Airline Obesity Policies

From the Independent Traveler

Is it fair for airlines to put the squeeze on big fliers?

We've all heard of airlines putting the squeeze on folks, but c'mon, this is ridiculous. The latest raft of airline policies (and revenue sources) now focuses on big people: United Air to charge obese double on full flights.

The headlines focus on United's new policy, but the airline merely had the bad fortune of attracting a lot of press; the fact is that pretty much all the other airlines already had a similar policy, including Continental (dating to 2004), Delta, JetBlue and Southwest (whose policy goes back decades). As noted in the article, these policies differ in degree and detail, but decree essentially that if you don't fit in a seat with an extension seatbelt and the armrest down, you will be charged for two seats or removed from the plane. For example, travelers on United "will be required to buy two tickets on the next flight or upgrade to business class, where seats are larger, if United's flight attendants can't find two open seats for them."

As a policy, it is almost maze-like: we'll try to find you two seats, but if that avenue doesn't work, you can buy a business-class seat, but if that is not available, you can buy two seats on the next flight, but if that flight is sold out, you can buy a business-class seat on that flight, but if business class is sold out ... God forbid a big person try to fly during a holiday peak or during thunderstorm season -- he could be stuck at the airport for days waiting for the airline to be able to offer him the privilege of paying for two seats. Add it all up, and what the airlines are saying to big folks who want any guarantee of actually getting to their destination is "you must buy two tickets or risk not going."

What Is a Big Person?

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