This photo, taken by an American Airlines flight attendant and posted on Flightglobal.com late last year, shows an obese passenger encroaching into the aisle.Airlines increasingly single out fliers they deem too fat to fly
Flying in coach is never comfortable, but it’s getting downright awkward for bigger passengers as airlines increasingly single out customers they deem too fat to fly.
The issue made headlines in early February when the director Kevin Smith, best known for “Clerks” and “Chasing Amy,” was thrown off a Southwest Airlines flight from Oakland to Burbank, Calif., because the crew determined he was too big. Mr. Smith turned to his Twitter account to vent: “I broke no regulation, offered no ‘safety risk’ (what, was I gonna roll on a fellow passenger?). I was wrongly ejected from the flight.”
Southwest, like most of the major United States carriers, has had a formal policy in place for years requiring that passengers who can’t physically fit into a single airline seat must buy two. Though such rules have long been denounced as discriminatory by advocates for the obese, they have gained the support of fliers who believe charging passengers who take up more room than the average person is only fair. Regardless of which side of the debate you are on, shrinking airline capacity has aggravated the issue with passengers of all sizes facing more tightly packed flights and cramped seating.
GO HERE to read more from the New York Times.
24 comments:
It's Jonathan Taylor.
Boo hoo....It's society's fault that I'm too fat to fit in a normal person's seat. Accordingly, the airlines, should spend billions of dollars in development and lost revenue to create a tubbo seat, right?. WRONG. How about this? Take responsibility for yourself and either pay for 2 seats don't fly. Try a little self discipline...put the hoho down and slowly walk away.
The big question is......What if he has to take a dump? I wouldn't want to be at the back of the plane.
9:49 I was going to say the same thing. I saw that lard ass at the movies and of course his wheelchair basket was full of food!
He fat guy...here's a question...do you think the guy or girl sitting next to you want you basically sitting on top of them on a 2 hour flight while you ask them "are you gonna eat that" when the attendant comes by with the peanuts? Outside of the obvious solution, by a second seat, or make other travel arrangements. I don't want to hear its a disease argument. Thats BS. There are a select few that can't control it, but the vast majority of individuals that have problems on airlines put themselves in that position! Put down the doritos and get on a treadmill.
Conside this: If the flight is completely full and you have purchased a seat - and you take up the seat that you have purchased - what are you to do if someone who takes up two seats and only has one is seated next to you. There are one too few seats on the plane. I'm not saying whether it's right or wrong to charge someone for a second seat if they are obese.=, but it certainly isn't fair to the passenger in the adjacent seat not to address the issue.
Size truly has nothing to do with a pilots decision to "throw" off fat people... It's all about weight. If the plane is approximately 400 lbs to heavy they either need to throw off 1 fat person or 2-3 small people (women and children first of course)...
A friend was on a flight once when they said "someone" but didn't point anyone out had to get off or they would start randomly taking bags off to get to the proper takeoff weight. Two people offered to have their bags sent on a different flight but they said no, who evers bags are nearest the doors will go... Long of short two people ended up leaving to take advantage of the offer for vouchers.
Either way its all to do with weight and not actual size. If the airlines cared about size they would't have made the seats so small in the first place (cause even at 200 lbs they are cramped)
I have been a victim of the grossly obese passenger invading my space on a flight! It was a 3 hour flight and the most miserable I have ever experienced! The fat lady's big fat arms were hanging over and pushing me to the other side of the seat which invaded the OTHER passenger on my right. (I was unfortunately in the middle seat!) I don't enjoy flying to begin with, and to have a big fat person squeezing me out of my space was annoying at best. YES, they need to make fat people buy two seats. If they don't like it, GO TO WEIGHT WATCHERS!!
It cost more to maintain that figure from food, cloths, health care, etc. So why would an over weight individual be surprised that they have to purchase 2 airplane seats; afterall, they are really 2 people weight wise.
I had an over weight person rent a room from me for a little over a year. After they moved out, I had to buy a new couch because they literally broke my couch just from sitting on it.
Tell me how the flight attendant is supposed to get the cart through the aisle to serve everybody else on the plane? Buy 2 seats and you get 2 in flight meals, Fatso!
I am a big girl but even I think Kevin Smith should just have sucked it up and bought an extra ticket,its not like he cant afford it.
Hey, I heard that Southwest doesn't charge for additional "baggage"
HAHA!
One of the County Vehicle's driver seats is pretty much sitting on the ground because of the obese driver. A normal person has to put a stack of pillows down to see over the steering wheel.
I agree with obese people needing to buy 2 seats for sure. I mean they can't be comfortable in just one of those scrawny seats. Just think of one of them in our little dash-8 planes in salisbury.
One thing the Airlines really need to stop charging for is checked bag fees. Southwest doesn't charge and they have a whole ad campaine behind it. All should at least allow for 1 checked bag. I fly a lot and sometimes I'm only gone for a day or two, so as far as clothes a pack light. However, because of TSA rules the tools I carry to do my job have to be in a checked bag. Thus I have to pay out the $25 dollars for the bag that could of been a carry-on, but isn't because of the tools I have to carry to do my job when I land at the next place. I understand the TSA rules and agree with the, but I think the airlines need to revise it and look at from a size and weight type of deal.
I guess next they'll be asking us all to chip in $5 bucks to pay for fuel. Or tips for the crew?
Does the passenger to his right only have to pay for half a seat since that's all he's getting to use?
so when is our government going to address the health costs to society of people like this individual and those like JT and other of this kind?
Who's paying for their health insurance? And doesn't it drive up everyone's health costs?
How sad. Some people cant help it that they have a weight problem. If you could choose would you be fat. I dont think so .So please people be nice.......
wow,
that guy belongs on a pallet down in the Belly of the plane.
no way he has a seat belt on,
he'd take out 20 people if there was any turbulence
In an emergency, they could block the isle and also the emergency exits
anonymous 2:21
sorry but your wrong.. if you don't put stuff in, your body can't magically create mass. For some its easier than others due to genetics, metabolizism, thyroid, etc. but its time to stop making excuses for these people. I don't think anyone here is talking about someone carrying an extra 30-40lbs.. its the 300lb+ idiots that society is catering too.
looks like operastion dumbo
It's the Fat Man eating his undersized(according to him) Red Door sub, bought with taxpayers money! Try a salad next time.
2:21- people don't choose to be black or gay, but they do choose to be fat. It's a matter of poor decisions.
Post a Comment