Canadian Underwriter

Those cramped airline seats and possible threats to your health


May 30, 2016   by CBC


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plane_attribute_eivind_mikkelsenThere’s an interesting item today over on the website of the CBC about all those teeny, tiny, cramped-almost-to-the-point-of-suffocation economy seats on airlines… and how staying in them for hours might seriously hurt your health.

(Of course, airline health threats might include watching Me Before You on a tiny screen on the seat cushion ahead of you… or on any screen… but that’s for another day).

A Victoria man and avid cyclist says that a 10-hour flight from Chile to Toronto on an Air Canada flight led to severe back pain, shortness of breath and a diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis.

Read: Risk levels change when pilots rely on automated systems

Air Canada claims that deep vein thrombosis results from pre-existing medical conditions and that there’s no liability to the carrier, but there doesn’t seem to be much consensus on that point. Most doctors do agree that long airline travel does increase the risk of blood clots.

You can read more about it here.

This story was originally published by Canadian Insurance Top Broker.


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