Airlines like American shouldn’t fill middle seats amid COVID-19; here’s a better idea

In their newly published “Runway to Recovery,” the U.S. Departments of Transportation, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services outline several recommendations to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and restore confidence in U.S. air transportation. Among the recommendations: “Airlines should consider the feasibility of limiting seat availability to enable passengers to social distance from each other during the flight.”

Meanwhile, American Airlines recently announced plans to fill flights to capacity, as did United, Spirit and Allegiant. Delta, Southwest, JetBlue and Alaska Airlines have indicated they will continue to limit seating density for now.

While on a packed American flight, Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon tweeted this question: “How many Americans will die because you fill middle seats with your customers shoulder to shoulder, hour after hour?”

He later said he will introduce a bill to ban the sale of middle seats through the pandemic. Officials from the National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention echoed his concerns.

The competing pressures of preventing COVID-19’s spread and preserving critical transportation infrastructure don’t need to be an “either/or” choice. In discussions with lawmakers, the Allied Pilots Association continues emphasizing how our Safe Essential Air Transportation Seating, or SEATS, concept would address both concerns simultaneously.

Under the plan, the federal government would purchase enough seats on each flight to ensure that passengers wouldn’t have to sit next to a stranger, building on the success of the CARES Act by addressing both health and economic concerns. Passengers would be encouraged to fly more thanks to uniform social distancing, airlines would be encouraged to operate more flights, and the government would ensure preservation of critical transportation infrastructure and related jobs.

SEATS could be an effective strategy on its own, or it could be be integrated into any forthcoming infrastructure or additional stimulus bill. Once COVID-19 immunity increases, the number of seats the government purchases would decline.

For social distancing, the NIH and CDC recommend staying at least 6 feet from other people not from your household. Skeptics contend that since it’s not possible to ensure 6 feet of separation between every airline passenger, any effort at social distancing on commercial flights is pointless.

Common sense tells you otherwise — some additional separation, along with face coverings for crewmembers and passengers and the other risk-mitigation measures airlines are now taking, is preferable. What doesn’t make sense is to have passengers socially distance through security and boarding, then fill every seat.

The Allied Pilots Association consulted with infectious-disease experts in crafting the SEATS concept, and they confirmed that more distance is better than less. They also affirmed that when it comes to infection control, there’s nothing magical about 6 feet, which they regard as a general guideline.

What airlines need is a plan that helps travelers feel comfortable about flying again by providing meaningful protections — a plan that preserves critical transportation infrastructure. The return of air travel will be a major catalyst for economic recovery; travel stimulates spending well beyond the cost of an airline ticket.

If air travel doesn’t return, 750,000 airline-related jobs, along with many other businesses tied to the industry, will be at serious risk.

Instead of a patchwork of conflicting and competing policies, our industry needs standards to meet COVID-19’s challenges. That includes an economically feasible way for carriers to limit seating density.

We believe SEATS provides the solution.