HALIFAX — An airline passenger advocate says Canada need to look at establishing seat-size standards for commercial airlines.
Gabor Lukacs says an attempt by American Sen. Charles Schumer to want the U.S. government to determine seat-size standards is something that should be completed in Canada.
Lukacs said such standards are needed on Canadian flights, as cramming too many people onto an airplane poses safety risks.
“It’s an enormous safety issue,” said Lukacs from Halifax on Sunday. “Should you cram a lot of passengers in too small of the space, then some people find yourself not being able to evacuate the plane within the equivalent time (throughout an emergency).”
They’re like sardines.
Lukacs said overcrowding planes also infringes on passenger comfort, especially on lengthy flights.
“It can be very problematic,” he said. “There’s also the issue of air rage. Because seats are extremely close, you’ve people who use things like stoppers from allowing the seat in front in it to recline. It makes tension between two strangers… or even a little bit of tension can spark a fist fight.”
Lukacs said creating standards that affect all commercial airlines will bring Canada consistent with other jurisdictions, such as the Eu.
“When it comes to air passenger rights, we are very much behind the rest of the world,” said Lukacs.
Transport Canada didn’t immediately return a request comment Sunday.
The U.S. also does not have federal limits how close an airline’s row of seats can be or how wide an airline’s seat should be.
Schumer, a brand new York Democrat, says he will add an amendment to some bill that is pending before Congress that would require American Federal Aviation Administration to create the seat-size guidelines. A vote is expected in March.
Schumer said airlines have been slowly reducing legroom and seat width.
“They’re like sardines,” Schumer said of airplane passengers. “It’s no secret that airlines are looking for different options to chop costs, but they shouldn’t be cutting inches of legroom and seat width in the process … It’s here we are at the FAA to step up and stop this deep-seated problem from continuing.”
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Schumer said seat pitch, the length between a point on an airline seat and also the same spot on the seat before it, has dropped from 35 inches in the 1970s to some current average of closer to 31 inches, and seat width went from 18.5 inches to about 16.5 inches.
He argues the requirement is required to stop airlines from shrinking those numbers even more.
An FAA spokesman said agency officials “look forward to reviewing” Schumer’s proposal.
Airlines for America, an industry trade group representing an array of U.S. carriers, said hello believes the government’s role is to determine a seat size that is safe, but opposes the proposed regulation.
“We feel the federal government shouldn’t regulate, but instead market forces, which reflect consumer decisions and competition must decide what is offered,” spokeswoman Jean Medina said. “Just like any commercial service or product, customers vote every day using their wallet.”
— With files from The Associated Press
