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Should overweight passengers pay extra for airline tickets?
The argument about whether overweight passengers should pay for a second seat has been getting louder. Our friends at AOL Travel recently summarized some readers' thoughts on the subject of obese passengers, and now here's your chance to sound off!
Participate in our poll ...
| Yes. Passengers who overflow into a second seat should be charged for the space they occupy. | |
|---|---|
| Maybe. Is the flight full? If not, just place them near an open seat and be done with it. | |
| Absolutely not. How insulting is it to charge one person for two tickets?! | |
| Let's be honest: I don't want obese passengers on my flight. If they spill out into the aisle, or fall during an evacuation, my safety is at risk. | |
| How about if airlines offer "special seating sections" for larger passengers (and price them accordingly)? |
... leave a comment below, and then read more:
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 70)
michael Dec 10th 2009 8:09PM
you should design new seats for large people new design in one section for large people to seats that way don't insult large people ... i f u dont do that you are really insult people !!!
get new design seats for new section for large peoples !!!!!!
Derek Dec 10th 2009 8:17PM
It shouldn't be an insult to people when they take up extra space due to their personal decision in being that weight.
It is just like if you let yourself be overweight and therefore that weight prevents you from walking up a couple flights of stairs...so they give you a handicapped sticker so you get priority parking simply because of your personal choice to be overweight. They shouldn't get special treatment, or larger seats. They should have to pay for two seats if they occupy that much.
PATTY Dec 10th 2009 8:41PM
well i think it is insulting.....will they charge less for skinny people....or less for people with no legs....seriously....this is ridiculous
margie Dec 10th 2009 8:53PM
I like it. Kind of like a fat section.
Angela Dec 10th 2009 8:59PM
thats how i feel. its nothing against them, it is what it is right?!
Juanita Dec 10th 2009 9:30PM
You need to be compassionate to other people. Not everyone chooses to be obese. Things happen in their lives to cause that. Some people may have gland problems that causes them to gain weight. It could be you or someone in your family. It's like diabetes or cancer. What about the anarexic or bulimic, let's not look at their illness, because they are smal enogh to fit in the seat.
maryloowho Dec 11th 2009 6:48AM
I paid EXTRA recently on a 4+ hour flight for preselection for my daughter and I and the aisle seat was taken by a grossly obese woman who could not put down her armrest. I paid for 2 seats yet my daughter and I shared 1 and a half seats, and I paid an extra EIGHTY bucks for the privilege. Had to mouth breathe the entire flight because she was so smelly. Bash me all you want, but you squeeze your @ss into half hour seat for four hours and them tell me about her rights.
Steven Dec 10th 2009 9:55PM
Yes. There should be a few seats specifically designed for overweight passengers, and these seats should be priced accordingly. This way, the airlines will not significantly lose revenue, and they will effectively be avoiding the discrimination issue. Obese fliers can now book these larger seats when they travel, or, if they choose, can purchase 2 seats instead. By giving passengers this choice, airlines cannot be accused of forcing overweight individuals to purchase two seats, and, thus, no discrimination exists. This is a fair resolution for all passengers and the airline. Problem solved.
shhhheasy2u Dec 10th 2009 10:09PM
I agree with you about the creating either a section for obese people or seats to accomodate them, now to go a step further, had that been me and I would have been put in that position I would have sued the airlines. Morbid obesity is considered a handicap people, read your laws about handicap travel. Just like they have to make concessions for wheelchairs, or wait maybe we should charge people with hearing, blindness or a wheelchair an extra fee for having to make special accomodations for them????
Sammy Dec 10th 2009 10:23PM
As the pic on AOL clearly shows, there are passengers still boarding, overheads still open and it looks to me like this heavy set man is setting on the armrest waiting on others in his row to be seated so he doesn't have to get up and down three times. I have set beside heavy set people and I am heavy set myself. It is a little tight in the seat but it doesn't matter because the flights aren't that long anyway. If you are going to charge for two seats I am going to a different airlines. It is discrimination to charge people for more than one seat because 90 pound people don't like setting next to someone 300 pounds.
mandy Dec 10th 2009 10:46PM
being fat is not always a personal choice...lose the stereotypes...
Chris Dec 10th 2009 10:40PM
1) We need to stop making excuses for fat people. It is not discrimination when you infringe on the rights of others. If you are so big that you infringe on the space of another person (regardless of fat or muscle), than there is no discrimination. IF you take up more than one seat, you pay more. This rule is sound and just. You can be all you are, but not at the expense of those around you. This IS a right (and a logical one at that).
2) Getting to fly on an airplane is NOT a right. No one is entitled to the fly and there is no God-given, inalienable right to do so. It is a paid, free-market service (with government intervention for safety and to keep the business afloat). Most people treat airlines like they do the post-office. Like it's some government-run, tax-payed service that we all are supposed to have equal access to. It's a business...and not a particularly sound one at that. What we have payed for years to the airlines does not actually lead to profitable business. We, in fact, should be paying more for what it costs in human resources, fuel, upgrading of airplanes and facilities, etc. So, all the overweight people seeking more comfortable seating need to change your mindset.
Solution: If it's not a right or discrimination (it is simply not), then you need to look at the problem for what it is....supply and demand. Airlines have smaller seats because they have to keep up with costs (if you think this false, read any article on the finances of airlines or look at the long history of layoffs, pilot strikes, etc). If you want bigger seats, demand it. Just like any business or new product, there needs to be a viable demand and expectation of business. The "Fat Class" idea will work if there are people who want to pay for it. This is not a right and airlines do not have to provide it, but if you get all the big people together, demand a test run in a busy market, you might convince them there is a strong enough demand to start supplying the service.
On a side note...No Excuses: If you are grossly overweight, regardless of reason, then the only people who should be modifying anything is you. Do not expect others to work around you and make exceptions. You may have a gland problem...no excuse. Change your diet, exercise, get medical attention, find a way to live your life. We dumb down (and fatten up) all of society when we continually excuse people for taking more than they contribute because they have "issues" (and yes, I have issues myself). Yes, people have major hurdles to overcome in their life, but no one benefits from removing the hurdles or changing the game to make it easier. You find a way to overcome, be stronger, and stop excusing your problems onto others. If you're too big to fit in the seat...build your own plane, drive your own car, or lose the weight.
Alisa Dec 11th 2009 6:44AM
I was getting ready to suggest the same thing about the seats. This would solve the problem!
Charles Dec 10th 2009 10:55PM
So if I pay good money to fly somewhere and a little brat kid if screaming for 8 hours I should fly free or that kids parents should be charged more for annoying all the passengers for the entire flight ? Hey I paid for a nice relaxing flight ... Some people have very important meetings to go to when they land and want to rest on the flight ! Or if a person brings his little mutt dog on and it dont stop barking ! How about if it was a very famous person would you complain then ? What if it was players from pro football who are 6' 5'' and weight 390 pounds and there are plenty of then out there ! The list can go on and on !!!!! Think about it people !!!!
Alexandra Dec 10th 2009 10:56PM
.....and charge them more for the extra weight, period.
scott Dec 10th 2009 11:05PM
man your right they should a bigger seat on the airlines because it is insulting to them that are over weight like the cause they could have something wrong with them i am in the military and we do not let marines stay in if they are over weight and some of my good friends are big. Derek you are dumb and ignorant.
dinohealth Dec 10th 2009 11:15PM
If you charge large passengers more than the regular fare, does that mean that you will charge skinny passengers less than the regular fare? Come on folks, we are soon going to go to paying our body weight by the ...pound! Instead of the airlines looking to make a buck with an extra pound or two on people, or, baggage, they should be looking into making larger, firmer, and more comfortable seats for everyone; and that includes an oversize seat or two on every plane for our larger human beings! The cattle car approach is really getting very old and very intolerable! Even the manner by which the questions are structured in the survey, indicates that they blatantly are skewed toward additional charges; the choice of no additional charge is not offered for specially designed sections for passengers with special needs. A lot of large passengers may not have any control over their weight due to medical problems. It is totally unfair that they should have to account for it every time they fly. The airline industry has to accomodate the needs of its passengers/customers like any other business. The only accomodation that they have historically made is to simply pass on to their customers the additional costs resulting from poor management decisions and poor strategic pricing, while the rest of us find innovative ways to deal with rising costs (inclusive of fuel)! High time that passengers that travel begin demanding some things such as leg space, wider and firmer seats, and adequate seats for elderly and other passengers with special needs. It is a matter of better design and accomodation...nothing more! The airlines that cannot immprove and upgrade should go out of business just as it happens in other industries. The cattle car mentality is insensitive and is outright turning off people from flying! People are tired of having even a snack taken away in the name of cost-containment. I think the airline industry is getting away with a lot more than any other competitive industry!
steve Dec 10th 2009 11:15PM
common sense flash update: they make planes to accomadate size. many of you have seen it. it is commonly referred to as a removable armrest. they also have roomier, cushier seats up front for a little more $$. discrimination? the seats are so small to accomadate more passengers for cost purposes-they offer a little seat for a doller amount. if it's too small, it's too small. i don't like it either. i fly 1st class if i can swing it, but either way, its a service i pay for and expect to get. i like the armrest-and i like the window (i usually let the one next to me have the armrest if i got a window). if i give up my armrest, it is kindness, generousity. it don't make me a saint, it's just an armrest. but if you in half my seat, can't you see that? do you care about the comfort of the ones next to you? love goes both ways. if you want someone to accomidate, why not accomidate others as well? want respect for being huge, get 2. share the love, share a burger.
kat Dec 10th 2009 11:40PM
9 out of 10 people who are obese..do not choose to be so..it is a medical condition..study up you idiot !!!!!!
Cory Dec 10th 2009 11:50PM
I completely Agree with you, Michael. Obese people should have to pay extra for the extra seats that they take up. I weigh 125 pounds, by chice: ie. Diet, exercise, and eating in moderation; I fly often, and it is not fair to the ones who maintain a healthy weight to get stuck in the middle of two morbidly obese passengers. If obese people CHOOSE to weigh 300 pounds or more, they should have to pay more.