Types of Seating Accommodation
Types of Seating accommodation
- Movable Aisle Armrest
- Adjoining Seats
- Bulkhead or Other Seat
- Exit Row Seat
Note: All of the above types of seating accommodations are required to be provided to qualified passengers with disabilities free of charge.
Definition/Function:
An armrest that is attached to an airplane seat that can be moved move up or down.
An airline must provide a seat with a movable aisle armrest for individuals who:
- Use an aisle chair to access the aircraft, and
- Cannot transfer readily over a fixed aisle armrest
Definition/Function:
Adjoining seats are seats connected to each other.
An airline must provide adjoining seats for individuals who are traveling with an individual who performs specific functions during the flight and is one of the following:
- A personal care attendant who performs a function during the flight that is not required to be performed by airline personnel. For example, an individual who provides assistance with eating or use of the lavatory.
- A reading assistant for a blind or visually impaired passenger
- An interpreter for a deaf or hard of hearing passenger
- A safety assistant. For example, an individual who travels with a passenger incapable of assisting with his/her own evacuation (see 14 CFR 382.29)
Definition/Function:
Bulkhead seats are the seats located directly behind the bulkhead separators.
An airline must provide a bulkhead or other seat in the same class of service if requested by an individual who:
- Has a fused or immobilized leg and needs a seat that better accommodates his or her disability, including greater leg room and/or an aisle seat
- Is traveling with a service animal that is best accommodated at a particular seat
Definition/Function:
Exit row seats are located in the same row as the emergency exit doors of the aircraft.
An airline must not exclude any qualified individual with a disability from any seat in an exit row or other location, if the individual can perform the necessary functions of sitting in the seat in accordance with FAA regulations.
Airline personnel are responsible for making an individual determination as to whether any individual is able to perform the functions required of a passenger occupying an exit seat in the event of an emergency.
Not all disability-related limitations prevent people from performing the required exit row functions.
Airlines must not require that a qualified individual with a disability sit in a particular seat on the basis of a disability.
