More Legroom

Congress may require more legroom on planes, rules on service animals and involuntary bumping

Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY 


(Photo: Ted S. Warren, AP)

Congress is considering ordering the FAA to establish minimum airline seat sizes, investigate the size and number of airplane lavatories, and establish new standards for allowing service animals to fly with their human owners.


The proposals are included in a compromise FAA funding plan released by House and Senate lawmakers on Saturday. Congress faces a Sept. 30 deadline to keep FAA programs running, and the Senate must either take up the bill this week or both chambers will need to pass a short-term extension.

Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida said lawmakers from both chambers agreed it was time to take action on “ever-shrinking seats.”

“Relief could soon be on the way for weary airline passengers facing smaller and smaller seats,” Nelson said.

The room between rows – measured from a point on one seat to the same point on the seat in the next row – has been shrinking for many years as airlines squeeze more seats onto their planes. It was once commonly 34 or 35 inches, and is now less than 30 inches on some planes. FAA officials say existing safety rules mean seats are unlikely to ever get smaller than 27 inches.