PLANE seats could get bigger if they are found to be inhibiting quick evacuation procedures.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are to conduct tests in the US to evaluate plane seating safety.
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The tests will analyse how how fast passengers can evacuate a plane in setting minimum seat sizes for the first time.
The FAA will conduct evacuation tests with 720 people over 12 days in November, Deputy Administrator Dan Elwell said at a US House hearing on Thursday.
He said: “Americans are getting bigger and seat size is important but it has to be looked at in the context of safety.
“We are going to get you an answer on seat pitch.”
Seat pitch – the distance from one seat back to the next – on low-cost US carriers such as Spirit Airlines Inc and Frontier Airlines are among the smallest at 28 inches in economy.
UK airline Ryanair currently has 30 inches while easyJet has 29 inches.
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Current rules say airlines must be able to evacuate passengers within 90 seconds and do not set requirements on seat size.
US Congress passed a law in October 2018 directing the FAA to set minimum seat standards for pitch, width and length for passenger safety within one year.
Dan said: “Later this year we’re gong to establish the necessary seat pitch, width length based on safety.”
In July 2018 – before the legislation was passed – the FAA said in response to a petition filed with a federal appeals court that it would not regulate seat size.
Airlines margins could suffer if they had to reconfigure planes to create more space.
Representative Paul Mitchell, a Republican who is 6″2 and 17 stone in weight, said at the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing: “I am not exactly a dainty guy. Why don’t you look around the room?
“There’s a lot of not so dainty people. I am not sure the models are being used really reflect current air travellers.”
American Airlines and United Airlines are configuring many of their newest aircraft at 30 inches of seat pitch, while adding premium economy seats at 34 inches.
Earlier this month, Delta Air Lines Inc Chief Executive Ed Bastian defended coach seats in an appearance before the Economic Club of Washington.
He said: “The legroom is fine. What you find when you’re flying coach is its more entertaining. So, you don’t worry about your leg room.”
He added that the seats may seem smaller because planes are more crowded.
You could soon be forced to stand on a flight, thanks to a new seat design called the Skyrider 3.0.
However, it hasn’t yet passed government standards.
A different plane design could see made the middle seat extra wider and be set further back than the aisle and window seat.
