1ºAircraft seats didn’t get smaller, people are more obese. The FAA used the average weight of people and came up with 170 for summer flying and 175 for winter flying. A few years ago they raised the figure to 190/195 and again they re-evaluating the current weight and may increase it. I fly every week, I am an airline mechanic based in ORD. I cannot begin to think how many broken seats we defer/fix per month (4 just tonight). The seats are fine for the majority, I flew to Athens/Santorini last month and slept almost the entire way. The airlines should NOT are-evaluate their business model due to the obesity rate.
2ºRose Parker CortezI’m well aware that it is about ‘evacuation’ so they say. Back in the 80’s and 90’s the seats were much larger than they are today (C&D Designs, Zodiac, B&E, are the typical manufacturer of seats). Most aircraft utilize Slim Line seats-get it, SLIM LINE! They are a fraction of the size seats use to be and back then, the we’re still able to evacuate per the FAA standards OR THEY could not be certified to fly. Let’s face facts-people are FAT today!! Evacuation problems today are very simply stated-people REFUSE to leave their belongings behind in an emergency. People refuse to stow their items when instructed, therefore blocking escape paths. I’ve been in this industry for 27yrs, my wife has been a FA for 14yrs. I have somewhat of a clue.