Is airline policy for obese passengers fair?
Posted
Apr 16 2009, 03:16 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
United Airlines announced that it's following the lead of sister airlines and will now charge obese passengers for a second seat in certain situations. The Wall Street Journal's The Middle Seat Terminal blog reports that the airline is responding to almost 700 complaints from passengers who were squished by fat seatmates.
The Terminal asks a good question: Is this fair to overweight people?
Here are the particulars of the new policy: (Actually, take time to read the entire policy because many news and blog reports about it were inaccurate.):
Who is affected: passengers who can't fit within a single seat, don't fit within a seat belt extender, and/or can't put their armrests down.
When it applies: only if the plane is full and the overweight passenger can't be seated next to a free vacant seat.
What is required: The passenger must purchase an upgrade on the same flight or, if an upgrade is not available, the passenger must change his or her ticket to the next available flight with vacancies and purchase a second ticket. The cost of that ticket will be the same as the original ticket. No fees will be charged for the change of flights. If the passenger decides not to travel, the cost of the original ticket will be refunded.
An airline spokeswoman said flights often are not full these days, so an overweight passenger likely will be able to sit next to a vacant seat and not have to upgrade or buy a second ticket.
Some online commenters said the policy is unfair.
WSJ reader "Kind Hearted" covered a variety of issues, including the size of the seats: "Isn't this discrimination of some sort? All heavy people are not overeaters and most are sensitive about their weight. If airlines provided decent seating this would not be a problem. I am a small person and still feel like a sardine."
Many were not so tender-hearted. "Barbie Jet Driver" wrote, "Right on! Since 63% of Americans are fat or obese, it only serves that they should pay extra for their lack of self-control."
Readers of Still Traveling at AJC.com came down solidly on the side of the airline, so much so that "SayWhat" commented, "Wow. I've always been overweight, and thank God I've never met any of you self-centered fat-people haters!"
United says many other airlines have similar policies, and that's true. For instance: :
- Southwest says plus-size passengers should buy a second seat when they buy the first one. If the plane has empty seats, they get a refund for the second seat, which Southwest says happens 97% of the time, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
- JetBlue Airways requires a second seat and doesn't give a refund, reports MSNBC.
- Delta Air Lines will seat obese passengers next to an empty seat if one if available. If not, they'll be asked to buy an extra seat on a later flight.
- American Airlines doesn't require purchase of a second ticket, and treats each case individually.
Related reading:
Talk back: Should obese air travelers pay more?
What if no one were fat?
Airline might charge for bathroom use
What does it cost to drop 30 pounds?
