It seems pretty obvious that as the size of public backsides have grown larger, airline seats (in economy) have grown smaller. Congress has finally directed The Federal Aviation Administration to set minimum sizes for seats. Consequently, the FAA will open a 90-day period for public consultation seeking views on the size of airline seats.  One has to wonder why they actually need public feedback for something so self-evident. Just plunk a group of FAA executive posteriors into economy seats fly them around for several hours and no time wasting committee meetings and consultations required.

Nevertheless, the FAA wants to know how much of a tight squeeze it is to fly on commercial planes.

Consumer groups have been lobbying for years for minimum seat dimensions, and FlyersRights sued the FAA earlier this year for failing to set seat standards.

“Shrinking seat sizes coupled with increasing passenger size can pose safety and health risks, including for emergency evacuations,” the group said.

They also maintained that passengers squeezed into seats can also increase the risk of health issues.

The FAA is reportedly anxious about the speed of emergency evacuations.