Should Obese Passengers Be Required To Buy Two Seats On Flights?

[Geekfreaklover]

I had an obese friend come over to visit me in thailand. Travelling alone, She complained that she was sat next to an obese man on the flight. It seems that the airline (BA) put all the large people together on the flight, which seems fair.

[yorkieboy]

When you buy a ticket you pay for a seat, not for a seat to share with someone who can't keep their fingers out of the biscuit tin. Either make them pay for two seats or compensate the person sitting next to them for the discomfort the cause.

[thetravellingcat]

yes. it's a penalty for addiction to mcdonalds fast 'food'.

[Gats]

Fly Air New Zealand... first thing i noticed on their planes is the extra seat width and leg room... planes built for all those maoris..

Seriously though, there needs to be a fixed limit on these things. Passengers can not be permitted to risk the safety of everybody else for their weight problems, genetic or not. I agree that if the definition is just "fat" then there's too much grey area around it.

I totally agree with the suggestion about moving people around to create the space, but I do also think there must be a fixed girth limit and weight limit for passengers and the rest is the airline's problem. Some of those budget american airlines (and QANTAS on asian flights) cram in everybody so tightly to get an extra row of seats in it's criminal. They should lose the customers and not blame it on a guy who's a little oversized.

As for the smell thing, i know for a fact that Sinapore airlines has refused to board a passenger without a shower first. The guy was in terribly shape and I don't think he'd showered for months.

[superdome]

as a former employee of British Airways..i can tell u from previous experience that many "obese" [fat] people book an enconomy seat hoping that they will get a "free" upgrade..this used to happen many times.These people knew this so played the system..we had a particular passenger on the Toronto route who did this on a regular basis...untill one day an eagle eyed passenger agent knew of his scam and he was asked [told] to pay for 2 seats or the upgrade ...he refused this...and was promptly removed from the flight...and now BA do not "fall" for this any more....so yes..make them pay for 2 seats..or the upgrade.

As for the "weight" allowance....all aircraft are assesed on "take off weight"....thus a passenger + baggage are calculated @ 100kgs in total x total seats on aircraft...in my case i am 70kgs + baggage norm abt 18/20kgs...so this allows abt 10kgs to be spread out as it goes on.....

Hope this goes some way to explain things

[Boudak]

Yes!

[alyx]

Easy answers on this one:

1- weight:

global weight per passenger. i.e. every passenger is weighted with his luggage.

Weight limit depends on ticket type (i.e. business has more allowance). For economy, I'd expect something around 100 Kg.

Excess weight is charged pro rata to the passenger (yes, it is allowed to pass bags to another person checking in).

Passengers can opt to buy second ticket to get an allowance of 200 Kg.

2- fat people:

It simply depends if they fit into a seat or not.

The world doesn't have to adapt itself to accomodate any size of waist.

The reasons for being fat are not interesting, it is simply not realistic to ask airlines to make sure they can seat persons that weigh 250 Kg and need an entire row.

--> If the check-in desk has a doubt about a person being able to sit in a seat, they should measure the hip and waistband. Over a certain defined limit, the passenger must buy a second seat. For some people the upgrade to business class would probably be cheaper (more weight allowance and more space).

There are your premium seats.

The reasons for being fat are not important - there is a reality that has to be dealt with.

I don't feel that making people pay for their weight and for the space they use is discriminatory. It is just reality.

1) I won't argue with the bove but one thing is certain: airlines DO NOT allow a passenger to buy two seats on the same name. Flying back to Bangkok from Paris I had to fly from Marseille to Paris to get the connexion. Flying business from Paris I was allowed a certain weight for the luggage, and I thought it would come cheaper to buy a second seat to be allowed more weight (there is no business class on the regional flights) than paying extra for the luggage. I went to the airline's office and I was told that I was not allowed to purchase a second seat. I then decided to pay over the internet for the excess (30% cheaper than at the counter but non refundable). When I checked I was asked whether I would like my luggage to go directly to Bangkok. After explaining the situation I was told that the weight for the luggage considered was the Bangkok-Paris one. Well, here we go, 100 € down the drain (but I do not put the fault on anyone just stating the facts)

Bottom line if some of us were to be allowed to buy a second seat why should the others be declined

Seat should be redesigned to fit the physical evolution of passengers

2) Yes I have seen people being denied their carry on because of the weight (Emirates/El Al) Mind you, on Emirates it was just after 9/11 and people were getting crazy about enforcing the regulations

3) Last year I flew Thai from Shanghai where I had bought a fragile 55/45 cms statue: I took it with me on the plane and sat it on the seat next to me (curtesy of the attendants) Of course that was on business

[Bung]

I was just on a BKK-DOH flight and sat next to a very large guy. The poor bugger must have felt bad about taking up my space as he did the whole flight with his arm closest to me holding on to the seat back in front of him. Must have been uncomfortable but at least he tried.

If they take your space they should pay for a seat. Maybe they should set up a mock seating arrangement at check in where they can verify that they won't impinge on your space? Could be entertaining while queuing watching them try and shove their fat a**es in between the arm rests!

[tangoll]

Why don't the airlines just design a seat that has a fixed vertical divider that separates the seats up to the shoulder level? That should solve the problem of people whose upper body intrudes into the space of the adjacent passenger. If it's a question of too many dividers taking up too much weight on the plane, then do this only on a section of the plane, and all oversized passengers (pax of size) get assigned to that section and let them deal with fitting into their seat space.

[clausewitz]

Absolutely, or at least they should be required to travel in business class or first class where the seats are bigger. Unlike being tall or having a disability, being fat is usually a choice based on weak character, lack of discipline and poor eating habits. Southwest Airlines, which is essentially the Air Asia of America already has a policy in place requiring lard butts or purchase 2 seats. I think Southwest does give them a refund if the plane is not full. I'm willing to accept and live with the safety hazard they cause, but who wants some fat sweaty pig spilling over into your seating area.

Any other minorities that you hate?

I hate discimination against minorities.. Have you ever noticed the way police pick on drunk drivers, especially the ones who drive recklessly..

[Gary A]

I DON'T care what approach the airlines take. Whether the obese people pay more, have to buy two seats or pay to upgrade to a bigger seat. The bottom line is that I pay for MY seat and I am entitled to a full seat without someone flowing over into my space.

[Bagwan]

To avoid distressing passengers by transporting somebody who is not careful about their personal freshness (I just love these American BS phrases) why not install smellometers at check-ins? Those failing would be given a clip round the ear by a good old fashioned Mother type and ordered to go take a shower - and don't forget behind the ears.

[Patsycat]

if the person in front is still reclined when food comes around I call a steward to sort it out. Thats what they get paid for & if I piss off the person in front then who cares, I don't know them & wont see them again when the plane lands

Until after your 20 hour flight - you both turn up in the same hotel for two weeks!!!!

[mpetersen]

Fly Air New Zealand... first thing i noticed on their planes is the extra seat width and leg room... planes built for all those maoris..

Seriously though, there needs to be a fixed limit on these things. Passengers can not be permitted to risk the safety of everybody else for their weight problems, genetic or not. I agree that if the definition is just "fat" then there's too much grey area around it.

I totally agree with the suggestion about moving people around to create the space, but I do also think there must be a fixed girth limit and weight limit for passengers and the rest is the airline's problem. Some of those budget american airlines (and QANTAS on asian flights) cram in everybody so tightly to get an extra row of seats in it's criminal. They should lose the customers and not blame it on a guy who's a little oversized.

As for the smell thing, i know for a fact that Sinapore airlines has refused to board a passenger without a shower first. The guy was in terribly shape and I don't think he'd showered for months.

I am 6'5" about 110Kg. I find myself too big to fit comfortably in economy, so i try my darndest to get biz seats on long haul. In some cases I would welcome being able to buy two seats at the cheap economy fare, but it's not offered on any booking engine I know of.

United is allowing passengers to pay for a second seat at the price of their original fare upon checkin. That seems a good solution. They also offer "economy plus" with longer seat pitch which is worth buying on long haul flights.

That said, the seats are too small, but planes are packed. So what gives?

I doubt that a morbidly obese passenger can even fit in a business class seat (they aren't that much wider, just mostly have better recline). There are conditions that don' t allow people to fly, so be it (pregnancy for instance).

Air Canada is forced to make available the extra seat for obese passengers at no cost. It's part of the courts' determination on human rights in Canada. So, if in doubt, book AC. They have great connections to Europe and all over North America.

Happy flying.

m

[cdnvic]

We don't need two near identical topics running concurrently.

Older topic closed