經濟艙太擠 美議員力推飛機座位法案

Can plane seats get any smaller?

飛機上的椅子還能再小點兒麼？

Those of us who prefer not to find out were cheered when a bill that would set minimum seat size standards for commercial airlines was proposed in early February by Representative Steve Cohen of Tennessee. More recently, the issue received attention when Senator Chuck Schumer of New York said that he also wanted to set seat size standards.

2月初，田納西州衆議員史蒂夫·科恩(Steve Cohen)提出一項法案，規定商用客機上椅子的最小尺寸標準，我們這些不希望椅子更小的人太歡迎它了。前幾天，紐約參議院查克·舒默(Chuck Schumer)說，他同樣希望爲椅子的尺寸設定標準，令個問題進一步引發人們的關注。

“People have gotten larger since seats were shrunk,” Mr. Cohen said during a February debate about his proposed amendment to the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act.

“人們的體型變得更大，椅子卻在縮水，”2月，在爲這項聯邦航空管理局重新授權法案修正案所做的辯論上，科恩說。

Seats were 18 inches wide before airline deregulation in the 1970s and have since been whittled to 16 and a half inches, he said, while seat pitch used to be 35 inches and has decreased to about 31 inches. At the same time, the average man is 30 pounds heavier today than he was in 1960 (196 pounds compared with 166 pounds) and the average woman is 26 pounds heavier (166 pounds, up from 140 pounds), Mr. Cohen said, citing statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Smaller seats and larger passengers mean planes may not be capable of rapid evacuation in the event of an emergency, he said. “This affects safety and health.”

他說，在20世紀70年代放松管制之前，飛機上的座椅是18英寸寬（一英寸約合2.54釐米——譯註），之後被減少爲16.5英寸；座椅間隔曾經是35英寸，也被減少爲31英寸。與此同時，科恩援引疾病控制與預防中心的數據說，現在的男性平均體重比1960年增加了30磅（從166磅增加到196磅）；女性平均體重增加了26磅（從140磅增加到166磅）。椅子越來越小，旅客的體型卻愈來愈大，這意味着機上有緊急情況時，可能難以迅速疏散，他說，“這會影響安全與健康。”

Representative Janice Hahn of California, a co-sponsor of the bill, added that passengers on cramped planes are getting in fights over products like the Knee Defender (about $22), the controversial clamps designed to attach to the arms of your tray table and prevent the person in front of you from reclining (possibly inciting a confrontation, though you can always hand your fellow passenger a Knee Defender Courtesy Card, which notes that you “realize that this may be an inconvenience”).

加利福尼亞州衆議員詹尼斯·哈恩(Janice Hahn)也是這項法案的聯名發起者，她補充說，擁擠飛機上的旅客會因爲護膝器（Knee Defender，約22美元）吵起來，這種有爭議的裝置可以裝在飛機旅客面前小桌的桌腿上，防止前面的旅客把椅子降下來（這樣很可能會引起爭吵，不過你可以遞給前面的旅客一張“護膝器禮節卡”，上面寫着“我知道這可能會爲您帶來不便”）。

During the debate, Representative Rick Nolan of Minnesota, among those who voted yes for the amendment, recalled seeing a man trying to squeeze into his seat and inadvertently pull the hair of the woman sitting in front of him. “And she’s screaming at him ’cause he pulled her hair, and he’s screaming at her for screaming at him and, I mean, it’s getting out of line.”

在這場爭論中，明尼蘇達州衆議員裏克·諾蘭(Rick Nolan)也是這項修正案的贊同者，他記得自己曾經見過一個男人把自己擠進座位中去，還笨拙地扯了前座女人的頭髮。“她衝他尖叫，因爲他扯了她的頭髮，他又衝女乘客尖叫，因爲她衝他尖叫，我的意思是，一切都失控了。”

Alas, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee voted down Mr. Cohen’s Seat Egress in Air Travel Act of 2016, 33 to 26, on Feb. 11. But I’m still holding out hope. Mr. Cohen introduced the act as a stand-alone bill on Feb. 8 and plans to introduce it again as an amendment if or when the F.A.A. Reauthorization comes to the House floor for consideration, according to a spokesman for Mr. Cohen. On Feb. 28, Senator Schumer of New York announced that he would offer an amendment to the F.A.A. Reauthorization bill that would require seat-size standards. “The average passenger feels like they’re being treated as a sardine,” he said during a news conference. “Squeezed and squeezed and squeezed.”

不過，2月11日，衆議院運輸和基礎設施委員會投票否決了科恩的《2016年空中交通座位出口法案33-26》。但我仍然抱有希望。科恩的發言人說，科恩這個法案是2月8日獨立提出的，如果聯邦航空管理局重新授權法案修正案進入衆議院討論，他還計劃重新將這項提案作爲修正案推出。2月28日，紐約參議院舒默宣佈，他將就更改椅子尺寸標準的問題，向聯邦航空管理局重新授權法案提出一項修正案。“乘客的一般感受就是自己好像沙丁魚一樣，”他在媒體見面會上說。“簡直就是擠擠擠。”

Whatever happens, Mr. Cohen’s bill raises important questions. Smaller seats are doubtless uncomfortable and unfair to travelers who are especially tall or heavy. But are they also unsafe?

不管怎樣，科恩的法案提出了一個重要問題。更小的椅子肯定很不舒服，對特別高大或肥胖的乘客來說也不公平，但它們也同樣不安全嗎？

There are two main concerns addressed by the Seat Egress in Air Travel Act: “economy class syndrome” (the condition experienced by travelers who develop deep vein thrombosis, the formation of a blood clot or clots, after long-distance flights) and the ability for passengers to safely evacuate a plane when they can barely get into their seats in the best of circumstances.

在空中交通座椅出口法案中，主要提出了兩項顧慮，其一是“經濟艙綜合徵”（經歷長途飛行的乘客有可能誘發嚴重血栓），其二是乘客在環境良好的狀態下都無法擠進椅子，一旦有危險又如何安全疏散的問題。

The risk of developing deep vein thrombosis or a pulmonary embolism — a potentially life-threatening condition when a clot or part of a clot travels to the lungs — as a result of flying long distances appears to be real, though small. An average of one passenger in 6,000 will suffer from deep vein thrombosis or a pulmonary embolism after a long-haul flight, according to a study by the World Health Organization.

長途飛行誘發嚴重血栓或肺血栓——後者是指血栓運行到肺部，可能致命——這種危險雖小，但顯然是真的。根據世界衛生組織研究，平均6000名乘客中，就有一名乘客經過長途飛行後，會患上嚴重血栓或肺血栓。

The American College of Chest Physicians said in its most recent guidelines on the topic that developing deep vein thrombosis or a pulmonary embolism as a result of long-distance travel is unlikely for most travelers but that certain factors may increase the risk. They include having already had the conditions, having cancer, recent surgery or trauma, immobility, advanced age, using estrogen, being pregnant, being obese, and sitting in a window seat (because it can limit mobility). That said, when the American College of Chest Physicians issues guidelines it also grades them based on the quality of the evidence used to generate its recommendations. The group’s guidelines on this particular topic are graded 2C, which acknowledges that the evidence is of low quality.

美國胸內科學院就這一問題公佈的最新指導文件稱，大多數乘客不會因爲長途飛行導致嚴重血栓或肺血栓，但是有些特定因素會增加風險。其中包括已經患有血栓、患癌、最近接受過外科手術或曾遭受精神創傷、癱瘓、年老、使用雌激素、懷孕、肥胖，以及坐靠窗座位（因爲活動更爲不便）。當美國胸內科學院公佈各種指導文件時，還會根據證據的質量對之進行分級 。這一問題的指導文件分級是2C，也就是說，證據質量相當低。

It’s worth noting that deep vein thrombosis is not confined to air travel. “Anyone traveling more than four hours, whether by air, car, bus, or train, can be at risk for blood clots,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. To help prevent clots, the C.D.C. suggests moving your legs frequently and exercising your calf muscles. More information is available at (from there you can learn more about evidence and risk factors by clicking the Yellow Book chapter on DVT and travel link).

值得注意的是，嚴重血栓並不侷限在坐飛機旅行之中。“乘坐飛機、轎車、巴士及火車旅行多於四小時以上者均有風險罹患血栓，”疾病控制與預防中心稱。爲了預防血栓，疾病控制與預防中心建議經常活動雙腿，鍛鍊小腿肌肉。更多信息請見 （在這個網址，點擊“Yellow Book”中關於DVT與旅行的頁面，可以看到更多信息）。

The other major safety concern Mr. Cohen raised is the ability of passengers to exit a plane in the event of an emergency.

科恩關心的另一項安全問題是旅客緊急情況下的疏散問題。

“The F.A.A. requires that planes be capable of rapid evacuation in case of emergency,” he said in a statement when the bill was voted down, “yet they haven’t conducted emergency evacuation tests on all of today’s smaller seats. That’s unacceptable.”

“聯邦航空管理局要求飛機在緊急狀況下能夠迅速疏散，”他在自己的提案經投票否決後發表的聲明中說，“但他們並沒有就如今狹小的座椅進行緊急疏散測試。這是不可接受的。”

At issue, Mr. Cohen said, is that the Federal Aviation Administration hasn’t conducted emergency evacuation tests on airlines with a distance between rows of less than 29 inches. And the House sets no safety standards for seat width or pitch. The consumer rights group said in late February that “it has been years since airlines have been required to conduct these tests, and back then, they used young, fit employees to conduct the tests. Any aircraft that has subsequently reduced seat width or pitch, or has added seats per row, should be required to recertify to the 90-second evacuation standard for that configuration, using volunteers from the general population, conforming to demographic standards, without prior training in aircraft evacuation, and with those tests supervised by the F.A.A.”

科恩說，爭議在於聯邦航空管理局沒有針對飛機上座椅間距小於29英寸的情況進行緊急狀況疏散測試。衆議院也沒有就座椅寬度和距離制定安全標準。消費者權利團體在2月說，“多年來，飛行需要進行各種測試，在過去，他們僱傭年輕健康的僱員進行測試。航空公司如果後來縮減座椅寬度和座椅間距，抑或在每一行增加座椅，就應該改變90秒鐘的疏散標準，並且使用符合人口平均標準，沒有進行過飛機疏散培訓的人員進行測試，而且這些測試都應當在聯邦航空管理局監督下進行。”

Since the introduction of Mr. Cohen’s bill, it has garnered a few more supporters, including Representative Charles B. Rangel of New York and Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton of the District of Columbia.

科恩提出這項法案之後贏得了若干支持者，其中包括紐約衆議員查爾斯·B·蘭格爾(Charles B. Rangel)和哥倫比亞特區衆議員伊利諾·霍默斯·諾頓(Eleanor Holmes Norton).

Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, a Republican, also signed on to the bill as a co-sponsor, joining several Democrats.

伊利諾斯共和黨衆議員亞當·金津格(Adam Kinzinger)也和若干民主黨員一起，作爲聯合發起者在法案上簽名。

“I hope to see this go through the House with bipartisan support,” he said in a statement.

“我希望它能獲得兩黨支持，在衆議院獲得通過，”他在一份聲明中說。

So do thousands of fliers on both sides of the aisle.

飛機過道兩側成千上萬的乘客們也這麼想。