Obesity and travel comfort (suspect, companies, elect, state)
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Disqualifying oversized individuals from traveling at all?
No, just require them to buy a second seat or upgrade to a larger one
The dimensions would be completely arbitrary, likely eliminating just the very largest people (who by and large probably don't fly anyway) while allowing the majority of obese on board.
If they fit in the seat let them fly
How would you like to be the airline personnel tasked with making the measurements? Nah...
And there lies the problem. It would be on the list for one of the world's most dangerous jobs...
Pre covid, I flew about 140 legs a year for work. This year it looks like I will surpass that.
What many of you are not considering is that during the week, over 70% of the passengers are flying for work (per Delta). It is highly unlikely that an obese person will pay for an upgrade or an extra seat out of their own pocket. That is just not going to happen.
Not sure what you mean. Most people here are saying that that is exactly what should be done. There should be a seat at the boarding area that everyone should have to fit in.
If the rest of my goes goes along perfectly, I will never see the inside of an airplane again.
But I sure hurt for the people I see who are trapped in huge bodies. I don't know what their answer is, but it does not help them to make them feel any worse about their condition than they already do.
But of the last four times I flew, buying the extra seat worked only once. One time, it worked. A second time, there was a change in equipment when I checked in, and no second seat available. A third time I had explained over the phone why I needed two seats, I booked two together, then when I checked in, they said they could only give me two seats in different rows. Huh? How does that work? A fourth time everything seemed to work, then it turned out the plane had overbooked and the stewardess came over to explain I had to let someone sit in my extra seat. Which I had paid for!
This is a very real problem, which I have encountered as well. I mostly avoid it now by buying First Class, but not all regional jets have a true First Class section, and then things can get fun (not!). And then there's the curious case of Southwest, which makes it easy to buy the second seat online but not so easy to use it. You can't check in online (because they need to give you a Reserved card for the second seat), you get the hairy eyeball from fellow passengers because you ae preboarding even though you're not an obvious cripple (because since Southwest doesn't assign seats, pre-boarding is the only way you can guarantee you'll have 2 seats together), and if you're really unlucky you'll have a gate agent argue that you're not actually fat enough to need two seats (probably because Southwest refunds the second seat purchase, which in my case I am certainly willing to pay for).
Shrinking seats and pitch while KNOWING that the general population is getting bigger is surely not an answer.
To me it's just a business opportunity to charge for double seats. And I am thinking that this is what they are heading to
(an opportunity to add another surcharge because people cannot fit in the seats).
Not sure what you mean. Most people here are saying that that is exactly what should be done. There should be a seat at the boarding area that everyone should have to fit in.
Right, so with several people watching a Grande sized person struggles to fit and fails. Or maybe gets stuck!
Adjacent seats aren't available on the flight so they're sent back to the baggage claim area while ramp agents rummage through carts or the aircraft belly looking for their luggage.
Airlines manage to find a way to seat obese passengers within current cabin constraints, the real issue is should a huge person pay two fares if they occupy two seats, or should be required to pay for a first class ticket to get a larger seat. The FAA or DOT will have to issue a ruling. No one will be satisfied.
My former supervisor was a 400 pound man, due to his size the Army always paid for him to have a first class seat when he flew.
Southwest has what I consider the most sensible policy around this issue: If you're big enough to need two seats, you pay upfront for two seats. If the final manifest indicates that seat would not have been needed for another passenger anyway, they refund the cost of the second seat.
Southwest has what I consider the most sensible policy around this issue: If you're big enough to need two seats, you pay upfront for two seats. If the final manifest indicates that seat would not have been needed for another passenger anyway, they refund the cost of the second seat.
It's a decent policy, certainly fair from a cost standpoint, but as I said in my earlier post it's not so easy in practice. You can't check in online or using your phone app, you have to preboard (so others are judging you because you don't seem to be obviously disabled), and sometimes you might face a gate agent who doesn't think you're fat enough to need two seats (even if you know you do). You may also have to fend off passengers who don't seem to understand what that white RESERVED card on the seat next you means.
All in all, I booking First Class on another airline easier (if more expensive), but even that is no guarantee everything will go well. All it takes is a missed or cancelled flight or an equipment change to cause a problem.
I think it’s important to point out that a person is “overweight” merely by virtue of BMI, which isn’t even reflective of anything such as skeletal structure or muscle vs fat. Persons A and B could be the same size but different weight due to the balance of muscle vs. fat.
The real problem is that seat sizes have gotten much smaller in order for them to cram more and more people in. Airlines make record profits and what do they do? They add in extra rows to planes, make lavatories smaller, and make seats all around less comfortable. Even issues such as making seats wider may not solve the problem if people have trouble actually getting into the row in the first place because the distance between seats and seat pitch makes it hard to get in. I do think that having options for different seat sizes might not be that hard. If you have economy + that is more leg room, it would seem like you could have some that are wider without necessarily offering the amenities of First Class.
I think this could indeed work. You could keep the same number of seats but make some smaller than the average (for children) and others larger than average (for obese).
It's a decent policy, certainly fair from a cost standpoint, but as I said in my earlier post it's not so easy in practice. You can't check in online or using your phone app, you have to preboard (so others are judging you because you don't seem to be obviously disabled)
Those people were probably already judging you anyway. Who cares what they think? You'll probably never see them again in your entire life, and they can eff off in any case.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aredhel
and sometimes you might face a gate agent who doesn't think you're fat enough to need two seats (even if you know you do).
Tell them you have two confirmed tickets for the comfort of your fellow passengers and you would like to proceed with boarding to ensure you're not infringing in other passengers' space. How often have you been stopped even after explaining yourself?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aredhel
You may also have to fend off passengers who don't seem to understand what that white RESERVED card on the seat next you means.
So fend them off.
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