Airlines Dodge Minimum Seat Size as FAA Sees No Safety Issue

Dutch Illusionist Ramana shows (L) during a performance at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport the space for passengers of the new Economy Comfort class, on Dec. 7, 2009. Getty Images

Hopes for more legroom in increasingly cramped airplane cabins were dashed when U.S. regulators, responding to a court order, said they found no need to impose new standards on airlines.

The Federal Aviation Administration, in a letter dated July 2, said the agency “has no evidence that there is an immediate safety issue necessitating rule-making at this time.”