This bill would mandate bigger airplane seats for wider Americans

Americans are getting fatter as airplane seats grow narrower, but a new House bill could mandate a minimum seat size to accommodate our increasing average girth.

The descriptively named Seat Egress in Air Travel Act (SEAT Act), introduced by Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), would require the Federal Aviation Administration to determine minimum measurements for plane seats. In addition to issues of comfort, Cohen argues that bigger seats are safer in the event of an emergency and can help prevent deep vein thrombosis on long flights.

While seat widths have slightly shrunk over the years, new innovations tend to focus on the front-to-back space a seat takes up, and especially the padding bulk. Meanwhile, some airlines, most famously Southwest, already offer the opportunity to purchase two seats for "customers of size" who find a single chair too restrictive.

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