Aviation attorney Jim Brauchle discusses shrinking airline seats with Nightly Business Report
In an appearance on American Public Television’s Nightly Business Report Motley Rice aviation attorney Jim Brauchle discussed the reported shrinking of airline seats and one advocacy group’s efforts to curtail the trend.
In 2015, advocacy group Flyers Rights petitioned the FAA to consider establishing new rules regulating seat space and legroom for safety reasons, as the group purports cramp seating makes it more difficult for passengers to safely exit the aircraft in an emergency. The FAA denied the group’s request — that is until a three-judge federal appellate panel on June 28 ordered the FAA to review seat sizes on commercial airlines and consider setting minimum standards.
“If you look at the court order, the court was focused on the safety aspect of passengers being able to egress the airplane,” Brauchle said in an interview with the Nightly Business Report.
Safety regulations mandate that all aircraft carrying more than 44 passengers must be able fully evacuate within 90 seconds, Brauchle said.
“That’s something that I think the FAA really needs to investigate with these shrinking seats,” Brauchle said.