Canada needs to establish seat-size standards: passenger advocate
Posted February 28, 2016 1:48 pm.
Last Updated February 28, 2016 1:52 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
HALIFAX (NEWS 1130) – An airline passenger advocate says Canada should look at establishing seat-size standards for commercial airlines.
Gabor Lukacs was reacting to an attempt by American Sen. Charles Schumer to require the US government to establish seat-size standards.
Lukacs says such standards are needed on Canadian flights, as cramming too many people onto a plane poses safety risks and infringes on passenger comfort. He says if too many passengers are on a plane at once, not everyone could get out of the aircraft during an emergency in the same amount of time.
The Halifax-based Lukacs says creating standards that apply to all commercial airlines would bring Canada in line with other jurisdictions, such as the European Union. The US also does not have federal limits on how close an airline’s row of seats can be or how wide an airline’s seat must be.
Schumer, a New York Democrat, says he will add an amendment to a bill that is pending before Congress that would require the agency to set the seat-size guidelines.
A vote is expected in March.
