British Expatriate Network

Airlines that want to charge overweight passengers more for airfare got a boost in a report issued last month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The report said Americans gained an average of 10 pounds per person during the 1990s and that the extra weight required airlines to used an additional 350 million gallons of jet fuel every year. At the current price of jet fuel this translates to an additional yearly cost of $448 million.

Airlines have been threatening for years to raise fares on their heaviest customers. Two years ago Southwest Airlines - the most profitable airline company in the country - started charging obese customers for a second seat. Other airlines have been reluctant to follow suit because it is such a sensitive public relations issue, although cash-strapped Delta is reportedly considering a similar policy.

Good idea?

Damn right, if some obese tub of lard needs a seat for each cheek, make the bugger pay for two seats.

I agree with charging for two seats if they take up two. What about giving a discount to passengers that have to sit with the overweight person encroaching into their seat. One flight we were on, my son had to sit in a window seat on the other side of the aisle from us and a very over weight guy sits down in the seat next to him. The overweight guys blubber was even hanging over the armrest entertainment controls. (the kind that are fixed into the armrest) My son wanted to listen to music, but couldn't as he didn't like to ask the guy to move his blubber.

When we discussed this problem some time ago we got the wrath of some of our own overwieght members


Im a overwiegh person having a beer belly myself but its all relative ,and sometimes when standing in the food line or whatever i look like a skinny.

We are talking about thses mammoth size persons where rolls of fat quiver on there arms and hang from there legs and the belly flops down over the knees .
To my mind there is only one side to this question these mammoth sized humans are not stealing form the airline they are stealing from the passenger who is in the unfortunate position to be sitting next to them.

When purchasing a airline ticket amounst other things you are buying *space on that aircraft ,uncluded is space to put your walk on baggage , space under the front seat for your legs , arm rest and a *full size seat *and i make sure i get all that i paid for ..

I preboard anyway and sit on the isle leaving extra room for my knee to stretch ,having stttled down and fastened seat belt i then PUT THE ARM DOWN ususlly the middle seat is the one to be occupied last , and its a not a easy task for a larger person to sit there with arm down .


Those of extreme perportions need to consider the *next passenger is paying for a full seat* what gives you the right to steal half of it??? no question if you need two seats or even one and a bit you need to pay for two .why should the person sitting by you be put out because of your bad eating habits .

The airlines have been considering charging for two when the accasion warrants it for decades and have always by presure groups been discourged from doing so .


As a victim of a very uncomforable journey from chicago to NY once i wowed NEVER to let it happen to me again hense the preparations on board before the occupant of the middle seat arrives.

What about people who have metabolic syndromes like PolyCystic Ovarian Syndrome (like me) or Syndrome X (like hubby) which is a life long syndrome and offers little control over your weight unless you eat no carbs and pump yourself full of diabetes meds when you don't even have diabetes? Maybe if airlines would accept a doctor's note!

I do agree that the blubbermeisters should pay more, but I think circumstances need to be considered.

Sarah

Absolutely, there are those with medical conditions. That's okay, I can deal with that. But those tubby knackers who need a crip cart to get around on simply because they eat too many hamburgers and cheesy poofs and refuse to take their chubby thighs onto a Stairmaster, they should pay more.

And what is Syndrome X? It sounds very mysterious - does he glow in the dark or something? It could be a disease from a bad 50's b-movie - "The Man With Syndrome X" :wink:

Idont have a problem with a medical condition i preboard because i have arthritis and use a walking stick , and if the airline agreed to give you a concession IE,, reduced or free second seat then thats fine many folks get special treatment because of a medical condition but it >DOES,NT TAKE AWAY from another passengers comfort .
If the airline reduces the number of passengers on that flight by one different story .. what we are talking about is you taking away part of the seat and there for comfort of a full fare paying passenger .

Look at it that way would you like to be squashed into half a seat if you were regular size ????


Its miserable enought flying these days with security measures , late and full flights , Bad service ,no food , smaller seats etc with out having somebodies blabber hanging all over your seat .


Counter argument to a free ticket is .... it would mean higher prices for the rest of us unfortunates .

So what do you do ?? cant please everybody

Well there's no point a large person paying for 2 seats, how can they sit in 2 anyway? Wouldn't it be better for airlines to install larger seats and charge more for these, say for persons over a certain weight, but not with medical conditions as HappyHippo has talked about. It's not just the other passengers, but the heavier persons themselves who are suffering. A while back my husband witnessed a lady who, when the guy in front of her reclined his seat, was totally wedged in and she had to get him to unrecline it. Then she was unable to eat the meal as the tray would not go down all the way, and she had to get help to be pulled out of her seat at the end. Whatever judgements we have as to heavier persons, I think the persons themselves would be much more comfortable if they had a seat space and area they could fit into.

I sat next to a very large lady once and I must say it was very uncomfortable for me on a 9hr flight to the UK. I had the aisle seat so I suggested we swap. I would have been mad but she was such a lovely person and really excited on her first trip to the UK. It is a dilemma. Perhaps larger people may be better off going business class?

1) bigger seats -excellent idea. But I think it would end up raising the cost of everyone's ticket because it would reduce the number of seats on the craft and the airline would need to make sure that the lost seats were paid for even if the bigger seats end up having to be sold at the regular price.
2) pay more if you're too big for a standard seat -yes. It is unfair on those with bone fide medical conditions, but I still think it's the fairest way overall. Funding to pay the extra for a larger seat/two seats/whatever should be handles in the same way as funding for wheelchairs, walking frames, transporting oxygen cylinders etc....
3) set up a buddy scheme teaming up skeletors with blubber-buckets......

*ducks*

8)

This is all very round-peg square-hole.

It'd save loads of room if instead of chairs they had bunkbeds. Larger people wouldn't squash smaller people, couples could buy a one-and-a-half sized bunk bed spot and share it, and really skinny people could be kept in the overhead compartments.

:lol:
Hey now - I was going to mention putting the over-sized folks in the cargo hold with a tag on to warn the baggage handlers but thought better of it.

You can get larger seats on airlines that cost more - they are in business and first class. As it is optional for people to pay the extra for those - most decide not to, no matter what their size. I met an extremely large lady and her extremely large son on a flight to the UK once. They had bought 3 seats for the two of them (all together, of course). She said it would have cost twice as much for two business class seats as 3 economy class seats so they bought the extra seat instead. I am not sure what the solution is but as a very small person - I often get squashed by the person sitting next to me who manages to squeeze half their butt onto my seat (even with the armrest down). I completely agree that your comfort level on a flight should not be determined by who you end up having to sit next to.

What shall we do about snorers? :o

You meet some really obnoxiuos folks when travelling ( not nessasarily large ones ) i have always thought it best to put them in cargo and the poor cats and dogs in the pasenger compartment .

:) :)

But there again Lizzi the person in front paid for his/her seat to recline and should d be able to do so if needed to sleep or whatever, to ask them to keep the seat upright all flight can become uncomfortable for them .

Not to be a bear on this but not reclining you seat because the person behind has a * problem * takes away from me my enjoyment of the flight.

Is it selfish selfish yes (most of us are ) inconsiderate ??? no more than the overwiegh person behind is .