GoTravel

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.

cher_cher

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.

gojacks

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.

emummert

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

gojacks

I should elaborate,hypothyroidism causes weight gain.

GoTravel

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.

gojacks

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.

indie

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.

caribtraveler

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.

gojacks

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

elle

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.

emummert

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.

SimoneSassett

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.

mcqueeney449

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.

emummert

The airline referred to by me above is Southwest

caribtraveler

elle: you are just a funny gal!

yk

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!

FainaAgain

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.

Vicky

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!!!

GoTravel

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.