Harried travelers who cram themselves into airplane seats this Christmas season might believe that their future peregrinations will be merrier and brighter because Santa Congress mandated a new regulation to establish minimum airline seat sizes. Unfortunately, the reality is much more complicated.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill that Congress passed by overwhelming margins last fall includes a provision for regulation of commercial airline seats that has been widely heralded as “pro-consumer.” But effective regulation of airline seating would likely raise air fares and prevent some passengers from flying as airlines reduce the number of seats in each plane to comply with the regulation.
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