There is truly some goodwill here, some noble intentions.
But it will never fly, pardon the pun.
Congressman Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation, and Congressman Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) will reintroduce the Seat Egress in Air Travel (SEAT) Act early next year during the new Congress.
The SEAT Act would establish a minimum seat size on commercial airlines as well as a minimum distance between rows of seats to protect the safety and health of airline passengers during a rapid evacuation in the event of an emergency.
That there is bipartisan support for something as important as airline safety certainly is admirable. Between Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Congressman Bill Shuster (R-Penn.), and now lawmakers Cohen and Kinzinger, there has never been a time with more scrutiny of the airlines and aviation. That includes safety measures and policy measures alike.
But I will play devil's advocate here for a moment and tell you why this particular initiative, the SEAT Act, won't fly with the airlines and their powerful lobbyists.
It's a two-act play.
First, to a far lesser extent - and as awful as this might sound - all the room in the world on an airplane might not make a difference in an emergency. Look no further than the most recent large aircraft evacuations, including Asiana 214 in San Francisco in 2013, British Airways 2276 in Las Vegas in 2015, and, earlier this summer, the crash-landing of Emirates 521 in Dubai. They all shared a very dangerous scenario - after or during each evacuation, passengers were captured on film and video retrieving their personal items, carry-ons, even luggage.
Insane, yes. But if I'm an airline executive, I'm darn sure playing that card if the SEAT Act started to get some support. If there's currently enough room to stand up and block the aisles and slow the process as passengers grab their personal items instead of immediately evacuating the plane, then there's more than enough room for a speedy exit when done properly and quickly.
Second, it's all about the Benjamins. The average distance between rows of seats is about 31 inches; the average distance of the width of the seat itself is between 16.5 and 18 inches. Airlines aren't looking to make those economy fare seats with any extra length for your legs or width for your caboose; they're looking to even further decrease the size of the seat.
It's simple mathematics, really.
Reduce the size of enough seats and you can add in another row of seats, whether that's two in the back, or four across or even six across. Even two extra seats nets an airline, at an average cost of $250 per seat for a round trip, a total of $500 one way. Or $1,000 every roundtrip. Or $7,000 a week on just one flight a day. Or $364,000 a year.
Throw in your ancillary fees and you're talking a half-a-million dollars a year. For. One. Flight.
No, no. Not going to happen.
As much as the congressmen have their hearts and intentions in the right place, the airlines have had their most profitable years ever of late. You can all but bet they won't be going backward when it comes to revenue.
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