Airline seats are not keeping up with the times

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One of the things that blogging has afforded me is to become a travel agent. Considering that I am not a small man at 6′ 260lbs comfort when traveling comfort is something that is at the top of my list when I fly. Paying a little more, within reason, for comfort is something that I and most people my size are willing to do. As a plus size traveler I also have to keep in mind that the airline industry did not build airplanes with me in mind and this is starting to become a problem.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) allows for passengers to weight 185 pounds with 20 of those pounds for carry on luggage. Since there are a lot of adults that weigh more than 165 pounds there are a lot of uncomfortable passengers boarding planes everyday. Seat sizes range from 16.0″ wide to 18.5″ wide depending on the manufacturer of the plane. Putting that into context. A typical computer keyboard is just under 18″ wide. The thought of sitting in an area that small makes my back hurt.

In addition according to the CDC since the 1960’s when air travel started to boom American’s are one inch taller and 25 pounds heavier. You would think that with passengers being heavier, and in some cases wider, that airplane design would catch up to accommodate the changes right? Wrong. Seat designs have actually gotten smaller to pack more people into planes to increase profit margins.

Southwest Airlines has openly stated that for larger passengers they would require the purchase of an additional seat. Considering that most people in America are above the guidelines that the FAA has set forth shouldn’t a higher percentage of individuals fall into the category of needing two seats? Why the airlines won’t reduce the number of seats per aircraft and increase seat size is beyond me.

Though we all want to save money when it comes to traveling it may pay in the long run to bypass the discount carriers. It will be guaranteed that the seats will be smaller in width and closer together allowing for less room to move your legs. To find helpful information about different airlines and the seat sizes check out Seat Guru.

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