You should be charged per seat. If you take up two there should be a penalty. Being obese is not a disease, it’s a lifestyle choice.

I think they should pay extra, if they take up extra space! If they are spilling over into my space, I have a problem with that. If they need two seats, they should pay for two seats. There’s a safety issue, too. Do thair seat belts really hold them securely? Do they function as intended, if the passenger doesn’t fit the seat as intended?

There would be a safety issue if the flight was full. How would they fit securely into a seat? I don’t think there should be a charge if there is room on the flight, but if the flight is full then that is a different story…

I fly often, and I wish airlines would either charge extra if you take up more than your seat, or else give ME a reduced rate for having to sit in just half of MY seat. My last trip, I flew for 3.5 hrs between 2 men who, even if they crossed their arms over their chest, still took up their seat and part of mine (and forget about getting to use ANY part of the armrest!). To avoid full arm/arm contact with them, I had to cross my own arms and pull my shoulders together (and was still forced to touch both men… I am average sized.) At the end of the flight, and for several hours later, my shoulders were stiff and sore from that position.

More and more flights *are* full these days. I will gladly fly an airline who risks offending a few to accommodate the majority.

And if you disagree with charging the over-sized for a second seat… will YOU be the one to volunteer to sit next to them?

Southwest Airlines here in the U.S. is charging for two seats if you take up two. I believe they let it slide if the flight is not full.

Fat ass = pay more.

I completely agree with Suzanne and the rest of you.

It’s worse if the overweight individual also snores and puts their head on your shoulder Suzanne. That happened to my wife on a 4 hour fly to Tenerife last year.

Really David, now that’s interesting.

I’m not yet aware of any airlines in Europe who charge for two seats. Does anyone know if there are any?

Foxnomad, you are wrong about obesity being a lifestyle choice and not an illness. Some people actually put on weight due to a medical illness, and it is not their fault.

I suffered with a Bipolar affective disorder, which meant that I ate more (comfort eating) but I have since lost a lot of weight.

Good point Mary.

I agree with everyone except Mary. Mary I do understand your point and you were so close to slightly convincing me, but then you added “comfort eating”. Comfort eating is a lifestyle choice. Taking medication does not make you overeat and definitely doesn’t make you eat junk food. Medication does not make you obese or overweight. You choose to overeat to make yourself feel better about your condition or situation and if you’re “comfort eating” makes your posterior and other regions so large as to cause discomfort for other passengers or cause a safety issue for your not only yourself but to the plane, well you should pay more, or reduce the cost of my seat if I must sit next to you on a flight. I respect all people but enough is enough with weight issues in the States and the UK.

Or how about airlines acknowledging that people are bigger now and widening the seats instead of trying to cram us all in…

Felicia is absolutely right. In MOST cases, being overweight is a choice. You CAN put on weight as bi-polar (I have the disease) but you can also exercise and eat wisely and lose it. Sorry if this stings a nerve, but most fat people think it’s their right to be fat; it’s MY right not to suffer discomfort partiularly in something as small as an airline seat because of them.

I have another take on this. How about those of us who are just big people? My son who is 19 is 6’4” and weights 250/255 give or take a few. Avery active, skier, snowboarder and hiker. He flies back and fourth from college and home this is about a 4 hour flight. His issue the amount of space he has for his legs and body. He can’t move in such a cramped space. It makes for a very long, uncomfortable flight for him. Than the person in front of him, just wants to relax so they put their seat back. He has just been pined in and can’t adjust his legs or body he is truly stuck.
See it isn’t just fat, obese people who have issues spilling over into other passenger’s seats normal everyday people have issues too. The truth is planes are just cramped for space. No one likes sitting next to people they don’t know that in itself is uncomfortable.
Just thought I would let you know another point of view for whatever it may be worth.

Great point of view Deb.

I’m short so I don’t have that problem thankfully, but I can imagine how uncomfortable it can get, and the airlines do need to think less about cramming in seats and more on comfort.

An underactive thyroid gland makes you put on weight. Well, so my doctor tells me. I’ve put on quite a big of weight in the last six months, and eat well and exercise regularly.

For anyone who has long legs…like Deb’s son…

Air Tran “sells” the exit row seats for $20. Given their generally low fares, the $20 simply means that the ticket is similarly priced to other, less comfortable seats.

No more rushing to the gate to get an exit seat assigned.

Big people. Fat people. If you are too large for the seat, for whatever reason, you should have to pay for another seat (or for first class).

Excellent discussion. Keep them comments coming. It’s great to read comments from both angles.

I am fat I am in a whealchair and cant exercise so i am to blaim for all of my problems because of how people feal about fat people i will not even try to fly .You people are mean unkind and Would probly pull the wings off of butterflyes. I would not mine paying exter for a seat I could fit in. But be on bord with people that will talk about me like I was not as good as theyare were not human is bad.

Linda, I don’t think everyone has anything against overweight people, I could do with loosing a few pounds myself.

Don’t not travel just because of what people may think. Seeing the world is something that we shoujld all do once in our lifes.

I believe that obese people should pay for two seats if needed. Now if you are disabled and are overweight in a wheelchair etc well that is something that the airline should look into.

But if you are overweight and you can’t fit in the seats wouldn’t you want to do something about it? I could stand to lose a few pounds myself but hell if I was not able to fit into a seat in my mind i would want to do something about it… can i say EMBARASSING.. Why should we all pay full fare for one seat but a big person get extra space and not have to worry about being uncomfortable. On charter flights such as Transat Airlines the seats are small as it is and when you are beside someone it’s still uncomfortable as it is…

This is going to be interesting if they pass that law of not charging obese people the extra seat, people are going to be PISSED.

This is a lifestyle you choose not something that just happens to you in most cases anyways.

Sorry just my opinion… if the seatbelt don’t fit then you need to knock off a few!

I think that obese people should have to pay for the extra space. This is not our fault that they have a problem, in most cases anyways. Nothing against you Linda as you have a disability and are unable to but most people who are big usually they do it to themselves.

I travel ALL the time and being beside someone who has to have the arm rest up because their hips are coming into my space is very akward and it makes me uncomfortable as I do not like it when strangers are touching me and I don’t know them.

If the seatbelt doesn’t fit don’t you think it would be in the back of your mind.. .like ” i should lose a few”.. I’m not the skinniest person but if I ever got on a plane and my seat was to tight on my bottom or the seatbelt wouldn’t fit I would be embarassed and be working out to lose that extra weight so it didn’t happen again and so I wouldn’t have to go through the embarassment of asking for a seat belt extension.

When the flight attendants put large people in the Exit row to give them more room, I think that affects everyones safety on the aircraft as it would take a bigger person more time to get out of their 2 seats and open that door. That is a huge issue aswell. I know not the same subject but needed to be said.

HUGE ISSUE if they stop charging.. HUGE!!

Hello You people are so damn rude. Yes meds do make you gain weight. BUT lets be real to the normal sized person tTHE DAMN SEATS ARE TO F ING SMALL EVEN for you!!!!!!!!!!!

If someone takes up more than one seat, (measured by whether or not he can lower the arm rest between seats, as does Southwest), he should pay two fares. It is unfair to other passengers to do otherwise.

In the case of public transit, it is time for transit agencies to realize that the “average” person is a lot wider in the hips since buses were first built. In my city, it is not uncommon to see two seats occupied by one person, (one cheek per seat).

I don’t see that any of the large guests addressed the concerns of the majority of the population here. Excluding people on medication, MOST obesity IS lifestyle. Do the airlines pay for that by changing seats? If so, how big should they make them? When will the changes and costs end for them as people eat and eat? What about how uncomfortable ’standard’ sized people are because a small population refuses to take care of their bodies?? Strange arms, breath, legs, etc., touching someone for hours!

as a air hostess and the wife of a plane engineer

…obesity should be charged..they have to measure the fuel for your plane based on the weight of the plane and distance you have to go …if all these obese people get on ..you pay for there fat behind in your tickets prices …..it is reflexed in next years ticket costs

..also it is a real hazard if you are stuck in the seat in a emergency ..you put others in danger, its not nice to have to see people stuck under someone obese when you are trying to give them coffee…

if you are so ill your obese ( thyroid gland , big boned , bipolar ( my auty was she wasnt obese) ..other obese diseases that seem to be able to be managed by ….. diet ….thats shocking news …
maybe if your so ill your obese …you shouldnt fly …

the FAA are already investigating a crash were the weight of the passengers could have directly contributed to the crash ….so next time you get on a flight if your arse cant fit in the seat and the belt doesnt go round you ..lose some weight , stop flying or pay for the two seats …..unless your comfortable with the
idea that your fat arse might be the weight that tips the plane into the dangerous weight catagory ….im not …and i certainly wont be dragging your arse out of the plane either….

All overweight people should pay more. Like all the threads say the more you weigh you are the more you should pay.

I don’t think for my safety I would like to be stuck behind someone that for their inability to manoeuvre out of an aeroplane I would die. Would this person be charged in court of law for manslaughter?

Always the question will arise that where do you draw the line between ‘a bit chunky’ and overweight? This is a difficult one, I would not expect a tall person to pay more just because they weigh more than average person, there needs to be some measure of fairness.

If any of you are in the UK and have SKY, a very interesting program will be on NAT-GEO on 03-03-2008 about the effects of overweight people on planes, possibly the catalyst for the industry to change its policies.

Sitting next to anyone in close proximity for over an hour is difficult. Even someone skinny, little, quiet, and reading a book the whole trip can get annoying if they look at you with cross-eyes every time you get out of your seat to use the restroom. Therefore, unless an overweight person is overflowing into my seat there’s not a problem to me.

When baby’s get big enough to have their own seat, you’re required to pay for one. If your butt is also big enough to require it’s own seat - you should pay for one!

I am FAT!! I agree that if I am fat enough to “spill” over into another seat- I can pay for it. I do not see why people are being “mindless” about the fact that we are human. I am in the procees step for getting the lap band surgery because we have tried EVERYTHING!!!! And we have to live around people like you “CAROLINE” who would rather we died in an accident then try to help our fat arse out. You as a so called hostess are a disappointment. Let me ask you Craroline and anyone else, do you do anything when your sad or feel bad that you would not normally do? I started over-eating when my daughter died in my arms. I held her until her last breath and then she was so cold I could not hold her anymore. So I ate, I smoked, I drank… now I’m fat. You want more money thats fine I will give it gladly, but when I give it don’t say a word to me. Don’t snarl, don’t whisper, don’t laugh. I paid to be fat with more than money.

Ok. I too am fat. Too fat. I fly all the time, and i have to say that at times it gets uncomfortable. But I for one have never been charged extra for being large, well… x-large. Thankfully. But i do understand the discomfort my size might cause people, and I do try to accommodate my fellow passengers.
But that´s not my point. I am also a doctor (yes, I´m a big fat docotor) and I´m amazed at the level of ignorance shown by some people above. Saying that “meds” don´t cause obesity! Saying that obesity is just a life-style choice. Let me tell you something: No one would ever choose to be fat. That´s obvious, so to suggest that it´s a choice is absurd. Also, there are many differnt diseases that cause obesity, a non-functioning thyroid is a very common cause.
And, the so called hostess, carolina. My god. If I employed you, i would beat you with a stick, and probably throw you out in mid air. Saying that obese people are some sort of second class human beings… I hope you get fat one day.

I wonder what Easyjet seat widths are! Ive booked a flight, now Im worried I wont fit into the 17 1/2inch seat. I probably will, but the thought of the embarassment if I dont! Can anyone give me some hope….please

Without assigning blame for size, why not charge passengers by the pound? Would it really be that much trouble in the computer & plastic age to weigh passengers at the ticket counter and charge them appropriately? The seats could be designed in different sizes to fit the anticipated clientele.

Alternatively, the government could mandate minimal seat dimensions. I have noticed on public transport that the seats were designed for a different race of people who are about 2/3 the size of most of us. I often see an obese person wedge herself into the only empty seat in a line of four attached seats only to see one of the other three pop out like a cork from a bottle.

I am not fat. And I agree that it is unfair to compel those of normal size to endure the intimate presence of their seat mate for hours on end. The best answer would seem to be the minimum seating dimension regulation.

Another alternative would be to have a measuring line at check-in that says, “If your hips are wider than 40″(?), you must fly in business or first class.”

wow I cant understand how people can be so…mean? I’m not sure if thats quite the way to describe it but it sounds like most people think they have more of a right and self worth than others. Maybe fat people should just not fly at all in case it puts people off their lunch. While were at it can we make people with kids go to some form of cage at the back of the plane having kids kick the back of my chair for a 12 hour flight is also uncomfotable(more so than being sat next to the person beside me who was overweight), and kids screaming in my ears!! how come they have to pay less when there so much noisier, why dont we add extra charges for kids, tall people and people who have bad personal hygeine?? futhermore as the population evolves people are getting taller and larger its a fact maybe its something the airline should take into consideration more when designing planes

Great points of view everyone, keep those comments coming.

@ Lulu

I agree, I would rather sit next to an overweight person (I’m not thin myself) than a screaming kid kicking the back of my seat or a passenger with bad hygiene.

I am obese. I took some pupils on a school trip last weekend and I was mortified. I just managed to get the seat belt to clip in. If I had to ask for an extension belt I think I would have cried.
I also got on an escalator on the tube only for it to stop just after I had stepped on and then I had to listen to the people laughing behind me. I also really struggled to walk up the escalator.
Yes I think if you take up two seats you should pay extra but next time you judge the fat person you should probably know that they are aware of their size and they have probably tried many times to do something about it.
I have joined weight watchers this week (I have joined every year since I was 16 and now im 23) and this time I know I will lose all the weight because of how embarrassed I felt and I feel I let the kids down because of it.

@ Eileen

Good for you I hope you loose your weight, but don’t forget that it’s not how you look but who you are inside that counts. Its not easy trying to loose weight, and the older you get the harder it becomes.

I’m short and when people laugh behind me I instantly think that they are laughing at me - the majority of the time they aren’t it’s just me being insecure.

Good luck!!

Interesting comments. I’m obese, and I travel a fair bit. I’ve long got over any embarassment about asking for an extension belt (although I do prefer it when they’re the same colour as the normal belts, and not bright orange). I’m always sympathetic towards anyone who gets to sit next to me, and will do what I can to make sure they’re not affected too much. I’ll ask to be re-seated if there’s an opportunity. I don’t get to sit on exit rows because of safety regulations (just like children and pregnant women can’t).

What I hate, though, is the attitude I get sometimes from someone next to me - tutting, sighing, poking of elbows, but no engagement about the problem - I’m always happy to try to do something about it but it takes two…..

Talk about mean and cruel, my recent experience on Delta airlines flying from LA to ATL was cruel by my standards as they sat this huge obese man in a window seat that he practically had to stuff himself into and his girth spilled way over into the middle seat and impossible for him to put his armrest down. I think it’s way cruel of the airlines to not consider the comfort and safety of the other passengers when he boarded the plane. I’m not against fat people as that is them, but I whole heartedly agree that when a person doesn’t fit into one seat he/she should pay for the extra space they take up and also for the extra weight they add.

What bothers me the most is that the person next to me just stole 4 inches of the real estate that I an renting on this flight. Can we ask them to pay for those inches of stolen property?

That would be unheard of or unacceptable, but it appears it IS acceptable to steal rented space from another passenger.

If you take up more than the aloted 18-22 inches of space then purchase more space. The airline should be advised ahead of time that this 2nd seat is for an obese person and it should be against the “Rules” to give it to another passenger if they overbook. ALSO 2 fat folks should be able to purchase 3 contigious seats to accomodate their needs. BUT at either rate, there should be compensation to the passenger to whomes space has been illegally taken or purchase the aditional space as needed.

Janie,
Truth be known that person shouldn’t have even been permitted to board the plane. If you are exceeding the capactity of an aircraft seat, then you are exceeding the capacity of its design safety limits. This is also true of amusment park rides. I wonder how the airline industry as a whole gets away with this gross negligence in safety?

On second thought, I like, “lulu”’s idea. A separate compartment, (w/ separate ventilation) for all those too big, too young, or too smelly to fly with the general public. Imagine boarding a cross-country flight KNOWING that you would not be subject to unwanted physical contact, not have to tolerate b.o. and the noxious effluvia of rotting teeth; and not have to sumbit to the torture of screaming, crying, hyper-active, excreting children.

Wouldn’t that be heavenly. I would happily pay a premium for such a guarantee.

Darrian

Did everyone release seats sizes where set almost 50 years ago. We grown 4 inches in height since then and 2inchs at waist, that’s the standard size (healthy). It does not take much at all to now no longer fit in a seat.

A type I am large… big I weigh 250, but I am also 6′7 so my BMI is 26 (yes 1 over) I wear 36inch waist. I can not fit into a seat. I am too tall, on this I have an advantage most airlines recognize that people over 6′4 can not use a normal seat and you can ask (and will normally get) a emergency exit seat if your tall and healthy.

Basically is it not time the seat sizes where up dated. This has started in the UK with several airlines (First choice, flythomson and Thomas Cook) already changing legroom.

Darren

Forgot to mention http://www.seatguru.com which will allow you to see who has the most legroom and widest seats. (covers most airlines)

Seat width can vary between 16 inches and 19 inches, and legroom from 28 inches to 36 inches.

Maybe they should make boards that can slide between the seats to help contain people in their seats. That way you spill up instead of out.

carolina…the airhostess…. please do not use foul language - deleted

bein a larger person my self from being young i no how hard it is to loose weight….so before you shoot your mouth off think about what your saying and think about how people feel…we are not lower class human beings because of our size, if any one is lower class it is people like you who make othrs feel like ****

get over your self you are no better then anyone else no matter what there size is!

As I read these posts, it becomes apparent that the only real solution to this problem is federally-mandated minimum seat width.

There are people who are so anxious to get the rock-bottom cheapest fare that they would approve of “seating” that consisted of passengers loaded on horizontally like logs, or like the slave ships of old.

That’s too bad. Some preferences simply cannot be accommodated. I think that the “average” customer would much rather have a seat with generous proportions that allowed him a modicum of comfort during his flight in exchange for a higher fare.

The children and smelly people segregation was a joke. I don’t think that we will ever be be free of those annoyances. However, they can be alleviated, to a degree, with headphones and perfume under the nostrils.

I used to fly a lot. Much of my flying was before mandated fares were eliminated. I remember those experiences as ranging from boring to delightful.

However, they were never TORTURE, which is what flying is now. Besides the jam-packed cabins, there is the horror of check-in. I am one of the few people who would happily forgo all the anti-terrorist measures just to make checking in less of a trial. My preference is not totally irrational, I think that now that we know that sitting in our seats and being quiet will inevitably lead to our deaths, we will all jump the hijackers. So 9/11 will never be repeated, with or without airport check-in security.

I rarely travel by air these days, and just thinking about a trip stresses me out

- yOGI.