NationStates Jolt Archive

Overweight man sues Air France (http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=2006-12-20T121013Z_01_L20821526_RTRIDST_0_OUKOE-UK-FRANCE-OBESE-FLIGHT.XML&WTmodLoc=Oddly+Enough-C1-Headline-3&rpc=92).
I've flown plenty, and I can't say I disagree with this policy. If someone can't fit in their own seat, why should they get to take up part of the seat I paid for?

If you don't fit in one, yes.

Normally I feel that fat people get treated like shit in my society, and I don't like the idea of making their lives even harder.

However, when it comes to seats on airplains or trains or whathaveyou, I feel that I'm paying for a certain amount of space when I buy my ticket. I am renting a given amount of room that I get to occupy for the duration of my trip. If some other person wants to take some of my room, then they should damn well be prepared to pay me for it, and they should also be prepared for me to decide that no, in fact, I don't want to sub-let my space to them.

Sure. Why should someone have to be uncomfortably crammed in next to a beached manatee? Give the sea mammal two seats so that there is a comfortable buffer zone between him and the next passenger.

Absolutely.

In fact, airlines should probably sell you a ticket by weight. Set a price per kilogram of freight being hauled (passengers and luggage) and charge you for that.

Yes, and this is why I don't use public transportation very often.

Absolutely.

In fact, airlines should probably sell you a ticket by weight. Set a price per kilogram of freight being hauled (passengers and luggage) and charge you for that.

I think Ryanair might be introducing that..;)

I used to fly trans-Atlantic flights quite a bit, and I have to say that I can't disagree with this. Too many times have I been stuffed up against the window while some extremely fat bastard who hasn't showered in a week takes up half of my seat. Of course, if he was willing to pay for that half of my seat I might be interested.

Yes, but they should tell the person privately. I get the feeling that people oppose this mostly because of the humiliation it causes for the passenger.

last time I went on a flight a fat guy shoved himself into my seat. My wife and I had seats together (we were on the wway to our wedding)
the airline asked if I could move. I ended up getting into it with the pilot, who gave me a free bottle of chapagne for the wedding and moved us both to first class. What a terrific way to settle a problem, eh? He sure made the start of our wedding week a good one.

The fat guy seemed to simply ignore everything. It must be awful to be obese and have to try to deal wit that kind of thing. I felt bad for him, but he should have been stopped at the gate if he didn't have to tickets...

Hey, lets be draconian about it, what we need are weigh-in's instead of check-in's. The ammount of fuel expended by an aircraft during its flight is proportional to the ammount of mass it is lifting. So everyone gets a "personal price" based on their weight at the departure lounge :D

no, it's possibly not very fair (or should that be fare?) but I can see it happening at some point.

oh rats, I missed Llewdor's post.. sorry Llewdor, unintentional hijack.

Agree with DCD: If you more closely resemble an orca than a human, you should be intelligent enough to realize that "hey, if the seat can barely hold someone half my size, how the hell am I going to fit into it?"

Yes, but they should tell the person privately. I get the feeling that people oppose this mostly because of the humiliation it causes for the passenger.

The quotes from the court case were uncalled for.

Who knows what happened at the ticket counter. He might have been pitching a fit about the two seat rule, hence brought on the humiliation himself.

Or they could make the seats wider and with slightly more leg-room for coach passengers *shrugs*

Or they could make the seats wider and with slightly more leg-room for coach passengers *shrugs*
Or they could go in the opposite direction (http://uprightandstowed.typepad.com/weblog/2006/04/standing_your_w.html)...

Yes, but they should tell the person privately. I get the feeling that people oppose this mostly because of the humiliation it causes for the passenger.
Absolutely.

I don't see why they can't work it like carry-on bag standards. Airlines have posted the size maximums that can be accomodated by their overhead bins, so that you can measure your bag in the privacy of your home to make sure it will fit. They also usually have those sizing bins in the airport, where you can see if your bag fits into the alotted amount of space.

They should post their seat sizes and inform people what the maximum measurements for fitting in the seat are. Then people can measure themselves at home, instead of having to deal with it in front of all the other people waiting at the gate!

Hey, lets be draconian about it,

If they can't fit in one fucking seat, they should pay for another one or not get on, it is simple and practical for everyone involved.

If you don't fit in one seat, and require a second, then you most definitely should purchase two seats, and same goes for sports events. My seat in Ohio Stadium for football games was supposed to be seat eleven. Instead I routinely sat in what, essentially was seat 7.5, because all the people to my right were so...large.

Or they could make the seats wider and with slightly more leg-room for coach passengers *shrugs*

I would love this, as I'm 6'3 but it would also increase the cost of tickets, which I wouldn't love so much.

Overweight man sues Air France (http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=2006-12-20T121013Z_01_L20821526_RTRIDST_0_OUKOE-UK-FRANCE-OBESE-FLIGHT.XML&WTmodLoc=Oddly+Enough-C1-Headline-3&rpc=92).
I've flown plenty, and I can't say I disagree with this policy. If someone can't fit in their own seat, why should they get to take up part of the seat I paid for?

If the person is fat enough to take up 2 seats then definately they should pay for 2 seats. Airline tickets are sold per seat not person.

I think it is reasonable to expect people to pay for as many seats as they use. No one would consider it acceptable for me to expect to store my carry-on bags on another passenger's lap, so it hardly seems acceptable for someone to store their stomach on my lap.

I do think, however, that measuring passengers' waists in public is a bit unnecessary. It wouldn't be difficult to let the passengers in question step behind a curtain or something.

I think they should be forced to run to where ever they have to go. If it's overseas, then they should swim... It's time to lose that weight, fatties. Please note, however, that I am an Evil Worm, and that is probably why I feel this way...

I would love this, as I'm 6'3 but it would also increase the cost of tickets, which I wouldn't love so much.

No, but there does have to be a line somewhere.

And with the rate of increase of obesity, someone should take a good, hard look at the percentage of obese passengers, and devise a plan from there.

Note: There are members of my family who are obese. Please try and keep the insults to the minimum? Pretty pretty please?

What size are the seats? I don't fly, but I've seen seats on busses and at movie theaters that were made for chimps, not human beings. I agree that 400 pound people should pay extra, but if a typical seat can't accomodate a 6'1" 210 pound man, they need to make bigger seats.

I think they should be forced to run to where ever they have to go. If it's overseas, then they should swim... It's time to lose that weight, fatties. Please note, however, that I am an Evil Worm, and that is probably why I feel this way...

Why don't you just ship over some evil tapeworms and help people lose weight?

Or they could go in the opposite direction (http://uprightandstowed.typepad.com/weblog/2006/04/standing_your_w.html)...

That's great.......Unrealistic, maybe but I'd think it would definately reduce price of the fair. Doesn't really matter though, there will always be unhappy people no matter what choice or decision you may choose or act upon. Facts of Life, I guess.

It must be awful to be obese and have to try to deal wit that kind of thing.
It's no one's fault but his that he's obese.

What size are the seats? I don't fly, but I've seen seats on busses and at movie theaters that were made for chimps, not human beings. I agree that 400 pound people should pay extra, but if a typical seat can't accomodate a 6'1" 210 pound man, they need to make bigger seats.

Bah! People should growing when they reach 5'8", maybe 5'9". There's no reason to be any taller. Chop their legs off, I say.

Bah! People should growing when they reach 5'8", maybe 5'9". There's no reason to be any taller. Chop their legs off, I say.

No, every man should be 6' tall or taller. Too many short guys with Napoleon complexes around. I say if you're short, have your legs broken and stretched.

The way I see it, they are losing space that could be sold to other passengers when someone is particularly obese. To them, it amounts to recovering lost money, I imagine, and hardly no worse than the myriad of other schemes in capitalism.

No, every man should be 6' tall or taller. Too many short guys with Napoleon complexes around. I say if you're short, have your legs broken and stretched.

Napoleon complex is a myth created by tall people out of jealousy. Growth hormone blockers for everyone!

It's no one's fault but his that he's obese.

Well, it may not be any other person's fault, but that doesn't necessarily mean it was entirely a personal choice. Some people have a much harder time losing weight than others do - and this is speaking as someone who weighs about 100 pounds. My father, for example, has been fairly rotund for the past few decades. He eats healthily (heck, he eats better than I do), he exercises, but he still looks rather like a black-haired Santa Claus. I don't consider myself morally superior to him just because I inherited my mother's build and metabolism rather than his.

Napoleon complex is a myth created by tall people out of jealousy. Growth hormone blockers for everyone!

Don't make me step on you.

Should Obese People Have to Buy Two Seats?


They already have two anyway...why not pay for the use of them ?

Bah! People should growing when they reach 5'8", maybe 5'9". There's no reason to be any taller. Chop their legs off, I say.

In tall peoples' defence.....we come in handy. Do you realize how many times we are needed, whether it be the old lady that's 5' tall needing something off the stores top shelf.

My neighbor across the street was amazed at how quickly I hung my white isicle lights for Christmas on the front of my house, no ladder needed. Many benefits of being tall, such as, being able to clean ceiling fans quickly and at ease no need to fumble around with a ladder, or to reach in a tree to get the kitten who may be stuck, to easily clean ceilings, etc...

Of course there are some down falls to such as I can't count how many times I got hit on the head by a ceiling fan, after 29 yrs I finally learned to look first. Or going into a freinds trailer hitting my head on the top of the door, being uncomfortable in back seats of vehicles or any place in a small compact car. leg cramps from sitting to long, tall people are known to eventually have bad backs. etc...

They say your wing span should be about the same size as your height, I have a wingspan (finger to finger) of 6' 4" but only have a height of 6' 3". They used to say smoking stunts your growth but it has me wondering since I've been smoking since 12.

Oops, slipped off topic.....Obese people should pay the extra charges for taking the second seat. I do like the idea of having a measuring system known about the capacity of the seats. To try and eliminate the humiliation.

Don't make me step on you.

Careful! Wouldn't want you to slip and fall from such a great height.

I consider this lawsuit to be another frivilous lawsuit for the Obese. Not to long ago an obese person sued McDonalds for making them fat, give me a break. These frivilous lawsuits are what causing various prices to go up.

Bah! People should growing when they reach 5'8", maybe 5'9". There's no reason to be any taller. Chop their legs off, I say.

You're jealous that I can change light bulbs without a ladder aren't you?

You're jealous that I can change light bulbs without a ladder aren't you?

Actually, my ceilings are low. So, no.

Whole world is built for you tiny lil buggers! I want a sink higher than crotch level! To say nothing of cars, ceiling fans, I have to frickin duck!

Even if it isn't his fault that he is fat (and lazy), which I doubt it isn't his fault. It doesn't mean someone else should wait longer or move from his seat and be the victim of his fatness.

Imagine the terrible scenario where you gladly got a place next to the window (if you like looking out of the window like me), all window seats are filled. Now, some fat person says you have to sit somewhere else because otherwise he/she cannot sit.

I'm not doing fitness 4 times a week to lose my seat to a fat person. Though when it is a girl she can sit on my lap.
















no wait, she cannot, since she's fat :p

Whole world is built for you tiny lil buggers! I want a sink higher than crotch level! To say nothing of cars, ceiling fans, I have to frickin duck!

Is not. If the world were built for short people, I wouldn't have water run down the insides of my sleeves every time I use a paper towel dispenser in a public bathroom. *grumble*

Yes, but they should tell the person privately. I get the feeling that people oppose this mostly because of the humiliation it causes for the passenger.

maybe the passenger should have thought of that while they were drinking lard? unless you have a medical issue, being obese is your own damn fault. in a nation where the leading cause of death is heart-disease (whose own leading cause is, suprise, OBESITY) we need to stop acting like it's "OK" to make yourself fat. it's not. I know people who have glandular problems and have to take steroids and things like that - BEING fat is not the issue, but most fat people are that way because they were too damn lazy and gluttonous to prevent it. short of medical problems or being force-fed twinkies, you should be about as comfortable as an obese person as someone without pants in public...and there's about as much excuse. "Er...well, uh...earlier I didn't think it mattered...um..." people treat obesity with disrespect because it's the sumation of everything that's wrong with american culture.

maybe the passenger should have thought of that while they were drinking lard?

*giggles merrily*

that was funny!:D

*looks around guiltily--puts down jar of lard*

Even if it isn't his fault that he is fat (and lazy), which I doubt it isn't his fault. It doesn't mean someone else should wait longer or move from his seat and be the victim of his fatness.

Imagine the terrible scenario where you gladly got a place next to the window (if you like looking out of the window like me), all window seats are filled. Now, some fat person says you have to sit somewhere else because otherwise he/she cannot sit.



Now, wait. I doubt any passenger would tell you you cannot sit in your purchased seat because they can't sit in theirs. Especially in the case of obese people, it's embarrassing enough that they can't fit without announcing it to the whole cabin.

Well, if you can't fit in one seat, yeah. That makes perfect sense because you have no right to encroach on someone else's seat, especially considering they paid good money for it just like you did.

Why don't you just ship over some evil tapeworms and help people lose weight?

actually, in the early 1900s in america a miracle diet pill hit the market...sold like hotcakes, and erm, they found out it they actually *were* tapeworms....:headbang:

Okay. say the plane is "full house". the fat person has no choice but to sit next to you. as a consequence you can only use a quarter of your seat. you will not be able to sit for the next few days.

Well, it may not be any other person's fault, but that doesn't necessarily mean it was entirely a personal choice. Some people have a much harder time losing weight than others do - and this is speaking as someone who weighs about 100 pounds. My father, for example, has been fairly rotund for the past few decades. He eats healthily (heck, he eats better than I do), he exercises, but he still looks rather like a black-haired Santa Claus. I don't consider myself morally superior to him just because I inherited my mother's build and metabolism rather than his.
It's a simple question of thermodynamics. If you consume more calories than you burn, you gain weight. If you burn more calories than you consume, you lose weight. It's not possible to have any other combination of characteristics.

Thus, if you get fat, it's because you eat too much relative to your activity level (which includes your metabolic efficiency). Therefore, if you're getting fat, you can stop that either by doing more or eating less. It really is that simple.

I'm fat. It's because I eat too much and don't exercise enough. I had a thyroid condition as a child which made me very thin, and I developed some unfortunate eating habits. So now I'm fat. If I care enough about fixing that, I'll take up yoga and stop eating belgian waffles for lunch.

Sure. Why should someone have to be uncomfortably crammed in next to a beached manatee? Give the sea mammal two seats so that there is a comfortable buffer zone between him and the next passenger.

lmao...manatees!

Agree with DCD: If you more closely resemble an orca than a human, you should be intelligent enough to realize that "hey, if the seat can barely hold someone half my size, how the hell am I going to fit into it?"

Your observation would, in fact, point out that the seats are too small to begin with. But of course, since the airlines make money dependent on how many people they can cram into an airliner, they've reduced the legroom and the width of the seats.

Why not make a few rows of seats that are larger, charge accordingly, and let everyone fly without having to be uncomfortable or humiliated?

Of course.

Why not make a few rows of seats that are larger, charge accordingly, and let everyone fly without having to be uncomfortable or humiliated?

I think that's called first class.

Or they could make the seats wider and with slightly more leg-room for coach passengers *shrugs*

Indeed.

if the airline doesnt want to install seats designed for larger passengers ("sorry sir, we're all out of fat seats for this flight") which shoudl cost more because of the room it takes, then the obese person should pay for the number of seats that they need to take up. I don't think that people who cannot fit in the restraints should be allowed to fly though.

if the airline doesnt want to install seats designed for larger passengers ("sorry sir, we're all out of fat seats for this flight") which shoudl cost more because of the room it takes, then the obese person should pay for the number of seats that they need to take up. I don't think that people who cannot fit in the restraints should be allowed to fly though.

That's a good point. It's dangerous, not just in the instance of a crash, but in the case of turbulance or rough landing.

Plus, from a liability perspective..."I hit my head during turbulance. Geez, they shouldn't have sold me the seats if it wasn't safe for me to fly."

Just give out the maximum measurement for the seat to passengers, and if some obese person still tries to sit in two seats with one ticket then quietly take him aside and explain why your charging more. No need to embarass them and no need to make the healthy suffer either.

Only if they're U.S. citizens.

(Oh Lord, I'm so sorry!!!)