Obese Man in Airplane

http://travel.aol.com/travel-ideas/articles/should-obese-passengers-pay-more-debate-continues?ncid=AOLCOMMtravdynlprim0709&icid=main

LINK SHOWS PIC OF THE OBESE MAN IN PLANE. ^

A photo of an obese airplane passenger has inspired a passionate debate as to whether or not

overweight fliers should pay more. Last week we said that

they should and we asked you what you thought. We heard from over 2,000 of you and,

overwhelmingly, you agree with us. Here, some of the comments from both sides:




The airline's position:

The photo in question is believed to have been taken from American Airlines. We spoke with American Airlines

media spokesperson Tim Smith to get his take on the situation. Here's what he had to say:


"We are currently in the process of looking into this situation. We do have a policy that tries to be

flexible for passengers of size. Certainly no passenger would ever be allowed to fly on American Airlines in

any way that obstructs the aisles of the aircraft, and all passengers must be properly seat-belted—part of the

FAA rules. It is very obvious in the photo that the aircraft is not inflight at the time

the photo was taken—other passengers are still boarding and several overhead bins are still open. We can

assure you that all passengers on this flight were safely and comfortably accommodated, and that no FAA rules

were broken."


Tim says that they don't "routinely charge for an extra seat unless there are simply no other options. Our

people are trained to work with customers to try and accommodate ALL passengers onboard. Often, pending how

full the flight is, we can get everyone taken care of." Tim adds that "each situation is handled individually

on a case-by-case basis with utmost professionalism and discretion."

He also cites FAA rules on the matter, which state that "all passengers must use FAA required restraint

devices" and that "no aisle may be blocked by any passenger or bags in case of emergency."



Larger passengers should pay larger fees:


This man violates FAA standards for safety.
As an airline captain I can tell you that passenger depicted in your article does not meet FAA standards for

safety. More important than passenger comfort or even emergency egress issues, in the event of a crash

sequence, the overweight passenger could cause death to surrounding passengers as he is not safely secured.

At our airline, and I know at Southwest, obese passengers must pay for two seats. It has nothing to do with

fair treatment; it has to do with total passenger weight which is limited to 190 per passenger for weight and

balance, on average. They certainly would be considered handicapped as they could not exit as normal

passengers would.

There is absolutely no discrimination here. Weight is weight; if your bag exceeds 50 pounds, prepare to pay

extra, same for passengers.



People need to pay their share.
It fits right in with the 100-pound. traveler toting 3-4 pieces of gigantic luggage, it's about time people

people pay their share.


They should pay more and board last.
I think oversized passengers should have to pay for two seats
and be located where the last person(s) to exit in an emergency so as
to enable able-bodied passengers to escape rapidly. An exception
would be when empty seats are available after all seat requests
(stand-by, etc.) are satisfied. They should also either board early or
last so as not to hold up the whole boarding process.


There should be a "demo" seat at the ticket counter—don't fit? Pay more.
Perhaps the airline should put a “demo” seat at the ticket counter—if your posterior luggage does not fit

into the space, then you should have to buy a bigger space. Currently the same rules apply to oversized

luggage. In looking at the picture, I wonder how the stewardess could fit the beverage cart down the aisle or

how any passengers could access the lavatory.


Overweight passengers put other travelers at risk.
Absolutely. Since airlines treat us (and now our luggage) as nothing
more than "packages" and charge us by weight on our luggage, why not
charge morbidly obese people based on their additional weight? Think of
this scenario: a convention of morbidly obese people is being held in
San Francisco and a group of 150 morbidly obese people get together to
fly there from Philadelphia. All that additional weight makes the plane
unsafe to fly and the average-weight passengers on that flight have
their lives put at risk, their comfort compromised by the "overflow"
from the obese passenger sitting next to them, and the safety hazard of
having a morbidly obese person blocking the aisle for exits in
emergencies.

If you take up more than one seat, you should pay for two.
I'm not a lightweight, but I am constantly battling to keep myself healthy at 65 years of

age. However, having traveled in coach with people who are “obese”, I really feel that if you take up more than

one seat, you should pay for more than one seat. I traveled across the US seated next to a severely

overweight young lady. She sat by the window and I sat in the middle. The aisle seat was taken up by a huge

person as well. For five hours I was in sheer misery. I could not use either armrest because they could not

be put down due to the excess flesh from both sides encroaching on my seat. If there had been a crash, I would

have been overwhelmed by both these people trying to get out.

I'm a flight attendant and we frequently end up re-arranging seat patterns to put children next to obese

passengers.

As a 20+ year flight attendant with a major carrier, we are not to address the obesity/space issue unless

another passenger expresses their concern or displeasure—which they inevitably do not until we are airborne!

Our only other company directive is to "attempt to re-seat passengers in order to accommodate the larger

individual"! So, in addition to stowing a ridiculous number of bags because no one is willing to "utilize

the space beneath their seats" and trying to cram in the tiniest possible articles into the overhead bins, we are

now expected to rearrange the entire aircraft to put children beside obese passengers.


It's only fair to charge for two seats.
I'm overweight but not obese. I can comfortably fit into any seat on the plane, but if I were over, say
300 pounds. I think I'd prefer two seats so I'm not embarrassed by squashing the person next to me.
I know everyone is scared of discrimination suits and that obesity is a disease, but you are legally
fitting into two seats and therefore, I think you should pay for it.

It's discrimination to charge overweight travelers more:


It is discrimination.
It is discrimination. Period. Yes, airplanes have weight limits that must be followed for physical principles

of flight; however, one person, no matter how much they weigh, should only have to pay for one ticket.




There's a lot more to worry about than someone's size.
Pay more?! Safety issue?! Screw that!!! The man in the picture wouldn't be any slower to exit than the

harried lady with 4 kids, or the drunk businessman who can't figure which way to move, or the diva with her

mink and manicure and purse. In other words, there's a lot more to worry about than someone's size.


The concept of "two seats" is deplorable.
That picture is me. I weigh 450 pounds. I fly constantly. My position is that I am one person, and to treat me

differently is nothing short of discrimination. I would gladly pay extra for a larger, more comfortable seat—should one be available. What they should do, what no one suggests, is to make a bench seat, to accomodate

handicapped individuals, or those who want more comfort, and charge accordingly. But the concept of "two

seats" is deplorable.


This is the airlines' fault for being greedy.
I am a large person of approximately 350 pounds and I work in the business aviation field. I can personally

testify that the seats used in many commuter jets nowadays are built smaller for fuel savings and payload.

Blame the interior design engineers for these sorry passenger jets and the greed that paid for it before you

point fingers at larger people. It is a medical fact that all of our population is getting larger and taller.

If you believe that forcing larger people to pay for two seats is the answer, good luck paying the bills in

the future!



Obese people have the same rights as anyone else.
As far as I'm concerned obese people have the same rights as anyone else and shouldn't be penalized like

excess baggage. We all know, except for the privileged few, that airline seats are made as tiny as possible so as

to accommodate as many fliers, and thus increase revenue. On the other hand, if you're small,

why shouldn't you receive a reduced fare if overweight people are charged extra? Would you, personally, be

willing to sit between two NFL linemen each weighing in at 375 pounds if you could get an interview with some

famous people?


If heavier people have to pay, so should those with screaming children.
The airlines keep squeezing in more and more seats—when I first started flying, there were two seats on

either side of the aisle—not three. Then they added the third seat on both sides and diminished the width of

the seats. Why should heavier persons have to pay the difference? It's the greed of the airlines that has

caused the problem. If the heavier person has to pay more—then those people with screaming children should

have to pay more for the disturbance they cause. The list can go on and on.
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So what do you think about this controversial issue?

I personally think its discrimination to make people who are bigger pay more. Why should they have to pay for 2 seats if they are only 1 person and if they can fit comfortably in one seat?

I feel its the airplane's fault for not having the seats be big enough.

So why should someone who is bigger be blamed for the seats not being big enough?

I also agree with the comment about the screaming children. Its okay for kids to scream and misbehave on the plane and not have to pay more but someone who happens to be heavier who doesnt do any harm has to?

So I vote no they souldnt pay more.

janine wrote:

I personally think its discrimination to make people who are bigger pay more. Why should they have to pay for 2 seats if they are only 1 person and if they can fit comfortably in one seat?

I think the problem is not with obese people who fit comfortably but rather ones who are taking the space of two people but being allowed to only pay for one ticket.

If they are in the personal space of the people sitting next to them then they should because that person has a right to their space and someone should not be allowed to get in their space. Also if they are blocking the aisle then that is a severe problem.

haha lol wonder how he got out of the plance

janine wrote:

I personally think its discrimination to make people who are bigger pay more. Why should they have to pay for 2 seats if they are only 1 person and if they can fit comfortably in one seat?

I feel its the airplane's fault for not having the seats be big enough.

So why should someone who is bigger be blamed for the seats not being big enough?

Unfortunately, the seats are constructed based on how large the average person is. Well, the fact of the matter is people are growing larger, whether it be taller, fatter or both.