US: Congressman loses battle in war on shrinking airline seats

A congressional soldier fighting a war against shrinking airline seats lost a battle in the US House Thursday. In a 26-33 vote, a House committee defeated legislation that would have mandated size standards for airline passenger seats. "I am disappointed," said Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee. "This was a vote against the safety and health of airline passengers." Cohen says that seat width on US airliners "has shrunk from 18 inches in the 1970s to about 16.5 inches today." The issue, he says, is more about safety than comfort. He says the FAA is putting passengers at risk because there hasn't been adequate emergency evacuation testing of airline seating with rows set with pitch under 29 inches. "Pitch" is the distance between any point on one seat to the same point on the seat in front. The vote came as the House transportation committee was voting on amendments to a bill to fund the FAA.<br/>