US: Airlines dodge minimum seat sizes as FAA sees no safety issue

Hopes for more legroom in increasingly cramped airplane cabins were dashed when US regulators, responding to a court order, said they found no need to impose new standards on airlines. The FAA said Monday that the agency “has no evidence that there is an immediate safety issue necessitating rulemaking at this time.” Research shows that tighter confines on planes isn’t what slows emergency evacuations, the FAA wrote in its response to Flyers Rights, the non-profit citizens group that sued it claiming evacuations could be hindered by tightly packed seating. Instead, exit doors are the choke points that slow evacuations, the agency wrote. The FAA action is the latest move in a swirling controversy that has raised hackles from consumers and prompted attempts at legislation by members of Congress. <br/>