And why it isn’t regulated — yet.

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When you’re flying, there’s one thing you want to be above all else — comfortable. (Well, besides safe, of course!)

Whether or not you’re comfortable is determined by a slew of factors, but none draw more ire than seat pitch — the fancy term used to describe the distance between where your seat begins and the seat in front of you ends. You probably know it as legroom.

Legroom is a precious commodity, and airlines are aware of this. After all, there is a finite amount of space on planes. In order to get the maximum number of people onboard, you have to either innovate — like by designing slimmer seats — or you have to shrink the seat pitch. Airlines have done both. Plus, they now give you the option to spend some more money to upgrade for more legroom, allowing you (and your wallet) to choose how comfortable you want to be.

If you want the cheapest flight, then you have to be willing to endure the slimmest seat pitch. If you’re willing and able to pay more, then you can feel the comfort of yesteryear, when seat pitch was way more luxurious.

Though there have been legal efforts to come up with minimum seat dimensions, there are no current regulations on seat pitch. For now, it’s still up to airlines to decide their own minimums, while hopefully enticing you to upgrade. Check out Vox video team's latest to learn more!


LINKS:
FAA Study on how seat dimensions impact safety https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/fil...
History on the DC3, aka “the first airplane in the world that can make money just by hauling passengers” https://airandspace.si.edu/collection...

Nick Rupps paper on airplane amenities https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.c...

Research on how and why airlines unbundled https://link.springer.com/article/10....

See how much the average flight from your city cost years ago with the Bureau of Transportations historical statistics https://www.transtats.bts.gov/Average...

Read the reasoning behind the court's decision not to regulate seat sizes based on safety https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/interne...

The Washington Post breaks down Sen. Tammy Duckworth’s bill, and why she hopes for a redo of emergency evacuation procedures https://www.washingtonpost.com/transp...

Travel is back in a big way this summer. Vox’s firstever travel guide is answering some of your most pressing questions about travel: https://www.vox.com/e/23499975'>https://www.vox.com/e/23499975

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