Are airlines discriminateing against "heavy" people?

[Memnoch]

Originally posted by The Hunter of Jahanna: For the mods I didnt post this to put down heavy people. It seemed to me like a legit thread.If people are going to get hurt feeling over it then by all means delete it. This isnt an attack by me.I am not trying to make light of it, just looking for opposing view points because I am not always the most empathic person.

I didn't say you were, mate - but threads have a way of taking on a direction of their own, despite the best intentions of the initiator. This is what I'm warning against - not you starting the thread. I'm determined to make sure that this thread doesn't go in a direction where it becomes impossible to have a meaningful discussion of the subject. So just chill, baby.

Just as a reminder to everyone posting in this thread: it is a condition of posting on this thread that people be CONSIDERATE and TACTFUL in their comments, opinions and observations. If you can't abide by that, then don't post. It's that simple. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[The Hierophant]

Man, alot of thoughtful posts in here.
Davros- that's a good, workable, practical plan. Yet if it is going to cost any degree of money to get put in place, it probably won't see actuality anytime soon. Particularly in these times of economic uncertainty for most airline companies

Epona- Thanks for the lowdown. But in the end when it comes to paying for the exclusive services of others, you just can't be all that picky. On an airline, you pay to be transported, the degree of comfort on your journey is relative to the amount of cash you are willing to spend. Economy class = the bare essentials, ie: you get there in one piece. If Deep Vein Thrombosis occurs (and the airliners are aware of the dangers, and neglect to inform their customers), well then that's a different matter. But in the end I suppose that works alot like cigarettes. If you're informed of the dangers, and take the risk anyway, well, you just have to take responsibility for whatever occurs.

In the end, until I buy, build or hire my own aircraft I'm just going to have to accept what an airline can offer me at economy rates (economy is all I can personally afford). Either that, or go by sea and land [img]smile.gif[/img] A seat is a seat, if you want two to be more comfortable, pay for two. No one is forcing you to travel by air. If you don't like the quality of your seating arrangments, find another means of transport. Sorry, but there are no victims in this matter.

[ 02-08-2003, 05:32 AM: Message edited by: The Hierophant ]

[WillowIX]

Well I would like to summarize the airliners behavior as greed. Loosing one seat will of course mean one passenger less on the plane. But are all flights filled to the limit? Some empathy shoul be expected! BUT then there is a problem if the passenger does not fit into the seat. Don´t seats have arms? I have no idea how you would handle that. Of course not many people would tell you to your face "I´m sorry but you do not fit into our seats". That would be rude and embarrassing. Of course the treatment she got from Delta was nothing more than utter degradation! If it is discrimination or an act of humiliation I am not certain of.

Note: I am of course not talking about Mrs. (Ms?) Edelmans obvious embarrassment. Rather that the airline did everything possible to sway her decision, thereby purposely humiliate her.

[karlosovic]

I'm not overweight (85kg), but I AM 6'3" and I'd love to be able to afford 1st class seats. As it is, I have to settle for constant leg stretching walks up the isles. Airlines *could* make bigger seats, and we'd all love them, but when have you known ANY large corporations to think of anything but profit maximising ?

I do not believe that you can call it discrimination to charge extremely large people for two seats if they take up two seats. It is simply a matter of paying for what you use. Im not a small guy, but so far can still fit into a coach seat comfortably, now if they started down sizing the regular seats so as to classify the "average" normal person as having to pay for two seats then you got a problem. Otherwise, you are just going to have to pay for the space you use. Well.... thats my [img]graemlins/twocents.gif[/img]

[LS0158]

I don't think the people take two seats, it's just that an airplane can only carry so much weight. maybe they assume the average person weighs maybe, 200 lbs. If someone weighing 400 lbs. buys a ticket, they should have to pay for two seats, unless the plane has empty seats, since they weigh twice the normal amount.

[Bardan the Slayer]

As far as I see it, I don't think an overweight person who can fit (very, very snugly) into one seat, with effort, should have a right to complain about not being comfortable.

Should a large person have to buy two seats? Yes - not for his/her comfort, but for the comfort of the people next to them.

I am relatively tall in airline terms, being an even 6 feet. I know there are many, many people out there who are much taller than me and fly regularly. how they manage is beyond me, because my long-legged frame is squished into a seat like sardines in a tin. This situation is bad enough by itself, but combined with a large person sitting next to you, it would be unbearable. The airlines are unsymathetic in the extreme to tall people needing extra legroom, so I see no reason for them to make special arrangements/bigger seats for people who are only in the top 1 or 2% of the population in terms of their size.

Poeple with any physical deficiencies (which is all of us) have to face certain facts. You will never get a 300-pound 100m sprinter. I will never be capable of being a heavyweight boxer or powerlifter. No adjustments are made in these areas. I am not given bonuses based on my slight frame, and when I get to a room/airline seat that I have to squish into because of my height, I don't complain - i just do it/ it's not comfortable and it's not preferable to having things exactly the way I want it, but you have to make do.

It's also a question of load. On an airliner, weight matters. In terms of fuel economy and so on, then the load on a plane is a factor. If a 400 lb person wants to just sit in one seat and enjoy the same benefits as I do despite the fact he is way heavier than me and his size will not only make him the equivalent of 2 people weightwise, but will also make his body encroach on the seat of the person(s) next to him, then I want discounts from my airline tickets due to the fact I weigh considerably less than a regular person, and am considerably less of an impediment to other peoples' comfort.

However, I get the impression that even if that happened, you would still get complaints from exceptionally overweight people that thin people were getting preferential treatment.

In life, you have to make compromises based on the situations you find yourself in. If you are in a situation where you weigh twice as much as a normal airline passenger, then you should accept the fact you have to buy two seats and at least try to do it with a modicum of good grace.