I think this is a clever way to get some extra revenue. Compliment to their Revenue Director, Manager or whoever. Why should you lose money? And I absolutely agree with the others – sitting beside a overweight person is not comfortable at all. Means a “Worst flight experience” could cost your company a lot of money if other passangers will avoid you in the future.

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Darren, If someone sat next to you and took up half of your seat space how would you feel? Or would you just shrug it off and say they had a medical condition. There was nothing UA could do.

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I’ve sat next to overweight persons on several flights and it was never a comfortable experience (see my comment on the “Worst flight experience” on this blog http://tinyurl.com/cuesq7 ). I do not believe that overweight passengers find the experience enjoyable either, sitting in a cramped seat and feeling bad about the squashed up person in the next seat. I guess the solution is to purchase a ticket for two seats or a premium economy/business/first seat.

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From what I have read about this. It seems that part of the reason United have done this is ‘in part; due to customer complaints. Also, United are the 5th airline to introduce this, so a bit unfair highlighting just United (don’t know the other 4, but was mentioned on Foxnews site).

One thing. I would not like to be the gate staff who have to implement this…

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I won’t give my thought about this subject as it is a really sensitive one. However, I wanted to remind you about a court case which happened in 2006 related to this aspect and involving Air France

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First of all, Darren, what medical reasons are we talking about here? What ailments/disorders would render someone truly obese and not just overweight?

To me, it’s an overall safety concern – end of story. While I feel for people who carry extra weight and all that they must go through, I never want to feel that my safety is compromised on a flight.

To Keith’s point, I’ve sat next to obese passengers on planes too and it’s uncomfortable for all in attendance.
How much is the fee for the second seat?

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What about people who are really tall, and take up all available leg space? What about people who have their laptop and work docs all over their tray and yours as well? What about people with screaming babies, or who allow their kids to run up and down the aisles like chickens? What about people who snore, or smell bad? What about people with bladder problems who want the window seat? What about people who knee the back of your seat the entire time? What about people who put their seat all the way back, and the top of their head is in your lap, and your tray table is in your gut?

Flying in steerage is uncomfortable for many people for a variety of reasons. if they really want to go so far as to say it’s a condition that requires special needs, then give fat people reduced airfare for first class seats. Or, just make the fricking seats bigger, so we can all have a little room to breathe.

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I’m a skinny person, and I am sick and tired of paying for overweight luggage when a person after me at check-in weighs more than me and all my luggage combined. So hurray for United!

If ever a brave airline decides to charge ALL passengers according to their weight + luggage, I’ll be the first one to sign up for its frequent flyer program.

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From an agents view, wouldn’t want to be the member of staff who one day, may to make that call and question a client – Passport – check , Visa – check, Insurance – check, and oh yes, could you just pop yourself on the scales please?

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Obese people should be charged more–or us skinny folks should get a discount when seated next to an obese person in proportion to the part of our seat they are using.

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At 250 and 5ft 5in, I am an obese person that can sit comfortably in first class. But when we fly coach I do not mind paying for an extra seat. What I do mind is paying for an extra seat if the plan is not full. Also I do not want a scene made at the gate or in the airplane concerning my extra seat. Once my husband (who is very tall but not obese) and I were flying to DC and we had purchased 3 coarch seats, the flight attendents keep trying to place someone in the “empty” seat between us. That was very unpleasent. Then to make up they offered my husband a seat in First Class, which had only one passenger. My husband refused because they would not let me move as well.

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It’s definitely a sensitive subject and a lawsuit “friendly” policy. But then again, there are lawsuits for pretty much every type of scenarios possible. The Air France event may be a bit unfair for correlation to this United policy since the passenger was reportedly humiliated in public and really should be seen as an isolated incident.

+1 on Zach. When a passenger pays for a seat, he or she is entitled to the full seat. If a situation arises where precious square inches are lost for whatever reasons, the passenger being “punished” should be compensated for the lost real estate.

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I think this is a fairly low attempt by airlines to make more money when they know they have a prejudice-fuelled public to back them up. Being anti-fat people is one of the last acceptable prejudices (this is not to say that encouraging people to be healthy is not a good idea, but attacking them for being fat is not the way to do this).
Fact is there is a direct correlation between obesity and poverty. By making it more humilating and expensive for obese people to travel you are likely to prevent many from being able to do so, leaving more people on low income unable to see and share in other parts of the world. I think that would be a pretty sad consequence. I also share in Miss Expatria’s opinion that being obese is just one condition amongst the many variables that make us all human, and that there are many others that can inconvenience airlines or air passengers.

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Darren

At 6’5” and just over 200lbs I am not over weight, but those seats feel tiny.

Yes there are other airlines doing this, and your right all claim it is for safety not any other reason, I can see a time when this becomes the norm.

But also I think it is time to update the “average” person as we are not the same size as people where in the 50′s, better health care etc. has meant we are longer and bigger than before, just look at average sizes in that time.

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Not sure about the charging by weight issue, what if someone was totally ripped and muscles weighs more than fat so they were super heavy and had to pay double. You would have a scenario where ripped dudes, fat people and giant tall people paid more. Maybe they should charge on a scale determined by BMI to encourage people to look after themselves – economic benefits for those that treat themselves with respect and don’t cost a bomb in state medical costs.

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I am thin will United Airlines now offer me a discount?

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You know there are reasons beyond a persons control why they may be larger than average. I like the way that Southwest Airlines does it. When you book the flight you pay for an extra seat, but if the plane is not sold out, they have been known to send you a refund for the extra seat. Still not wonderful but at least better than other airlines.

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United Airline are spot on! Having to sit next to a rather overweight lady last year I am glad that it will give me some extra space the next time I fly.

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Interesting discussion, do you think BA or Virgin will do the same?

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I am little by name but overweight by body. I do not mind paying extra. In fact when I asked British Midland for an extra seat they refused me.

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The question in the poll was not phrased correctly. I don’t think you should pay by weight, meaning per lb=$$. BUT.. I do think that an obese person who spills over to the next seat should pay extra. I Have spent one too many plane rides being,’sat upon’. BTW, make them pay extra for wearing TONS OF PERFUME TOO!!!!!!!!!..UGH!

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As a United mileage member. This is just absurd. I am not a small guy 6’4″ and rather broad shouldered. It is all but impossible to fit into the 14″ wide seats with 9′ of legroom between the seats. it is especially bad on the smaller commuter flights. When I fly I attempt to book a seat that is next to a bulkhead or next to empty seats. But I have flown full flights from Hong Kong, and honolulu and trust me it is not fun for us either. Airlines should take a clue from Amtrak and other rail services and make an effort to make the seats accomodate normal size people and not size 2, 5 foot children under 12.

Many of the planes I have flown in, I cannot even stand up completely in.

this will definitely take United off my preferred air carrier.

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[...] are available on both sides, and get quite virulent. On the flip side of protecting the larger passenger, passengers seated next to such a passenger [...]

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Passengers should be charged according to their ‘gross’ weight, that is body weight plus luggage weight. What could be fairer than that. The airline should charge for what it costs them to move a certain amount of weight around the world.
Off to lose a little weight.

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The simple fact is that it costs the airline X dollars to fly Y kilograms from A to B. Give everyone the same limit on weight and let them use their allotment on either luggage or fat. If you exceed the limit then pay extra.

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Does it matter why a person is obese? “Medical” reason or not, they’re still obese. By almost implying that we should feel bad for those who have to pay extra for any medical condition makes it sound like we are judging those who do not have a medical condition for the reasons they are obese. Whatever the reason (or excuse), those who are obese make everyone involved uncomfortable and may even interfere with safety. Something, delicately, should be done.

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We are asking ourselves the wrong question, here. Instead of debating who should pay if a passenger can’t fit into his or her seat, we should be outraged at how brazenly airlines have shrunk the size of their seats over the years, sardining in as many passengers into as little space as possible in order to maximize profits.

I am a 5’9″ woman weighing in at a whopping 155 pounds, and an economy seat on most major airlines is uncomfortably small for me, regardless of the size of my neighbor. This is because the space problem on airplanes isn’t limited to how wide you are–it’s also about how tall you are, and how far back the person in front of you reclines their chair, and how considerate the person next to you will be about sharing the lone elbow rest.

The answer is simple: airplane seats should be bigger. Not because of obese people, but because I don’t want to be so close to the people around me that I can tell what they ate for lunch. And I don’t want to be so cramped that in order to let somebody out to use the bathroom, it takes minutes of rearranging my limbs and the few things that fit in the seat with me…

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Ryanair have decided not to implement a charge for heavy passengers. They spout more hot air than anything else. However they are sitting on lots of suggestions for discretionary charges. I will be ranting myself if they implement one of my suggestions after paying out someone 1000 euros for a suggestion they didn’t use.

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Obesity causes the body to become diseased, if all these obese people lived a healthy and active lifestyle most, if not all of their health problems would be solved. If they can’t fit in one seat, its just common sense that they should have ot pay for two seats.

Fact – Obese people literally eat like pigs, fast food, pop, candy, donuts, you name it they eat it.

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Chunky tax, about time. I paid for my seat and have had to share it with someone who couldn’t fit in their own seat. I get charged for excess baggage so they should get charged for being over excess weight.

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As an average sized man I am still uncomfortable in coach on most airlines. The airlines average seat width and pitch is absolutely ridiculous. People of size, of which there are many in our overfed nation, should not be scorned because of it. If they can sit with armrests down and belted in then how about a little compassion for your fellow human being.

Yes I have been seated next to people of size many times over the years, I have found them to be normal and nice in every way that you and I are except for their size. I agree with the second seat purchase for people who can’t fit at all, just as long they are refunded for the extra seat in a plane less than full. It’s sad that most people complaining are so insensitive.

We as a nation have become so self-absorbed and compassionless toward our fellow man, I fear it WILL eventually ruin our “good old USA”. Rome didn’t last forever either. Look around there are signs of failure everywhere and will only get worse.

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