Congress twice told the government to set a minimum airline seat size. This summer the FAA said it found no problem to fix. (Illustration by Dustin Elliott)
💺 The government says your airline seat is big enough — Congress ordered a minimum airline seat size twice. The Federal Aviation Administration answered this summer, in a report almost nobody noticed, with one sentence that closed eight years of argument. Our featured commentary article has it. I’ll also tell you what the FAA said when I asked about it.
On Backchannel, Bill Twomey is holding $5,000 in United Airlines credits, a granddaughter starting school in Europe and a deadline that falls four months too early.
Confidentially: You replied STOP to your dentist’s appointment texts, and a week later the same message turned up again. Up to $3.84 million is now on the table for patients of one dental chain, and the claim deadline is Dec. 24. The details are exclusive to paid subscribers. — Christopher Elliott
FEATURED ARTICLE
Look who decided your airline seat is big enough
Congress ordered the government to set a minimum airline seat size, waited, and then ordered it a second time. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) answered this summer with a study that found no problem and recommended no changes. Its own peer reviewers had already said that study can’t settle the question. So who decided your seat is big enough?
OUR UNDERWRITER
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FORBES EXCLUSIVE
How green energy revived a Bavarian town — and became a tourist attraction
By transforming local sawmill waste into pellets and green hydrogen, Wunsiedel created a resilient microgrid that keeps economic value locally. Visitors are paying attention.
📌 Here’s what you missed this week
Catch up on the latest stories from the Elliott Report
Let’s end the gotcha clause that’s making your hotel room more expensive
Hilary Azzaretti found the same rate on a Croatian hotel’s own website and on Expedia, with better cancellation terms from the booking site, so she handed her reservation to the middleman. A lawsuit filed in Seattle says Expedia’s lodging contract bars a hotel from selling for less on its own site, which builds a commission of 15% or more into the rate you pay everywhere.
Secret tunnels, breathing lamps: How Capella created a sustainable resort in Sydney
Anthony Metcalfe runs a 192-room hotel inside Sydney’s restored 1915 Department of Education building, where a shared tunnel between two heritage landmarks let the developer avoid a new excavation and the turndown gift comes from a female-owned business on Groote Eylandt. Seven years of restoration produced a luxury hotel that hands guests a QR code pointing them to somebody else’s coffee shop.
Samsung sent my broken projector back and called the case completed. Is there a way out?
William Hunt bought a $365 Samsung Freestyle projector that stopped working eight months into its one-year warranty. The authorized repair center found the unit defective and couldn’t source the parts, so Samsung closed the ticket, mailed the broken projector back and marked the service completed. Two months of calls, emails and an executive complaint produced nothing until he sent a demand letter citing the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.
American Airlines promised me a $650 refund for bumping me. Why did it only give me a $250 credit?
Nicholle Acciarri was denied boarding on an oversold flight from New York to Cleveland, and a gate agent promised her a $650 check or reimbursement for a rental car. She rented the car, drove home and received a $250 flight credit that expires in a year. American Airlines now says an equipment downgrade disqualifies her, even after one supervisor found records showing she was eligible for $353.
UPS broke my flowerpots and now it’s stonewalling my refund. Can the A-Team help?
Linda Takvorian paid $377 to have two ceramic planters packed, insured and shipped from Massachusetts to California. One arrived shattered. A UPS Store employee promised a full refund within eight weeks, then was fired for giving bad information, leaving the store to offer $100 because the claim window had closed.
How useless extras are driving up your airfare
Phil Lockwood tracked every piece of garbage his family of five generated on a San Francisco to Manila flight and finished the trip with 17 plastic cups, five half-eaten sandwiches and five amenity kits, four of them torn open and abandoned. Research from the in-flight technology company Moment puts the share of passengers who prefer their own devices at 97%, and the seatback screens nobody asked for still add weight, fuel cost and a control box where your bag used to go.
OUR UNDERWRITER
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💬 What you’re asking on Backchannel
The credits come with an expiration date. Whether it’s the date you think it is depends on what the airline called them.
Bill Twomey and his wife each took $2,500 in United Airlines credits in June for giving up their seats on an oversold flight. Their granddaughter starts university in Europe in the fall of 2027, and the trip they want to make to see her falls about four months past the June 2027 deadline on the credits. Does an airline ever extend a deadline like that? Here’s our team’s advice on Backchannel.
OUR UNDERWRITER
Cavalry Elite Travel Insurance takes the worry out of travel by providing 24/7 access to medical and security professionals combined with the best medical evacuation and security extraction services. Cavalry gets you home safely when you need it most. Learn more at Cavalrytravelinsurance.com.
CONFIDENTIALLY
Information and insights for Elliott Confidential PRO subscribers
You said stop. The office heard, “See you in six months.”
Your dentist won’t take “stop” for an answer? Here’s what you can do
A dental chain agreed to make up to $3.84 million available over appointment messages that kept coming after patients replied STOP, and claims are due Dec. 24.
A text from your dentist’s office tells you you’re due for a cleaning, so you reply STOP. A week later, the same message shows up again, as if you’d never said a word.
The rest of this exclusive report is for members only.
Behind this line: who qualifies for the Coast Dental settlement, what a claim is worth, the new federal rules that change how an opt-out works, and the six steps that get a medical provider to stop texting you.
A Members Only story like this runs in every issue, along with Backchannel and the vault. Upgrade to Elliott Confidential PRO to read the rest.