Originally Posted by
Uplinker
[left]I would like to think that if everyone in the chain of command had actually seen how bad the seats were, i.e. not simply soiled or broken, as sometimes happens, then proper action would have been taken in the first place.
The MEL defines what is acceptable or not, seems perfectly reasonable to continue in accordance with that. The captain made the decision that it was acceptable and that's that. Nothing to do with the company 'chain of command'.
Originally Posted by
Uplinker
But this raises an interesting question: Is it actually forbidden to remove a seat row for operational reasons without specific permission from the aircraft manufacturer?
Of course they allow it... From the A320 MEL briefly quoted above.
25-20-02C Affected seats considered inoperative
One or more may be inoperative provided that:
The backrest of the associated seat does not block a cabin door or a cabin overwing exit, and
The seat with the inoperative backrest is considered inoperative
Refer to Item 25-20-01 Passenger Seat, and
The seats with restricted access to the main aisle are considered inoperative.
Refer to Item 25-20-01 Passenger Seat:
(o)
One or more may be inoperative provided the inoperative seat:
Does not block an emergency exit, and
Does not restrict any passenger from access to the main airplane aisle, and
Is blocked and placarded “DO NOT OCCUPY”.
The MEL was carried out (although the blocked part, not so sure) though the seat had a placard on it. If you look REALLY closely, you can see it underneath the woman in the photo), I also saw a photo of the seat without her on showing the placard explaining she'd need to wait till the flight was boarded etc...