Double The Cost For A Flight?

[ManlyBanisters]

I really hate the whinners that shout, it's not their fault they are obese. Let me be clear, YES IT IS.

If someone is too lazy to do even a modicorum of excercise, if their waist exceeds 60 inches (that's 5 feet by the way), that's their own damn fault and should be made to pay for any inconvience they cause in a closed quarter.

Oh gawd, not this again!

Yeah, yeah, yeah - all fat people are just disgusting pigs who just need to jog up and down the stairs a few times to make it all better.

Lazy bastards!

 

[Ethyl]

If you're going to charge someone for an extra half seat, does the person sitting next to the obese person get their fare half off?

I really hate the whinners that shout, it's not their fault they are obese. Let me be clear, YES IT IS.

If someone is too lazy to do even a modicorum of excercise, if their waist exceeds 60 inches (that's 5 feet by the way), that's their own damn fault and should be made to pay for any inconvience they cause in a closed quarter.


Here's a hypothetical for you:

8 people (all ove various sizes and weights) are stuck on an elevator for 5 hours. One farts and it's a real stinker. Who is at fault?

Sklar

So what do you charge someone who isn't fat but is over 6' 4" and is forced to dangle his legs in the aisle because there's not enough room between his seat and the one in front? An extra leg room fee? That's just as inconvenient to the other passengers.

 

[BiItalianBro]

You all are killing me with some of these posts :wiggle: lol

Don't think for a minute that this policy is for your comfort or anyone else's ...its a stab in the dark to prime the revenue pump. Now that they have unbundled EVERYTHING into an a la carte ... this is the final frontier to squeeze more cash out of customers.

 

[polesmoker]

I love you Manly. You always say what I'm thinking. Me and my very charming son always get first class so he can have room to be comfy and warm cookies. As for the fatties, they still give them a regular seat next to someone so why charge extra if they don't at least get an extra seat to let their girth out.

 

[nudeyorker]

I love you Manly. You always say what I'm thinking. Me and my very charming son always get first class so he can have room to be comfy and warm cookies. As for the fatties, they still give them a regular seat next to someone so why charge extra if they don't at least get an extra seat to let their girth out.

With this new regulation they will be getting an extra seat to lift up the armrest and spread out so to speak. Thus the charge.I usually upgrade because I have about a million frequent flyer points. But if I was sitting in coach I don't really want someone spilling into my seat that I paid for.

 

[Gl3nn]

Just buy first class or business class seats then.

What's even worse... are crying babies.

 

[B_Nick8]

Oh, and as for charging very fat people more. No. Just no. One seat, one price.

You know I always agree with you, but this is the crux of the issue isn't it? If they're actually not taking up one seat then it's not one seat, one price.

 

[Mem]

Oh, and as for charging very fat people more. No. Just no. One seat, one price.

What if they take up two seats? There was one guy on Hell's Kitchen that was 400 pounds and he was not allowed to fly in the helicopter for the reward challenge because he was too heavy. He later had to quit the show due to a heart condition.

Right now one airline does it right. They charge morbidly obese people for two seats. If there is an empty seat on the plane they refund the extra charge. If not, and they could have sold the seat, they charge the person. I think I heard on the news that they want to charge people for two seats if they can't fit in their seat even with the seat belt extension.

 

[ManlyBanisters]

You know I always agree with you, but this is the crux of the issue isn't it? If they're actually not taking up one seat then it's not one seat, one price.

I disagree that you always agree with me :wink:

I fly quite often, in Europe, in the US and transatlantic - the only people I have ever seen literally exceeding the boudaries of an alloted seating space are very tall people whose elbows and legs 'intrude' into the aisle and/or their neighbour's space. I have never seen a person too large in the torso area to fit in one seat. I have seen plenty of people who are not the most comfortable, for whom the space is too tight, but never anyone 'spilling over' as someone above so charmingly put it.

 

[justmeincal]

I (btw... NJ, first is as good or better than ever, at least internationally)

I think if they are going to charge extra to fat people, they should give the money to the poor suckers stuck sitting next to them.

First class is still very nice internationally, but not domesticly (at least in the US). Flying in the US is not enjoyable anymore, even in first class.

BTW, has anyone flown Midwest Airlines (if they still exist)? They never serviced they areas I have lived in, but heard they were a nice airline; decent food and business/first class sized seats.

 

[nudeyorker]

First class is still very nice internationally, but not domesticly (at least in the US). Flying in the US is not enjoyable anymore, even in first class.

BTW, has anyone flown Midwest Airlines (if they still exist)? They never serviced they areas I have lived in, but heard they were a nice airline; decent food and business/first class sized seats.

I fly often from NY to LA and First and business are still OK, but other than that Domestic First is now Coach Deluxe!(comfortable seat and a real glass)
Sorry I could not resist adding this....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjaFRiWCUMg

 

[2322]

You all are killing me with some of these posts :wiggle: lol

Don't think for a minute that this policy is for your comfort or anyone else's ...its a stab in the dark to prime the revenue pump. Now that they have unbundled EVERYTHING into an a la carte ... this is the final frontier to squeeze more cash out of customers.

Actually, not quite. I saw a plan about two years ago where an airline wanted to test inclined boards for short-haul flights. People would be placed in a semi-standing position and then held in place with a chest harness. They could cram over 1/3 more passengers in this way. I'm not sure what happened to this plan but I gather it didn't pan out.

 

[HellsKitchenmanNYC]

Hmm, yeah funny - from two of our childless contributers. Look, I know some parents don't do a good job controlling their kids but the vast majority of us do, and we do care about our fellow travellers' comfort.

Do you know what it is like to have people sigh and huff and roll their eyes just because you sit near them with a child on a plane? Do you know what kind of pressure that puts a parent under? Kids are kids, and even the best parented child in the world will sometimes 'go off on one' and Sod's Law dictates that will happen at the most inconvenient and embarassing time possible. We do our best - you fucking try it.

And as for charging us more, or denying us the opportunity of the same travel options as childless people... well fuck you. You want to travel without hearing kids? You fucking stump up for first class or get in your own damn car and drive where you're going - you have more disposable income with no kids to feed, after all, dontcha. Show some fucking understanding.

Oh, and as for charging very fat people more. No. Just no. One seat, one price.

As a person who is childless but has 8 nieces and nephews and has travelled w/them I do know what it's like to have people think they wee my kids. But it doesn't matter if I know what it's like people on a plane or a bus who are travelling w/o children still want to kill you and your kids. When on a cross state bus I'm ALWAYS stuck behind a kid that's either nuts and can't shut up or a child that the parents have let the kids run the show. Those are the parents w/the targets on their heads.
There should be a bus for ONLY parents w/kids so the parents can kill each other or kill the kids. It has nothing to do w/understanding. We all know kids have their 'times' etc. To enclose them on a abus or a plane w/unsuspecting victims means you deserve the stares. Sorry but it's just the truth. You wanted kids live w/it. Live w/the fact that people want to tie your kid to the tire of the bus. And if you DIDN'T have kids you'd feel the same way.
As for paying extra for a large person in seats...as I said I always end up next to the person who should prob have half my seat. If the truth be told I think alot of overweight people don't even fly because of the seat smallness (as per a story from a work friend) and the embarassment they might feel. I still think one ticket, one price. At least they are not teething or any other thing that happens to kids and parents simply cannot see it might not be a good time to take them on a bus/plane.

 

[Deno]

If you were shipping airmail, say 100 pounds of lard and you only had 2 containers of different sizes to ship it in, wouldn't the larger one cost more to ship then the smaller one? Just saying! Also I often wondered if extremly large people posed more of a danger to others in say a survivable crash. I know I wouldn't want hit by a 300 or 400 pound flying object in the middle of a plane crash. Whats to say that there seat belt would even keep them in place.

 

[midlifebear]

Got stuck on the last row, window seat of a Delta 767 to Guatemala once. My seat mates were a farmer and his wife from Kemper, Idaho. The farmer was normal sized. But his wife was beyond morbidly obese and insisted on sitting in the middle seat hoping that no one would notice that the seat belt extender given to her by the flight crew still didn't contain her girth. No one made any mention of the fact that both her husband and I had to raise the armrests so she could squeeze in. And the fact they were flying to Guatemala to meet their son ending his "mission" for the mormon church didn't exactly thrill well me either. Nor did her need to read her book of mormon sotto voce throughout most of the trip. But I kept my mouth shut. However, to do so I had to down a larger than normal dose of Valium to help ease my impending sense of claustraphobia.

So, try to imagine my anger when four hours into the flight I was poked hard in my ribs by the Large Marge squishing me up against the flight cabin and yelling in my ear to wake up because I was snoring! God forgive me for having a deviated septum. I made everyone get out of their seats with the excuse that I had to pee real bad. Once set free I had a quiet and calm talk with two nice members of the flight crew who noticed there was no longer a place for me to sit. I'll give Delta credit for moving me up to business class, which was almost empty.

So, if the big sweaty guy's or gal's lard is overflowing into your paid for territory, calmly approach the flight crew and ask for help. They can usually find a seat somwhere you'll be more comfortable, except on those "filled to capacity" flights.

 

[BiItalianBro]

Actually, not quite. I saw a plan about two years ago where an airline wanted to test inclined boards for short-haul flights. People would be placed in a semi-standing position and then held in place with a chest harness. They could cram over 1/3 more passengers in this way. I'm not sure what happened to this plan but I gather it didn't pan out.

Thats what im talkin about lol....it was a Japanese idea but the FAA in the US and JAA in Europe said hellz no....so died in the water, for now, thank God

 

[2322]

Here's the scoop on the new policy from United's website:

Passengers requiring extra space


[FONT=arial,geneva][FONT=Arial, Helvetica]For the comfort and well-being of all customers aboard United flights, we have aligned with other major airlines' seating policies relating to passengers who:[/FONT]

• [FONT=Arial, Helvetica]are unable to fit into a single seat in the ticketed cabin;[/FONT]
• [FONT=Arial, Helvetica]are unable to properly buckle the seatbelt using a single seatbelt extender; and/or[/FONT]
• [FONT=Arial, Helvetica]are unable to put the seat's armrests down when seated.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]If unused seats are available on the ticketed United or United Express flight, then a customer meeting any of the above criteria will be reaccommodated next to an empty seat.

If no unused seats are available on the ticketed flight, then the customer must either purchase an upgrade to a cabin with available seats that address the above-listed scenarios, or change his or her ticket to the next available flight and purchase a second seat in addition to the one already purchased. If a customer meeting any of the above-listed criteria cannot be accommodated next to an empty seat and chooses not to upgrade or change flights and purchase a ticket for an additional seat, he or she will not be permitted to board the flight.[/FONT][/FONT]

This sounds fair to me, save that the cost has been elevated to full-fare for that extra seat. The question I have is how do they know who will or won't fit into the seats until boarding has already occurred? What are the flight attendants going to do? Throw someone off or demand a credit card there in the aisle while everyone tries to board?

 

[Bbucko]

The question I have is how do they know who will or won't fit into the seats until boarding has already occurred? What are the flight attendants going to do? Throw someone off or demand a credit card there in the aisle while everyone tries to board?

That's what I basically said in my earlier in this thread: how can this be enforced consistently, impartially and fairly?

FWIW, a seat in coach is 17" across. Take out a tape measure and look at it.

I always hated designing dining chairs because it's such a specialty. But anyone attempting to market a dining chair that's only 17" wide as anything other than a bistro chair is gonna run into stiff objections from a customer. It's just not practical.

The problem here is that the airlines have decided to make coach seats as tight as possible to cram people in like sardines. I'm not privy to an airline's business plan, but there must be another way to make flying profitable, especially when 2/3 of all adult Americans are considered over their ideal weight by the AMA.

 

[thadjock]

Actually, not quite. I saw a plan about two years ago where an airline wanted to test inclined boards for short-haul flights. People would be placed in a semi-standing position and then held in place with a chest harness. They could cram over 1/3 more passengers in this way. I'm not sure what happened to this plan but I gather it didn't pan out.

they sold the idea to universal, it's going to be a new theme park ride.

 

[simcha]

This is the last acceptable prejudice. The prejudice and hatred of fat people is a disgusting stain on our planet. I'm not surprised at the sophomoric responses some have written about fat people "smelling" and "they need to bathe." Ad hominem attacks are cool only if they aren't levelled against you.

And policies that treat a class of people who are generally held in contempt (fat people) tend to be popular not only because it seems that it's acceptable because "everyone hates a fatty" but if these policies don't affect "me" then they must be fine. Just wait until they start charging "baby screaming" charges and "long leg" penalties. This is just a continuation of the assault on airline passengers that the industry has unleashed on all of us.

They chose to charge the "fat people" more because most people find it acceptable to denigrate, slander, and scape goat fat people for being large. It's just another form of discrimination, only it's acceptable because people have been brainwashed into believing that being skinny is beautiful by the weightloss industry, the medical industrial complex, and the fashionistas. Just wait 50 years when real medical studies are done on "fat people" and the truth comes out that we are all created in different sizes. Then we'll see who's gums are still flappin'.