Airlines Continue to Squeeze Passengers and Profits Thanks to US Senate
Not widely reported was a vote brought to the senate floor this past Thursday by New York Senator Chuck Schumer. The amendment would have blocked airlines from further reducing the “size, width, padding, and pitch” of seats, passengers’ legroom, and the width of aisles. If you’re feeling more and more cramped on airlines, realize that it’s not from all the food you devoured on vacation. Economy-class airline seats have shrunk these past several years on average from a width of 18 inches down to 16.5 inches. Also the pitch, the space between your seat and the one in front of you, has gone from 35 inches to around 31 inches. This is the thanks we get after airlines recorded a record-breaking year in 2015 thanks to the dramatic drop in fuel prices, an item I discussed in a recent interview with Fox News. Of course, the dysfunctional Senate voted against the proposal simply because Schumer is a Democrat, voting for the most part along party lines. But make no mistake that it’s the public that’s getting squeezed out of the equation. It’s the reason why business and leisure travelers always rate US airlines amongst the worst in the world on any recent survey. Sad.