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Delta passenger gets half of a seat
Overweight airline passengers are a tricky issue. Some airlines stipulate that extra large passengers must pay more, sometimes even the price of two tickets, as they take up additional space. This obviously leads to a mess of questions regarding discrimination and customer service. Recently the Canadian Transport Authority mandated that national carriers were not allowed to institute a "fat surcharge." Yet these kinds of decisions don't do much to quell a complicated situation. Take the recent case of Julie from Henderson, Nevada.
Julie wrote in to MSNBC's Travel Troubleshooter with a complicated query. On a Delta flight from Philadelphia to Atlanta, Julie was placed next to a very large woman, who was filling up not only her own space, but also half of Julie's. Much to Julie's dismay, there was no extra room in first class or in the rest of the plane. The flight attendant's solution? "Find a cute boy or girl" and sit in their lap.
As ridiculous as that statement probably sounds, Julie's predicament is not uncommon, and when planes are fully booked there are not any simple solutions. When she emailed Delta to complain about paying for a whole seat and only getting half of one, they politely responded by thanking her for the input but that the airline could not do anything about it. I personally would feel pretty frustrated if I paid for a full price ticket and then had to squeeze myself into half of a seat; a lot of people would.
Should Delta be held responsible? What do you think the solution to the complicated question of overweight travelers in the sky is?
Reader Comments (Page 6 of 6)
Anonymous Dec 6th 2008 12:39AM
I agree that it would be nice to see more premium economy or comfort seat options. At least that way some of the taller/bigger folks may self-select a larger more comfortable seat. I often fly first-class for the extra legroom, but prices have gone up drastically.
I guarantee that at least one of the complainers here have flown without buying a ticket for their children. Want to talk about safety... try holding a bowling ball during a 200mph crash landing. What are you going to do when the cabin depressurizes and there are only 3 oxygen masks?
Some people smoke, others wear strong cologne/perfume. Either could upset my allergies, should those people have to compensate me for my discomfort?
What about when the person in front of you reclines? They paid for a seat, and that seat reclines... doesn't that give them a right to recline? Or... Doesn't your fare entitle you to the use of the tray-table? If the seat in front of you is reclined, can you really use a laptop on the tray table? Maybe you should bill the airline at your salary rate as compensation for lost productivity?
I think the only thing we can agree on is that domestic airlines are out of touch with their customer base.
Disgusted Dec 16th 2008 3:04AM
I think that making people sit in a "fatties only" section, no matter what name you want to call it, is disgusting.
How is that any different from making blacks sit separately from whites? I'm sure at the time, sitting next to a person of color was uncomfortable for whites, and I'm sure that still holds today. So, what? I can fit in my seat, but I don't want to sit next to the Mexican, or the black guy, or the old lady who can't breathe through her nose, or how about those mothers with the kid who NEVER shuts up and the kid wails the ENTIRE 5 hour flight?
The point is, you can't accommodate everyone's prejudice. The fact that so many people are for this, is disgusting. I've sat next to so many skinny people who end up coming over and leaning into my section all the same. And Delta? Smallest seats I've seen on a plane, and for the price they charge, you'd think they can afford to spare an extra inch or 2.
shari Apr 20th 2009 10:07PM
If the airlines want to charge extra that is their business but they shouldn't sell the ticket in the first place without asking the weight question. Some people don't fly a lot. It would be so simple to ask do you weigh over 200 lbs. If the answer if yes a screen appears asking for the extra ticket to be bought. Then the person has the choice of buying the extra ticket or finding another mode of travel. It isn't fair to sell the seat then pull someone off the plane or out of line day of departure. How would you like your trip ruined or treated like that. Seems funny that the normal office chair is 20 inch but airplane seats vary by plane. What if that person doesn't have the money to upgrade day of departure? What if the plane is full. Let's see my ticket went up $300.00 the week before departure. Wouldn't the airline love kicking me off and replacing it with a higher paying fair. Only reason I can see for not making the policy well known when the ticket is bought.
Shari Apr 20th 2009 10:23PM
The problem is that seats are different from plane to plane. Midwest Air has planes with 20" seats. Some of the other airlines run planes with 17" seats. The normal office chair has 20" seats. Some flights don't even offer premium seats except to their frequent flyer program. Someone complained that SWA made them buy the second seat then put it in another area of the plane. Not only that but they filled it at the last minute because nobody was sitting there and the plane was overbooked. If you buy a second seat should you be entitled to that seat. By the way if you can book Sun Country they say they don't have a problem with bigger people. They also have great customer service.
cosmo Oct 21st 2009 6:56PM
They changed the seats on buses and they can change the seats on airplanes to accomodate their larger passengers. Look around, it's rare to see anyone that could afford to lose 10 pounds or more. People are getting bigger - and public transportation needs to keep up with the trend. It once was just Americans getting fatter, but since the introduction of American style fast food to other countries, being overweight is becoming a world concern.
Frankly, the government should start targeting the fast food businesses and junk food sellers instead of the individuals. There's too much of it. Let McDonalds and KFC pay for the seats.
ceecee Oct 26th 2009 8:29PM
Frankly, I see way more people with big bums in the airport than thin ones who actually fit in those small seats. I'd wager that 98% of the posters here have extra poundage. Don't throw stones if you live in fat houses, people. I'm thinking the majority of you are larger than you should be too.
lovepack Jun 13th 2010 2:07PM
I guess we are forced to chalk many of your comments up to sheer ignorance. I am 6'4'' 350 pounds yet I fit in the seat with both arm rests down and no seat belt extender. I highly doubt any of you even break 6feet so I don't expect for you to relate to what someone my height has to deal with. So if people my size who do fit into the seat are forced to pay extra fees then I must propose the person who wants to recline on my already smashed knee caps must also pay a fee as they are not just causing my trip to be unpleasant but are causing PHYSICAL PAIN. So when you the "skinny" person wants to start paying a small fee to be allowed to recline on my already smashed knees we can start talking. If not then I kindly ask you to stop bitching.
BoydofZINJ May 11th 2010 6:59PM
What is the percentate of people who are overweight in America? Is it at 30% now? Is it much higher? According to recent studies its allot more Americans are over weight. There are probably more obese people than non in America. So, if the obese people are now the majority; and they are Americans - then why do people not account for them?
We know that most people will be overweight and a good portion of the people might be obese enough to make these seats a problem. If weight is an issue, perhaps airlines should re-design their seats and have a larger seats for the larger people that will encourage more people in PAYING a small increased fee to fly on their aircraft versus the airlines current problems.
You know why the airlines are having money problems? They do not cater to the people! How can they, when they dont realize a (pardon the pun) large portion of the American people are now considered overweight?
Staci Jun 9th 2010 12:46PM
im sorry but i think some of you people on here are extremely rude and dont care about anyone but yourselves...you people should think about other peoples feelings before writting this stuff.. how would you feel if someone was speaking about you in hurtful ways??