Might be time to cut back on the cheeseburgers,

[bmc]

There's a problem when airlines are taking such actions to be applied across the board.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/busine...,2412591.story

[Mark Latimour]

This thread can only get better from here. Now, where's my seatbelt!

FWIW I am coming round to the view now that airlines should charge a seat price which entitles you to one seat (ie a certain amount of space) and a combined "volumetric weight" with all your carry on items (including a child if you a holding it on your lap) up to a certain limit. If your combined "volumetric weight" exceeds the limit you pay extra for that. Of course, we would need to develop a machine that a person goes through a check in to measure the volumetric weight, and I guess that is probably a few goods years away. But I think thats where we are heading as its the only fair way to do it without discriminating only against obese people (and not say tall people).

[Mark Latimour]

Interestingly I think that the seats I have been in recently in planes are slightly more spacious (leg room and width wise) than the ones I recall being in years ago. The new thinner seats that most airlines are using seem to give you a bit more room and make it less difficult to get in and out of the rows etc.

[Bruce Lindfield]

How about sportsmen (women?) who are deliberately bulky - like Rugby Forwards, Linebackers in American Football, Weightlifters or maybe even ...Arnold Schwarzenegger!!

Is Arnie gonna get bumped off a flight!!

[Rune Bivrin]

Originally Posted by Mark Latimour

Interestingly I think that the seats I have been in recently in planes are slightly more spacious (leg room and width wise) than the ones I recall being in years ago. The new thinner seats that most airlines are using seem to give you a bit more room and make it less difficult to get in and out of the rows etc.

That's just a sure sign that you're shrinking. It's that Benjamin Button effect kicking in.

I've been in a few planes where even opening the lid of my laptop enough to get a resonable viewing angle has been a challenge.

[PSPookie]

I can has?

Interesting . . . could the 'invisible hand' be the remedy to obesity?

[Relic]

I guess pregnant women should pay extra as well? Makes sense, no?

[Bruce Lindfield]

Originally Posted by Relic

I guess pregnant women should pay extra as well? Makes sense, no?

Maybe they could pay an additional "child fare".... ?

[Relic]

Originally Posted by Bruce Lindfield

Maybe they could pay an additional "child fare".... ?

Hey, what's fair is fare....

[rustynuts]

I doubt pregnant women will be a problem as they don't tend to "roll over" into the seat next to them.

Not trying to be insensitive here, but I was soooooo close to being the seven hundred and first person on United's list last year to complain. On a flight to North Carolina I boarded early and while sitting in my window seat I saw a very large man trying to squeeze down the aisle with his briefcase in his hand. And honestly, I thought to myself while looking at the empty seat next to me, "Please? No?"

Sure enough, he was assigned to that vacant seat to my right. Before he even sat down I was overpowered by his cologne and when he did sit I was, quite literally, pinned against the wall. He "rolled over" his seat into mine, pushing me to the left into the wall. It was the most uncomfortable I've ever been on a flight, especially whenever he'd pop his briefcase open and rummage through it.

This man should have paid for both seats.

[nortonrider]

Sounds fair to me:

Southwest Airlines requires any passenger who can't comfortably lower their armrests to purchase tickets for two adjacent seats. Southwest will refund the cost of the second seat if a flight isn't sold out.

I see nothing wrong with a pay by the pound system. The airlines are in the business of hauling cargo (in this case people).

The more something weighs, the more it costs the carriers to transport it - so they should charge more. That's why UPS, Fed-EX, USPS, charge by volume and weight and why it costs more to ship an amp than it does a set of strings.

[Disco_Gee]

I see nothing wrong with this. If you take up more than one seat then you should pay for more than one seat. If you don't like it, loose weight, or find another means of transport.

[Gard]

I'm a big dude (6'' 2", 250), and I can't say that I disagree with the policy.

I've sat next to that guy as well, rustynuts, and man, that is just redonkulous on a cross country flight (ATL-LAX)



Some folks just need to pay for 2 seats and be done with it.

[dj150888]

I agree (though obviously its easy for me to agree being pretty slim). It is absolutely horrible being stuck on a reasonably long flight with some guy whos spilling over the armrest into your chair. (yes, multiple experiences) It doesn't really apply to tall people, they don't affect MY comfort. A tall guy doesn't spill into my chair or take up any of the space that I'VE paid for.

[Mark Latimour]

Originally Posted by dj150888

I agree (though obviously its easy for me to agree being pretty slim). It is absolutely horrible being stuck on a reasonably long flight with some guy whos spilling over the armrest into your chair. (yes, multiple experiences) It doesn't really apply to tall people, they don't affect MY comfort. A tall guy doesn't spill into my chair or take up any of the space that I'VE paid for.

I've had tall guys next to me who, because of the seat design, have needed to keep their knees spread and therefore reduced my legroom (or at least had to spent the whole flight with my leg resting up against theirs). Its a minor inconvenience in the scheme of one's life, but its more or less the same issue as overweight persons "spilling" between seats (that's a horribly descriptive term).

[dj150888]

I'm just going by my own experience, a 5 hour flight with a mate whos 6ft 8 beside me the entire way, I felt MUCH more comfortable than ANY flight I've been on with extremely obese people taking over half of my chair.

[Mark Latimour]

Originally Posted by dj150888

I'm just going by my own experience, a 5 hour flight with a mate whos 6ft 8 beside me the entire way, I felt MUCH more comfortable than ANY flight I've been on with extremely obese people taking over half of my chair.

I was merely providing an example of how tall people have affected my comfort. It may not be as much as a obese person sitting next to me, but it can still affect comfort. Its subjective anyway, perhaps you just enjoyed rubbing legs with your tall mate?

[Bruce Lindfield]

So nobody's mentioned whether they would complain if they were sitting next to a Football star like "The Refrigerator" (?), Rugby Forward or Arnie... ?

[MJ5150]

Hey little people.....it's no fun for us big guys either. But thanks for letting me crowd you!!!

This job I have has me flying back and forth the country a couple times a month, and I can say I dread those flights when I am not in first class. The exit row helps for leg room for sure, and I get those whenever possible.

-Mike

[CrispyDelicious]

Why make then pay for extra seats? Give them liposuction prior to the flight. They get slim, and the extracted fat can be rendered into a burnable fuel used to power the plane. It's a win-win.