Extra charge for extra-large airline passengers

The Seattle Times ^ | June 20, 2009 | Brendan Doyle

[Eric Blair 2084]

U.S. airlines, already trying to sell extra legroom and faster lines, are finding another innovation hard to push: second seats for overweight passengers.

It's a very hard sell: On airlines such as Southwest and United, people who can't fit into 17-inch economy seats with the armrests down and their seat belts fastened must buy a second seat or they don't fly. US Airways and American Airlines are likely to offer free second seats, but on a full flight they make extra-large passengers pay for them.

Fliers who have been compressed by their neighbors love the idea. "They should be required to pay for the extra space," said Scott Land, 54, of Seattle, who is thin.

Gargantuan people like Washington bookseller Gary Lewis, who is 6 feet 8 inches and weighs 400 pounds, hate being forced to buy second seats. "There should be wider seats for everyone," said Lewis.

Many passengers, even svelte ones, would agree. The problem is, Boeing set its 17-inch standard for economy-class seats in 1954. At that time, the average U.S. adult male weighed about 166 pounds and the average female weighed 140 pounds.

Today, the average U.S. male is 28 pounds heavier, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, and the average female 24.5 pounds heavier. But Boeing's economy-class seats max out at about 17.25 inches, Airbus' at 18 and Brazilian-made Embraer's at 18.25. In comparison, widths for Boeing first-class seats for domestic flights typically range from 18 to 22 inches, depending on the airline, according to seatguru.com.

Touching puts it mildly. Eagerton believes — accurately — that the discomfort is "more common now than it was even five or ten years ago."

[Eric Blair 2084]

To my FReeper friends who are, how can I put this delicately, uuuuhhh, full figured, I want you to know that I am on your side and I am completely against discrimination for any lifestyle choices.

Having said that, please excuse me for my giddy case of Schadenfreude. If I had a dollar for 300 pound woman who waived their sausage like fingers in front of their face to blow away my cigarette smoke and than dove back into their plate full of nachos and refried beans, I would be a billionaire.

I told the heffers and their equally hefty boyfriends/husbands who attempted to do me bodily harm that someday they will know what it feels like to be discriminated against....and somewhere out there I will be there laughing.

Wherever you folks are, I'm laughing.

[Eric Blair 2084]

Granted this is not a Gubmint policy issued by the FAA, but rather a decision made by private businesses. Fellow citizens who understandably don't like carbon monoxide being blown in their face on 7 hour flights because it is annoying will understand why fellow citizens don't like to be squished like a bug for those 7 hours either. It's just a tad bit annoying.

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[GOP_Lady]

Hey, can “skinny minny” me get a price reduction then? :-)

[Eric Blair 2084]

Courtesy ping, we were just talking about this yesterday.

[Eric Blair 2084]

Maybe you can sell obesity seat offset credits :-)

[GOP_Lady]

Here's a personal story for you, Sir Eric.

I was boarding a flight on the way home from Vegas.

I was supposed to sit next to hubby (the great GOP_Harley_Guy), but someone had taken my seat.

As I was approaching a row in which two LARGE women were seated, I noticed them looking at me and saying to themselves, “Please sit here.” I did, and it made everyone a little more comfortable.

Aren't I nice? :-) LOL

[Lysandru]

"I have personal friends who have been called out of line and asked to buy a second seat," Howell said. "If they see someone standing there who they decide is too big, they get called out, and it's embarrassing and humiliating."

This happened to me this past weekend on my return from a business trip. And frankly, I am O.K. with United charging for a second seat if someone can't get the arm rest down. But I got yanked off the plane based upon the assertion (untested) of my fellow passenger that this was the case-- and the cabin crew didn't even verify the claim. I was eventually put back on the plane and the other gent got off--and I made it a point to keep the armrest down for the whole flight.

My problem is: (A) you don't do this to someone on the jetway on a return trip. (B) The airline employees need to verify any complaint.

The cabin crew ended up buying me my "snack box" and offered to buy me a drink. None of them had been consulted to my knowledge-- the gate agent is the one who accosted me in my seat.

[GOP_Lady]

Outstanding idea! :-)

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[Senormechanico]

Why not sell tickets by the pound?

[Eric Blair 2084]

Sounds like you were a victim of a whiner who thinks that he/she should have first class seats for the $99 ticket they bought on Expedia.

[Rembrandt]

The basis for air fares should be adjusted:

A basic minimum fare supplemented by a cost per pound. Even if you only weigh 65 lbs. as an adult, you pay the minimum fare. The minimum fare would be based on average weight with some allowance for normal deviation. However, if the deviation is outside normal, the fare is adjusted upward by a formula of x less y times $z per pound.

I’ve had plenty of flights (5 million miles) with fat intruding into my seat and on me for a 4 hour flight - it’s pretty damn unpleasant. If they are going to make me that uncomfortable, the airline should make them uncomfortable!

[Fabozz]

"The cabin crew ended up buying me my 'snack box'..."

Oh, you missed your chance! You should have said "WHAT?! First you try to kick me out of the seat I paid for by saying I'm too fat, and now you're trying to bribe me with FOOD?! What's that supposed to mean?" Free upgrade voucher, here you come!

[TheBattman]

Isn’t it funny how an Embraer jet, which is a smaller plane has wider seats? I am a big man (working on being not so big) and have flown on a few airlines in recent years. Continental Express Embraers were not too uncomfortable.

While I can completely understand and sympathize with fellow passengers who don’t want “their” space encroached on by a big person, the seats could be a bit bigger for EVERYONE’s comfort.

Now - is 1 or 1 1/2 inch going to keep a 500lb behemouth from overalapping into his or her neighbor’s lap... no. But as comfort goes, an inch can make a lot of difference.

That being said - I will not pay for a 2nd seat. If an airline wants to charge me extra - I will move on to another airline or drive. I would be uncomfortable if I was bulging into a neighbor - and if I ever get to the point that I cannot get in an airline seat without hogging the neighbor’s seat... then I won’t fly again until I rectify the situation.

If I take up two seats (assuming a full flight), then I can understand the airline’s point of view. If the flight is not full - then I don’t see a problem.

Of course, can you imagine showing up at the gate, having pre-purchased your tickets - maybe a month or more in advance... and when you arrive the desk workers says “uh... you are fat, the flight is full, so you will either have to pony up for another ticket, or you won’t fly”, That would major league stink.

That being said - I would also be pretty upset if I got bumped because a “big” person was forced to buy a 2nd seat on my flight...

[Eric Blair 2084]

Sounds complicated. Let’s go with the KISS Keep it Simple Stupid theory.

If you are just a little large and your Popeye like forearms force me to not use the armrest I can deal with that.

If you are suffocating me and compressing my ribs, causing me to lose oxygen to my brain, that’s NG....No Good.

[Mr Ramsbotham]

I’m 5’10” and weigh 195 pounds, yet when I sit down in an airplane with my fellow passengers, I feel positively anorexic.

[NaughtiusMaximus]

Haven’t been on an airplane for years. Have nothing but pity for those who must fly.

I remember fondly flying in a Lockheed Superconnie back in the day.

[fr_freak]

I’m 5’10” and weigh 195 pounds, yet when I sit down in an airplane with my fellow passengers, I feel positively anorexic.

At 6'6" , I get it from the other direction on coach. My legs are long enough to where even with the seat in front of me all the way forward, my legs are pretty much jammed up against it. It becomes even more fun when the person in front of me tries to lean the seat back. I even had a lady in front of me one time start slamming herself against her own seat, trying to get it to go farther back, until I tapped her on her shoulder and explained to her that her seat wasn't going any farther back because it was currently embedded in the bones in my knees.

[richardtavor]

I have had many flights (5 million plus miles) where I have had screaming babies that their parents couldn’t control that have made the flight miserable for all—perhaps they should charge an extra $500 per kid. Also, I have had annoying flights where I had to sit next to an obnoxious politician for thousands of miles. Perhaps they should charge them an extra $500 for being obnoxious...Why is it that I have to sit next to all of these obnoxious people? Sheesh! //total sarc// (perhaps I am the obnoxious one.)

[toldyou]

Thanks for the ping!

As a flight attendant, I had plenty of complaints from people who were squished because of an obese person sitting next to them. It was rather sad, especially on a long flight. If there was an empty seat, I’d move them, but that wasn’t always possible.

One woman, who was in that situation, rang her call button inflight and told me loudly, “I paid for a seat, not half of one!”