Obese should buy two plane seats, says Australia survey

Yes, I understand where you are coming from. My pro-responsibility attitude is not meant in ANY discrimanatory way whatsoever.

On a side note: Rather than seeing the obese as a problem, airlines could actually increase their business by providing special seats and flights.

well said, how about a gym in one of those airbuses? have you seen those? they can fit a gym, pool, treadmills.

reply to post by jedimiller

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exactly.

in my perfect world, airplanes are supposed to be more comfortable anyway, for anyone. If any airline wants to get ahead of their competition, all they´d have to do is add a few extras....such as larger seats or even a gym or something. I dont see why only the super-rich should be allowed to travel in comfort.

Prosperity for all!

indeed. and think about all the benefits and profits the airlines would be making. overweight folks in general, make more money and spend more. So it's a win win situation.


So to others instead of attacking an overweight person with psychological attacks, why not help them?

reply to post by Skyfloating

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The problem is, if you don't want to discriminate, larger seats should be given to all. To do that, airlines would be forced to raise prices. Most airlines were barely turning a profit when oil was at $60/barrel. With the current price of oil, it would be suicide for them to give bigger seats to all.

There is a problem with having a plus-sized folks section on the plane. If it was not centered correctly, it may cause the plane to tip.

If it were in the back, before the bathrooms, the isles may become more restricted as you get closer. Not good if you had too much brocolli the night before.

Sorry, jokes.

I personally think that if the seats all came with a little divider that came up to a few inches below your arm pit, it would keep any body material from your neighbors from leaking over into your seat. This divider could have its own little built-in arm rest keeping the fleshes divided. It can be lowered into the seat for those overweight folks who are in love and might want to touch handles or mothers caring for their children.

Box it in.

Inexpensive, indiscriminate and enclosed.

the airlines need those seats like at the AMC movies. With the large seats and removable armrest. Large televisions and popcorn for free.

reply to post by Karlhungis

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IF the airlines makes the seats any smaller ITS paying for three seats,

It's a fair ruling, if you do have any such uncontrollable illnesses, the government pays you to get the proper treatment and may even help you pay that extra seat. There should not be reason why someone else has to have a portion of their seat taken up because the dude can't stop eating big-macs. It's gross.

It boils down to money. Airlines are not a charity. The reason they have seats at the sizes they do is because you need a large number of passengers to be profitable. This is why, despite the decline in airline profits in the past few years, airlines are actually trying to make planes bigger. The more passengers are on a plane, the more money they can bring in.

Some fat people seem to think it's society's job to try and step out of their way so they never have to face their obesity problems head-on. They get offended any time they arrive someplace and realize they're too big, and for some reason they think everyone else is at fault but themselves.

Requiring airlines to make their seats larger would crush their business model and lower profits in a business field already plagued by layoffs and bankruptcy. In addition to lowering profits per-flight, the complete overhaul of the seating arrangement on the massive number of jets out there would cost more money than most of us will ever see in a lifetime.

However, we do have laws that require public buildings to have handicap access. Requiring handicap seating on planes wouldn't be too out of line. It would be more acceptable because it's a solution for people who actually need the extra room due to their disabilities. These seats would have to be built specifically to accommodate people with limited mobility, which would automatically make them larger and have more space around them.

Fat people could then have a choice: Take a handicap seat for regular price, or pay for two normal seats. It's NOT society's or the airlines' job to make sure they're never reminded of their weight, however, so there's no reason the airline should have to make any concessions other than that.

reply to post by Karlhungis

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I would bet that any airline interested in getting ahead of the competition to be the FIRST to offer a new type roomy seat-policy would win, because many people would actually be willing to pay a few extra bucks to arrive at their destination rested and ready-to-go. Give it a few more years and some airline will be the first to offer it.

reply to post by godservant

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SOrry, But window seat in front and wet ones

reply to post by mattifikation

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That is exactly right. I was a flight attendant (in the U.S.) back in the late '70's/early '80's. Airline seats are small so that the airline can turn a profit.

It was standard practice for the airlines in the U.S. to charge obese people for 2 seats. I think it still is. Otherwise, the airline loses money and airlines aren't doing so well any more, with the high price of oil, etc.

Personally, I'm perfectly OK with obesity being termed a "chronic illness"....Am I comfortable to have it termed a permanent or semi-permanent disability ?

At this point, I'd say no...

So in my mind, for now, if those who need to pay say 50% more on non full flight in order to comfortably accommodate themselves and their fellow passengers, I'm all for it...not 100% mind you...

The surcharge would increase according to how full the flight was and how early the flight was booked...

As it does now...You book it months in advance, you save heaps (at least in Aus you do)...So if you are weight challenged, book as soon as you can and reduce the cost...

Surely with some fine tuning from ATS'ers we can put a policy towards the airlines ?

Peace

reply to post by Skyfloating

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United offers "Economy plus" which gives you a little more room for about 50 dollars more per ticket. I still think that it would be uncomfortable for many obese people though.

It's already termed a disability, so it's too late for that argument.

Charging them for just an extra half seat will be no consolation for the guy who is stuck sitting in the other half of that seat.

People keep talking about "fair" or not being "offensive." Well how fair is it for the other passengers to have somebody else's blubber oozing into the seat they paid full price for? How is it not offensive to have to sit next to some huge guy and smell the fat rolls he can't reach in the shower and listen to him wheezing?

I am not just generalizing. I have never met a morbidly obese person that I could stand the smell of. EVER. And I work at Wal-Mart so you can bet your bupkiss I meet my fair share of fat lazy people.

Help! I'm gravatationally challenged.

Remember those old images of people being released from Nazi concentration camps? Did you see any fat prisioners walking out? Your weight is a simple result of calories in vs. calories expended. Where are all the programs to assist the poor fat obese kids in African refugee camps? Good luck finding examples of either of these.

It's hardly a disease. Maintaining your weight is more about your mental state than your physical state. If you're using eating to fulfill an emotional need, or to make you feel good, this drug has bad side-effects as well. If people would just have more mental discipline in their lives this wouldn't be an issue. It's mind over matter.

People need to stop worrying about being P.C. and just come out and say "You're fat, buy two seats please."

reply to post by Karlhungis

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arennt Fat people also a health risk
i mean say if the plane makes a crash landing or something in water, can you imagine the time it would take chubby to get of his/her chair and get to an emergency exit?

in my view they should be assesed first and see if they will be issue if something should occur.

also they should be charged extra for a seat if they are going to take up more room, place isnt a chairity.

also i would put them on the side so its easier for people to move freely and not be stuck in one place due to a overweight passenger.


i know i am a horrible person

I vote for charging them for two seats.

The worst situation I was in was a small plane from High Level, a short stop in Peace River, and then to Edmonton. It was a small plane with two seats on each side of the aisle and I had a window seat 4-5 rows from the nearest exit.

I was about 17 years old and very slender so they actually moved this huge guy beside me because two fat people couldn't sit side by side. They had to put the arm rest up just so he could fit in, and they gave him an extension belt so he could put on a seat belt.
As the safety lecture was going on before takeoff I was actually looking for my escape options. I figured I would be climbing over seats for the exit in an emergency because there was no way I'd be getting past this wheezing lard ass they crushed in beside me.

I paid the same price as him to fly that day, but he took half my seat.

I say that I and others like myself perpetually unable to gain weight and considered underweight by doctors should only have to pay for half a seat.

I have room to spare nearly every place I go. Went I decide to splurge and go to the movies I have plenty of room and planes are the same way.

Many are so eager to have others pay more what say you to some paying less? What about when a little person flies should they not get a much lower rate? Technically it is costing less to transport them than it is someone of average weight. The actual cost is insignificant if you figure in the amount of power used in the end though, unless of course you have a plane full of overweight people or one full of little people.

As far as seats go at one time the seats on both planes and theaters were set up for the size of an average person. Those seats are still in use today and very few are the same size as average during those times. One can compare the portion size per serving of food and see a dramatic difference from that a mere twenty years ago. People are eating more and in turn the average size of one’s middle inline and overall body size is becoming larger.

Raist