One of the things we learned in the wake of the two 737 Max crashes that killed 346 people within five months is that the Federal Aviation Administration and the Boeing Co. were "too cozy for either's own good," as my colleague Brooke Sutherland wrote in March. The FAA, it turned out, had outsourced much of the certification process for the plane to Boeing itself. As a result, a flawed aircraft was allowed to fly, with tragic results.
The FAA is a classic case of "regulatory capture" — it is more focused on the needs of the industry it is supposed to regulate than on the consumers it is supposed to protect. Letting airplane makers certify their own planes is only one example. Another, I learned recently, is the way the agency approaches airline seats.
Who doesn't hate the seats in economy class? They're terribly uncomfortable — narrow and cramped. Before airline deregulation in 1978, most airline seats had 36 inches of legroom, or "pitch," in airline jargon. Today, the legacy airlines have reduced seat pitch to 30 or 31 inches, while several low-cost airlines have cut it even more, to 28 or even 27 inches. Passengers emerge from long-distance flights with aching backs and stiff necks. Paul Hudson, the president of passenger rights group FlyersRights.org, told me that he views the misery that modern seats inflict a "health, safety and human rights issue."
The reason seats are smaller is no secret. The narrower the seat, and the smaller the pitch, the more seats airlines can cram into planes. More seats mean more revenue. Plus, by installing a large class of uncomfortable seats, airlines are creating the desire among passengers who can afford it to pay for a smaller number of more comfortable ones.
"Sardine seating exists to allow airlines to squeeze passengers' pocketbooks by threatening pain," Hudson has said. Passengers in too-cramped seats sometimes get blood clots in their legs. Sickness can be passed more easily from one passenger to another when their seats are too close. And the crowded seats make it more difficult to evacuate in an emergency.
The Association of Flight Attendants also believes that the modern seat configuration poses dangers. In a memo it issued last October, it pointed to passenger "air rage," increased conflict over bag storage and difficulties faced by disabled passengers — as well as evacuation worries — as problems caused by too many seats too close together. The flight attendants' union concluded, "This is not an issue the market can fix. Safety needs to provide a bottom line."
The health and safety of passengers is, of course, the whole point of the FAA's regulatory authority. Yet it has dealt with the seat situation by bending over backward for the industry. Consider evacuations. The regulations say that all aircraft must be able to be evacuated in 90 seconds. But, just as with plane certification, the agency allows airlines to do their own testing — and lets them use computer simulations instead of actual humans.
And when the airlines do use real humans for such tests, they hardly reflect real-world conditions. Take a look at this 2006 test for the Airbus A380. Do you see anyone trying to grab their luggage from the overhead bin — something people often do during evacuations? Do you see any charging cords, or bags under passengers' legs, or soda cans on open trays impeding the evacuation? Do you see any children? Anyone who's elderly or disabled or overweight? The answer to all of these questions is no. With the test rigged to optimal conditions, the more than 800 passengers were off the plane with just three seconds to spare.
