Ian It might have something to do with the seat cushions doubling as flotation devices in case of emergency. Russell Ng SIN At 08:15 PM 11/29/03 -0500, you wrote: >On Wednesday an Air Wisconsin ( United Express ) BAE 146 flight I was on >from ORD to MKE ( 16 minute flight) was delayed for 1.5 hours because the >seat cushions in 1A and 1B had been soiled and removed. They couldn't find >any replacement cushions and they wouldn't let the aircraft leave the gate >until a mechanic came on board and roped off the two seats. Is there an FAA >rule that you can't leave the gate without all the seats having cushions, >even empty ones?