Hide Caption

Story highlights
Proposal to stop shrinking airline seats gets
shot down 26-33
Amendment defeated in a House committee
vote
Home
Congressman says he's not giving up

has offered a chilling glimpse

patent that envisages two rows of seats layered on to

provides a high level of comfort for the passengers" w

2 of 9

(CNN)A congressional soldier fighting a war against shrinking airline seats lost a battle in the U.S. House Thursday.
In a 26-33 vote, a House committee defeated legislation that would have mandated size standards for airline passenger
seats. "I am disappointed," Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, said in a statement. "This was a vote against the safety and
health of airline passengers."
Cohen says that seat width on U.S. airliners "has shrunk from 18 inches in the 1970s to about 16.5 inches today."
The issue, he says, is more about safety than comfort. He says the Federal Aviation Administration is putting passengers
at risk because there hasn't been adequate emergency evacuation testing of airline seating with rows set with pitch under
29 inches. "Pitch" is the distance between any point on one seat to the same point on the seat in front.
The vote came as the House transportation committee was voting on amendments to a bill to fund the FAA.

Cohen wants the FAA to study seat safety regarding size and then, if necessary, issue minimum or specific seat sizes as a mandated federal industry standard.
Before the vote, other committee members said the existing bill already included provisions to evaluate airline evacuations. But Cohen said in general, airline seats are "hard to
get out of" and "they keep getting smaller and smaller."
"We're down to four major carriers and they do what they want," Cohen said, referring to recent mergers of the nation's large airlines.
In response, Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Illinois, told Cohen, "I think we got to the root of the issue as a whole. It's your issue with the airline industry."
The powerful Washington airline lobbying group Airlines for America opposes the idea. In a statement on Wednesday, the group said, "... the government should not regulate,
but instead market forces, which reflect consumer decisions, and competition should determine what is offered. ... And as with any commercial product or service, customers
vote every day with their wallet."
Cohen said he isn't planning to give up his crusade. He's promising to try to add it to the bill again when it comes to the floor of the House.

How is this not World War III?

Russian PM: It's 'new Cold War'
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/02/11/aviation/proposedairlineseatsizelaw/index.html

1/2

14/02/2016

LawmakerloseswaragainstsmallairlineseatsCNN.com

Jumoke Orisaguna: How a photobomb created a star

Tiger intended to mate, gets mauled to death

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/02/11/aviation/proposedairlineseatsizelaw/index.html

2/2