'The bigger you are the higher the cost of a plane ticket' AIBU to think that this is ridiculous?

[Poppet48]

I have just heard the debate of should a plane ticket cost more for obese people.

I think that this is ridiculous, not only is it discriminating it is highly embarrassing to have to get weighed at the airport check in, Where have the human rights gone?

AIBU to feel this way?

I would love to hear what others think of this.

A reclined seat is nowhere near as much of an imposition as being squashed into half your seat by an obese person for hours on end. I take it you've never been in that situation Mirry?

Sirchen - yes I have and it isn't pleasant. It was in premium economy and he was still too massive for the extra space.

Frogman - I used to fly TAROM (Romanian airline) before the Berlin Wall came down and remember being ordered to drink 'orange juice' on a flight from Bucharest to Frankfurt. The E. European air hostess insisted and watched over me while I DID as she was concerned 'you will dehydrated!'.

Those were the days - all the backs of the empty seats (and there were many) on TAROM jets used to flip forward like dominoes all the way down the plane when we crash dived into Frankfurt as well.

Mirry2 - no I am not one of those people you describe, infact "those sort" of people irritate me greatly. However the seats are there to be reclined and as long as the recliner does it with manners/grace then it nobody can really complain.

When someone whacks their seat abruptly without looking behind that's a different subject and there will always be ignorant people.

Well frogman we agree. It's the ones that whack it back that annoy me.

God, I remember the retired couple on a flight from Portugal to Bournemouth. Po-facedly put on their special dvt flight socks, took aspirin, then immediately after take off reclined their seats fully. Onto me with dd on my lap. All their special precautions for extra-long lives nearly ended there and then...

Then I'm sure you'll agree that a reclined seat isn't nearly as bad Mirry - it's a pita, but hardly in the same league!

Now, kids behind you that rock or kick your seat for the whole journey otoh.....

Emergency spanx on board so that 'big boned' passengers could be poured into if their flab was intruding into the seat space of their neighbours?

I think its a good idea but then agai. I am pretty mini.
If me and DH manage to sit together on a flight he raises the armrest and uses my spare space! He could fit in a seat fine but has rugby player build so the extra space makes him more confy!

Compos

Airlines just have to make the seats bigger, rather than squashing people in for maximum profit.
There are all shapes and sizes out there.
The whole weight thing is annoying though as I had to chuck out half my toiletries a couple of years ago coming back from The Canaries and rearrange suitcases with my ds and his two mates as we were over the limit and I was buggered if I was going to pay extra.
I'm 8 stone and they were all skinny teenagers.

What about charging people for reclining their seats into the space of the passenger sitting behind so that said passenger can't fully open their tray and the TV is within 6 inches of their nose.

I agree with this. I am not obese but find that because I am small, the people in front of me ALWAYS take advantage of this. We have a running joke in our family that the person in fornt of me will always be the full recliner. We have never been proved wrong yet.
It pisses me off.

The proposal is for "Pay as you weigh" and nothing to do with size/width. A passengers weight plus his baggage is what the professor suggests the price is based on

So my willowy friend who pays for 25 Kg baggage allowance (lots of shoes) when flying to her mums (she also took a slow cooker with her this year WTF??) will pay the same as her rather bigger DP who packs about 10Kg max but probably weighs 20 Kgs more, and that won't make a difference to whoever it is that has to sit in their third seat...

Airlines just have to make the seats bigger, rather than squashing people in for maximum profit.

And prices will rise as a result. Most people are fine in the current sized seats - why should they be penalised?

Why should parents have to pay for an infant who is not taking up a seat but a person who spills out onto someone else's seat doesn't have to pay more?

Agree Soup. I wonder how big the seats should be - because unless you make them at least 1.5 times as wide as they are now in economy you will still get people spilling over into another passenger's seat. That's the passenger who isn't obese but who has had to pay more for their seat as a result of less seats being available on the plane to accommodate those who are obese btw.

I think it's fine for airlines to charge what it costs them, plus a bit for profit.
So something like tickets for £100 plus £1.50 per kg, or whatever.

As soon as one starts doing it, they'll all follow. Otherwise the airlines who don't will be stuck with all the heavy passengers and get nailed for fuel.

I'm heavy and nearly 6 ft, I always make sure to squeeze over to not upset anyone. inevitably get stuck next to a bloke who is about 5 foot 4 but still needs to stick his legs in my space and take my arm rest though . does that guy have to pay for another seat?

No, because he is able to move back into his own seat after the person next to him points him gently or otherwise in the direction of his own personal space. Obese people who spill into the next seat aren't physically able to do that.

If I was the air stewardess who had the pleasure to meet Nancy, I would've upgraded the other guy to Business Class!!!

I think the idea of a combined weight for passenger and luggage is a good one. There should be no dfferential between men and women unless they are planning to reduce the price of seats for females. Obviously that's not going to work as then the overall weight of the flights would increase but it's one to consider.

I've had the experience of being pinned against the window due to a very large man sat beside me. I couldn't put the arm rest down because he spilled over the seat and I had to literally squeeze myself beside the window to avoid my body touching him as I am of average height and weight.

Thankfully it was only an hours flight London to Edinburgh as I had pins and needles down one side as a result of being so cramped.

I felt sorry for him as he can't have been comfortable, but I felt sorrier for myself as I was the one who was having to accomodate him. Unfortunately the flight was full so I/he couldn't move.

Well done Nancy66 for refusing to sit beside an obese person on a long haul flight.

Why MissLurkalot - do you think she should have meekly accepted that for 22 hrs she would not be able to relax or stretch her body and possibly risk getting DVT because of someone elses size?

Increasing the cost as a result of the combined weight of a passenger and their luggage won't make you more comfortable though, the larger person would need two seats to avoid that problem.

The weight issue and size issue are two completely different ones...

I worked for a US carrier for 6 years. 3 years as a ticket counter/gate agent and supervisor, 3 years as a flight attendant and trainer.

The reason you have to pay extra if your bag is overweight is because heavy bags shift around in the aircraft bag bin, often causing damage to the aircraft and other people's luggage. The airline has to pay to fix both. Not to mention the injuries lifting overweight bags causes...ouch...happened to me too...

Most aircraft is leased by a carrier, not owned. If an airline was so swap out all their seating on their whole fleet can you imagine how expensive that would be? And who do you think that cost would be passed down to? There are larger seats available for purchase, they're called business and first class. Unfortunately us consumers (including myself) want low airfares. In order to keep the fares low but still make a profit the airlines have to cut corners and service wherever they can.

The airline I worked for had a policy that if a passenger was too large to lower the armrest next to them and/or to big to use a seatbelt even with a seatbelt extension they needed two seats. If there was an extra seat on the plane we would switch people around so the "passenger of size" could have two seats next to each other. At no extra cost. If there weren't any available seats we would have to ask them to get off and rebook them on another flight. It's not just an issue of comfort for their fellow passengers, it's an issue of safety.

When you make an airline reservation you know how big you are and how much room you need. You have the option of purchasing seats. It's not fair to make other passengers suffer because of your lifestyle choices.

As far as reclining seats far back, it's very inconsiderate. I never had a problem nicely asking telling someone not to recline so far back because the person behind them was very uncomfortable.

The reason very small planes (well not the plane, the person doing weight and balance) need to know your weight is because it makes a huge difference. They have to balance out the weight of the plane, passengers, cargo, and fuel and it's a big pain in the neck!

Larger carriers couldn't charge ticket prices according to each passenger's weight. Everyone would lie (well I would since I'm vain and lie on my driver's license) and the ticket agent would have to weigh each passenger then charge them extra. Boarding would take about 3 hours...

Honeystepmummy - I'm surprised and pleased that your airline was allowed to refuse to let people on if they took more than one set. It seems like the obvious solution to the issue, and if this was universal policy then people above a certain weight would know that they either needed to book business class or pay for two seats.

I do feel that it's somewhat oversimplistic to label obesity as a lifestyle problem, but whatever the causes it certainly shouldn't be the problem of the innocent other person who potentially risks health issues by being crammed into less than one seat.