# Should the government regulate the pitch of airline seats? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 3, 2014, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-government-regulate-the-pitch-of-airline-seats/697310 "2014-09-03T00:58:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2014, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-government-regulate-the-pitch-of-airline-seats/697310/41 "2014-09-05T00:45:49Z")
There already is such a process. You can check websites like [seatguru.com](http://seatguru.com) to get information about the seat pitch, available power outlets and so forth. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2014, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-government-regulate-the-pitch-of-airline-seats/697310/42 "2014-09-05T00:54:35Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > There already is such a process. You can check websites like [seatguru.com](http://seatguru.com) to get information about the seat pitch, available power outlets and so forth. I’m not much on adding regulations but I’d think this would be covered under basic sale transactions. Selling an airline seat is like selling apples for $1. What kind of apple? How many for $1? How much do they weigh? It should be part of the standard description of merchandise. It’s good that there are sites that help with this but why should we have to rely on what should be a normal transaction? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2014, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-government-regulate-the-pitch-of-airline-seats/697310/43 "2014-09-05T14:46:37Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > All you are saying is “I would like this thing that has no larger benefit to society than my own personal comfort, and upon reflection I would rather set up some scheme to make other people pay for it.” You’re right. A government-mandated minimum pitch of 25 inches would give me personal comfort at the expense of others. IOW, just because government specifies some minimum standard, doesn’t mean they’re requiring that everybody get treated luxuriously. Your post that I criticized set up a strawman by assuming that any government-enacted minimum _would_ require luxury. This is no more true than claiming that the existence of a minimum wage means that government would require that everyone would get paid $50/hour. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2014, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-government-regulate-the-pitch-of-airline-seats/697310/44 "2014-09-13T03:26:58Z")
> **[Fliers are getting fed up with cramped seating](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/airline-passengers-are-getting-fed-up-with-cramped-seating/)** > > As carriers add more seats and reduce their size, uncomfortable passengers are turning on each other > [@](#): > > Reporter Jack Fink, from CBS affiliate KTVT in Dallas, recently asked Southwest Airlines (LUV) CEO Gary Kelly if by adding more seats to each flight to squeeze out more revenues, the airlines bear any responsibility for the discomfort that leads to these incidents. > > “You know, that’s a fair question,” Kelly said. “I’ll just admit to you I have not given it a lot of thought, and it is something that is worthy of thought.” ‘Gee, I’ve been so busy thinking about profits, I haven’t actually thought about our product.’ > [@](#): > > And while employees want their companies to be profitable, "I do hold the airlines accountable, Skyles says, “because they’ve created this.” Indeed, some airlines have been recording record quarterly profits, due in part to the fees they charge passengers for additional legroom and other amenities. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2014, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-government-regulate-the-pitch-of-airline-seats/697310/45 "2014-09-13T13:08:32Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Just did a search on Orbitz for a Premium Economy seat leaving in a week, and then returning after 7 more days. When you search for premium economy on Orbitz, the website looks for a special code indicating a separate cabin. Most airlines do not do that, they intermingle economy and premium economy under the same fare codes. > [@](#): > > For Premium Economy Seats > Denver \> Chicago - Not available > Denver \> Austin - Not available > Denver \> San Fran - Not available > Denver \> San Diego - Not available I just looked at the first four flights that came up on [united.com](http://united.com) for each of those routes, departing on September 20 and returning a week later. Literally every single flight had Economy Plus seats available for an additional fee. And in fact, two flights (one to San Francisco and one to San Diego) had no seats available in economy, but 10+ seats available in Economy Plus. On the United website, you can see what seats are available prior to selecting your flight. The Economy Plus seats are clearly marked with blue boxes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-government-regulate-the-pitch-of-airline-seats/697310.md?page=2)