gualalisa, even if you purchase a seat on an airplane, you are not guaranteed the right to fly.

The airline is the one who decides whether or not you can fly.

I'm 100K on United and I've never seen that policy enforced.

I think I'll petition for a new rule that obnoxious, chatty men should have to buy a whole aisle so I won't have to sit next to them. Women business travelers across the globe will celebrate me.

If a hypothyroid person has to pay more for a ticket due to his/her medical condition,that is discrimination. People can claim disability on an eating disorder that has made them obese. Charging more for this disability is discrimination.

As crazy as this sounds, this would be discrimination and the airlines know it. It is too much of a grey area and too hard to enforce.

Not if you charge double and refund it after a certification from a medical doctor sent to the airline

I should elaborate,hypothyroidism causes weight gain.

cher, if the Captain, First Officer, or Flight Crew consider you to be a hazard to the flight, they reserve the right to deny you boarding.

You can be denied boarding for just about anything.

Buying an airline ticket does not guarentee you the right to fly.

Fine. Then every obese person buys 2 seats for the price of one with a note from a doctor(It is SOOOOOO easy to get a doctors note, no records need to be made available) And the airline looses money. NEVER HAPPEN. Profits are too important today for ailines.

Taking Austin's suggestion of putting families together maybe also have large people seated next to each other of they refuse to buy an extra ticket. I remember two trips sitting in the middle seat between two large men, obviously I did not have use of the armrest - but also spent all my time scrunched up in my seat trying not to bump into against these guys shoulders and thighs.

At the end of one trip the guy next to me had the nerve to say oh I wish I was a tiny woman like you, you seem so comfortable!!!

I felt sorry for them because they were clearly very uncomfortable - but so was I and as someone who works hard at staying fit also very resentful.

Maybe airlines could have a bunch of designated larger seats - slightly higher priced than coach, but not quite as high as first class.

I've never had to sit next to an overweight person. I can't imagine the tight fit for that person as I feel I don't have much space for myself at 5'4'' - 125lb (My husband who's over 6ft is not comfortable either).
One time, I saw a woman sitting in an aisle seat practically falling into the aisle because she was next to an overweight guy spilling into her seat. I felt really bad for her (she was able to move by the way).
Bottom line1, the size of plane seats (if you're not in first class) sucks no matter what size you are.
Bottom line2, if you can't deal with what PUBLIC transportation gives you (overweight people, smelly people, screaming kids, etc...), don't use it and go buy or charter your own plane.

Well put Caribtraveler. That is why pro sport teams charter now and no longer travel commercially as was the old days.

If my tiny little booty* only takes up 2/3 of the seat, should I get a 1/3 refund? Or maybe the airlines should devise some sort of jigsaw-puzzle seating chart, so that the person with a booty-and-a-half can sit next to a person with only half a booty.

*phrase used for argument in cyberspace only. Actual booty may be larger. Your mileage may vary. Member, FDIC.

gojacks....

knowing how easy it is to get a "note", airlines can, like medical plans, companies, etc, require DOCUMENTED evidence of a KNOWN medical condition to apply the refunds.

As far as profits being too important to airlines...I agree, but the airline with the best profitability record over the last 20 years (and with a market capitalization exceeding the top five major airlines COMBINED) has the most restrictive AND publicized policy on obese passengers. You're too large, you pay. Doesn't seem to have affected them negatively.

Sorry, but "hyperthyroidism" is an excuse that too many people use to hide their own inability to control their health. Notice that I said "health" not "weight". Because in my opinion, being obese is not an aesthetic issue, it is a health issue. My best friend decried "hyperhyroidism" for years and used it as her crutch for why she couldn't overcome being 200 pounds..... 3 years ago she went on vacation with another friend who was 300+ pounds and found that they couldn't a lot of things because her friend was too obese and easily got winded from walking up a flight of 5 stairs. Guess what? My 200+ pound friend is now a healthy 140 pounds and a size 8 for the past 3 years all because she got off her medical "excuses" and did something about her poor nutrition and took control of her own destiny. Thankfully, I hope to have her around as a friend for much longer than if she remained obese for the rest of her life.

This same friend and I have had these discussions about airlines and their small seats and we both agree: obesity should not be considered a physical disability covered under the ADA. As a former obese person herself, she finds is appalling that obese people try to compare themselves to people who live in a wheelchair or are blind.

hmmm ... how about 3 across seats that are somehow convertible to 2 across? If they could find a way to make them adjustable they could put OL people 2 to a row in those seats and charge for 1.5 tickets each.

Its a tough issue b/c of course some people are OL by no fault of their own but, fault or no fault, paying for the space you use is still perfectly reasonable and not discrimination ... you should get what you pay for NOT what I pay for. I often pay extra for plus size clothing (I tend to be borderline and buy some regular and some women's or plus sizes) and I don't mind ... I need more fabric I pay for more fabric .. makes sense to me. Of course my fluctuating weight is my own darn fault so I guess I might feel different if it were out of my control.

The airline referred to by me above is Southwest

elle: you are just a funny gal!

I totally agree that airlines should charge OL for an extra seat. With 65% of the US population overweight (and 30% obese), plus having obesity on track to be the #1 cause of preventable deaths, the last thing we should do is encourage people to stay fat.

There is no reason why the airlines should make the seats wider. Who's going to pay for the lost revenue? You? Me? Let's say, a typical domestic plane has 6 seats across 1 row. OK, they make the seats wider and turn into 5 seats across. If the seats originally go for $300 per ticket, in order to make up for the lost revenue, the airline has to charge $360 per ticket. I'm not going to pay for that extra 2" of space!

People, people, puh-leese, let's stay withing civil limits! No more overly large, fat, obese, or overflowing! Let's stay politically correct. They are horizontally challenged, and this is what we should call big people from now on.

My first flight ever, flying to Europe age 15, I was in the middle seat and an obese woman was on the aisle. And I have to visit the ladies room alot!! Obviously, I wasn't a savvy traveler then; now I always try for aisle - anyway, she spilled her dinner all over herself AND me. It was a really bad 8 hours!!!

So does OL=Overly Large?

This is what are society has become? Let's call a spade a spade.

If you weigh too much, you are overweight.

When I was a smoker, my health insurance company charged me much higher premiums than they charged a non smoker.

I quit smoking about a year and a half ago. Now my premiums are in line with non smokers premiums.

If you want to pay regular price for a seat, make sure you fit in that seat.

OL is the goofiest thing I've ever heard.

Just curious - if a trim man broke some bones on a ski weekend, should that temporarily overly large person (due to casts and slings) have to purchase two tickets to get back home?

What if a triathlete woman took fertility drugs and ended up pregnant with 3+ babies? Should this temporarily overly large person have to purchase two tickets on her business trip?

Under the "you use the space, you pay for it" rule, by George, they would have to!

In my opinion, yes.

Firstly, broken up skier couldn't fly home until he/she was medically released and even then the airline would have to approve that person flying.

As for preggers flying, when my skinny girlfriend was pregnant with triplets, her ob/gyn barely let her out of the house let alone to fly somewhere.

Mutliple births are tricky. Again, it is up to the airline.

I agree about the OL GoTravel! How 'bout Over the Limit, OverLoad, Orders Lots...? Okay, I'll stop.>:)

Girth-challenged? Hunger impaired? Chin-abundant? Liposuction intolerant? When does the political correctness end? I am 5'10" and 205...not fat but certainly not skinny. Under my own definition of myself, I call myself what I am: a little overweight! Hence, I HIT THE GYM!

emummert-

Since you mentioned it, I cannot resist to reply. By calculating your BMI, it comes out to 29.4
The current BMI definition is:
18.5 ? 24.9 Normal
25.0 ? 29.9 Overweight
30.0 and Above Obese
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi/calc-bmi.htm

So, BMI of 29.4 is not just "a little overweight" as it is borderline obese. I think the problem of so many overweight people in the US is because they don't realize that they are overweight! But I truly applaud you for hitting the gym. A lot of overweight & obese people do not bother doing that.

Let's nip this in the bud right now.

If you can't fit your body in the overhead compartment or under the seat in front of you, you do not deserve to fly.

I didn't say it had to be comfortable I just said you had to fit.

For those of you that are going to say the bulkhead seats don't have a seat in front of them to store luggage, you do not deserve to fly.

hahaha GoTravel, didn't you mean "if you can't fit your BAGGAGE in the overhead compartment..."

or am I missing something here? I've never tried to squeeze under the seat or the overhead compartment, but I would howl with laughter watching someone attempt this.

:-d

Oh no no no Atilla.

If you can't cram the ole' bod in the overhead or under the seat in front of you, you don't deserve to fly.

oh I gotcha!
#-O

Atilla: and if you tape it and send to American Funniest Home Videos you can win up to $10,000!

Good thinking! Then I could take my winnings and board the next plane to Aruba, all safely tucked away under my seat.
:-)

YK,

About BMI:

Walter Payton was 5-10, 202 pounds during his career. Could you characterize him as "borderline obese"? BMI is a famously rough calculation...read the following quote from the CDC's website you referred me:

"Myth: BMI Measures Body Fat

Two people can have the same BMI, but a different percent body fat. A bodybuilder with a large muscle mass and a low percent body fat may have the same BMI as a person who has more body fat because BMI is calculated using weight and height only.

These men have the same height, weight, and BMI, but may have different percent body fat."

As you can see, to gauge my physical stature and/or fat ratio would be assuming alot. I have been athletic the vast majority of my life, have felt myself slipping over the last year, and returned to regular exercise.

However, the point is, I realize I could lose some weight AND am doing something about out. Something like less than 5% of overweight people ar heavy genetically. The other 90% need to stop whining and do something.

emummert-

I agree with you, and I apologize for making an assumption of you when I have never met you before.

But I think we both agree that *most* overweight/obese people are truly overweight/obese, and that they should get motivated to do something about it, rather than complaining about airline seats being too small.

yk,

Yes, I agree with you in principle, but what about my 6'8" tall-yet-slim brother-in-law? Not overweight by any means, but he can barely fit into an airline seat, and it has to be on the aisle. He doesn't have any control over his height, yet he intrudes the space of whoever's sitting next to him. Should he be forced to buy an extra seat as well?

I didn't notice complaining comments from the overweight. Many comments I did read make me want to order junk food for a year and fly all over the country just to annoy the holier-than-thous.
Although I have found some value on this board in the past, this is it for me.

Jocelyn_P

I feel for your BIL. All my posts were referring to obese individuals. I would assume your BIL's fellow passengers would be sympathetic toward him, as height is something one have no control about. Maybe he should fly AA - more room through coach?

I want men to pay double fare because I'm sick of having them spread their legs wide apart and I have to end of pushing their knees out of my space.

I hear ya Stephanie. My most frequent issue is not fat people but men who sit like they're in their barcalounger at home. Knees out, arms wide reading the paper not even folded.
A constant pain. And the icy looks I get when I ask for a little room.

I know Fodor's men, being the gentlemen-travelers they are, are not in this category! :-)

WARNING!!!!!!!! Do not, under any circumstances, read the If You Have Traveled in the Southern US post. It has a zillion FATTENING recipes, most of which will put you wayyy over the limit in your airline seat,lol.
Sorry, but after I saw this post change it's tone, as they often do when certain sensibilities come into play, I had to lighten the mood. Hay, one of my prime motivators for all my miles is the upgrades, in order to relish the extra space and keep husband in a good mood before we arrive at the final destination. I also keep healthy, so as to enjoy other things in moderation, and still fir into what the airlines consider normal seat dimensions. If you want to discourage crashers in the empty aisle seat, strategize as they eyeball you for passitivity- pull your hair, belch, spray perfume, whatever might lessen the chances that your flight will be horribly ruined. Oh here's one, if you are female, whiup out a Playgirl, and turn it to the middle and vertically ooh and ahh. Men, do the same with a Swank or Trucker Monthly. Cheers, J.