Too fat to fly?

Attol · 21-12-2006 01:29AM

I think it's fair enough to have to pay for 2 seats if you don't fit into one. If you're going to take up 2 seats wouldn't it make sense? I was on a coach in the UK from Birmingham to London and spent the whole time squished against the wall with no space to move. It was a 3 hour journey and it was so uncomfortable. I had paid for a full seat yet only got half. That's not fair on me. I expected a reasonable degree of comfort. The reply from their customer service was very unhelpful and basically told me "their policy is not to discrimminate". I think it's a reasonable request to be allowed have the full seat you paid for.

The cost of redesigning all planes to accomodate increasing waistlines is totally unfeasible.

Ruu_Old · 21-12-2006 01:38AM

LadyLotts wrote:

I think it's fair enough to have to pay for 2 seats if you don't fit into one. If you're going to take up 2 seats wouldn't it make sense? I was on a coach in the UK from Birmingham to London and spent the whole time squished against the wall with no space to move. It was a 3 hour journey and it was so uncomfortable. I had paid for a full seat yet only got half. That's not fair on me. I expected a reasonable degree of comfort. The reply from their customer service was very unhelpful and basically told me "their policy is not to discrimminate". I think it's a reasonable request to be allowed have the full seat you paid for.

The cost of redesigning all planes to accomodate increasing waistlines is totally unfeasible.

You should have asked them if you could have a smoke on the plane if you had to be uncomfortable. Wouldn't overweight people be just as much of a risk as smokers?

SandhillRoad · 21-12-2006 01:51AM

What about overweight stewards/stewardess? Seen any lately? It seem like the rules have changed.

Naikon · 21-12-2006 02:04AM

If you are big enough to require two seats, then you should have to pay for the extra weight that has to be accounted for.
Dont get me wrong, I am 6 foot, 3 inches(1.905M) and the lack of legroom on planes is the real killer for me:mad: :mad: :mad:
But thats besides the point in fairness.

I am not the fittest person around by any measure, but the prospect of having to pay for two seats alone to accomodate extra bulk would be humiliating to say the least, and incur motivation to lose such weight.

Another poster mentioned that it wouldent be feasible to extend seats as it could become a situation where planes will reach physical limits with regards to seat and interior extension.

21-12-2006 02:08AM

Would you like to be stuck sitting beside a seriously obese person
if there was need for an emergency evacuation of a plane?

Well, it depends on if the plane crashes at sea or not..

.. if Brainiac taught us anything its that fat people are really buoyant.

Attol · 21-12-2006 02:25AM

You have a point there boney.

tbh · 21-12-2006 09:42AM

Commander Vimes wrote:

not be too un pc but they all can. i've put on a bit round the middle recently but i know its entirely my own fault so i've cut out chippers and i'm running and stuff. i'm doing something about it. if morbidly obese people changed their eating and exercise patterns they'd shed weight like an ice cube

the point is that a lot of people who are overweight are that way because of underlying medical conditions. It's not all just because some people have no willpower, although I'd imagine that would be 75% of the time.

DublinWriter · 21-12-2006 09:59AM

seamus wrote:

What are airlines to do? They can't weight people before they get on a flight.

I flew from Rosaveel in Galway to the Inismor with Aer Aran in it's early days in 1996.

Back then they were flying 6-seater Cessenas (basically a Hiace with wings) and everyone getting on the flight had to publically weight in at check-in on this scales with a massive dial on the wall that you could read from miles away.

My then gf was not impressed.

Sam Vimes · 21-12-2006 10:11AM

Naikon wrote:

If you are big enough to require two seats, then you should have to pay for the extra weight that has to be accounted for.
Dont get me wrong, I am 6 foot, 3 inches(1.905M) and the lack of legroom on planes is the real killer for me:mad: :mad: :mad:
But thats besides the point in fairness.

you should always request the emergency exit seats. loads of leg room.

Mitch Connor · 21-12-2006 10:13AM

LundiMardi wrote:

The guy was humiliated ffs!! He had flew before and never been asked to buy a second seat!! Like has been said, if there was some consistency in the rules then maybe just maybe it would be ok. But that's not the case.

In fairness, i do not see how that is entirely relevant to the real issue. It states on their website that obese people should book a second seat and if they don't, they may either have to purchase one on boarding or possibly be denied access tot he plane. Just because this has not happened to the person beofre is no reason to say it should not happen ever.

People speed when driving, and mostly get away with it. I'm sre there are people that speed but have never been causght. If they do get caught do you think "But i have sped before and no one has said anything to me" should be an acceptable defence.

I know in one case it is illegal what the person has been doing and in the other it clearly isn't, but i think the comparison stands.

CountryWise · 21-12-2006 10:36AM

If you overweight your overweight, hate this sensitivity issue around weight, but the reason that we can get so many people in the air is the size of the seats in the plane thats probably not an issue that can be changed!

As previously stated im tall and i dont complain i understand the logic of small areas per person in a plane, maybe the embarassment of the weight issue might help them change their lives

robinph · 21-12-2006 11:09AM

DublinWriter wrote:

I flew from Rosaveel in Galway to the Inismor with Aer Aran in it's early days in 1996.

Back then they were flying 6-seater Cessenas (basically a Hiace with wings) and everyone getting on the flight had to publically weight in at check-in on this scales with a massive dial on the wall that you could read from miles away.

My then gf was not impressed.

They still do the same thing when I took that flight a couple of years ago. I think where you tipped the scales may have determined which seat you got so that they balanced the plane out correctly.

There was even less leg room on that flight though than on Ryanair planes and I'm surprised the guy in front of me didn't complain about me kneeing him in the back. But he was a little busy flying the plane at the time I guess. :eek:

BuffyBot · 21-12-2006 12:56PM

In fairness, i do not see how that is entirely relevant to the real issue. It states on their website that obese people should book a second seat and if they don't, they may either have to purchase one on boarding or possibly be denied access tot he plane.

Assuming he booked on the web, of course...

Marksie · 21-12-2006 01:24PM

Blue_Lagoon wrote:

Could it be that the overweight scriptwriter has run out of material and is using this legal affair as a source? A year or two from now you may just see the new film release, "Too Fat to Fly."

titled "united 93 stone"

RandolphEsq · 21-12-2006 04:45PM

Obesity is a disease. Obese people should be taxed and treated for their physical and psychological problems. The man's weight is affecting on other people,its time for him to pay

Sangre · 21-12-2006 04:59PM

tbh wrote:

the point is that a lot of people who are overweight are that way because of underlying medical conditions. It's not all just because some people have no willpower, although I'd imagine that would be 75% of the time.

More like 99%

justsomebloke · 21-12-2006 05:18PM

tbh wrote:

the point is that a lot of people who are overweight are that way because of underlying medical conditions. It's not all just because some people have no willpower, although I'd imagine that would be 75% of the time.

Sangre wrote:

More like 99%

I would have to agree with this as I don't think "can't be aresed" can actually qualify as a medical condition. yes I know some people can't lose weight due to medical conditions however these are far out number by people who just don't try hard enough.

As has been pointed out it states on it's website that you may require an extra seat and I am sure the terms and conditions if you booked it over the phone would also indicate the same. So I think he should have to pay for an extra seat, as poor person beside who would already be squashed in a small space would be squashed into an even smaller space.

however on the issue of them having to take to seats do the seatbelts on airplanes strech far enough to lock in safley when you have to take 2 seats

miamee · 21-12-2006 05:20PM

I *think* they can provide a seatbelt extension so that the belt from the first seat can stretch far enough to plug into the second seat...if ya get me?

ScumLord · 21-12-2006 05:25PM

Obesity is a disease. Obese people should be taxed and treated for their physical and psychological problems. The man's weight is affecting on other people,its time for him to pay

How?

Maybe we should bring back communisim then the government could control every aspect of our lifes and we wouldn't need to tax any minority in socity.

Ruu_Old · 21-12-2006 05:26PM

miamee wrote:

I *think* they can provide a seatbelt extension so that the belt from the first seat can stretch far enough to plug into the second seat...if ya get me?

The only extension I ever heard about was the one if you have a babeh, perhaps I'm wrong.

humanji · 21-12-2006 05:28PM

ScumLord wrote:

How?

Maybe we should bring back communisim then the government could control every aspect of our lifes and we wouldn't need to tax any minority in socity.

Bring back communism?

miamee · 21-12-2006 05:37PM

Ruu wrote:

The only extension I ever heard about was the one if you have a babeh, perhaps I'm wrong.

Well I'm open to correction also, it's a long time since I've worked in the airline industry !

BuffyBot · 21-12-2006 06:02PM

Yes, airlines do have seat belt extensions

LundiMardi · 21-12-2006 06:42PM

Tauren wrote:

In fairness, i do not see how that is entirely relevant to the real issue. It states on their website that obese people should book a second seat and if they don't, they may either have to purchase one on boarding or possibly be denied access tot he plane. Just because this has not happened to the person beofre is no reason to say it should not happen ever.

Obese people would qualify a large percent of the population, including myself... Obesity does not mean your belly is dragging along the floor as your walk!!

If this person has flown with the same airline previously with no problem, why would he buy or even think of buying a second ticket on this occasion?

Tauren wrote:

People speed when driving, and mostly get away with it. I'm sre there are people that speed but have never been causght. If they do get caught do you think "But i have sped before and no one has said anything to me" should be an acceptable defence.

I know in one case it is illegal what the person has been doing and in the other it clearly isn't, but i think the comparison stands.

No, the comparison does not stand, obesity is not a cause for concern to anyone else except the person in question. Speeding can kill anyone... To compare the two is just rediculous.

Sam Vimes · 21-12-2006 06:49PM

LundiMardi wrote:

No, the comparison does not stand, obesity is not a cause for concern to anyone else except the person in question.

and the person attempting to sit next to him/her which is kind of the point of the thread

LundiMardi · 21-12-2006 06:53PM

Commander Vimes wrote:

and the person attempting to sit next to him/her which is kind of the point of the thread

i meant death!! Speading kills people, sitting next to an obese person doesn't!!!

I can see where you're coming from, i wouldn't like to be sat next to them either on a long haul flight, but i certainly wouldn't blame the person sitting there!!! It's preposterous to do so!

21-12-2006 07:40PM

LundiMardi wrote:

If this person has flown with the same airline previously with no problem, why would he buy or even think of buying a second ticket on this occasion?

Maybe he got fatter since the last time he flew?

LundiMardi · 21-12-2006 07:42PM

Deleted User wrote:

Maybe he got fatter since the last time he flew?

maybe he got thinner?

Sam Vimes · 21-12-2006 08:07PM

LundiMardi wrote:

i meant death!! Speading kills people, sitting next to an obese person doesn't!!!

I can see where you're coming from, i wouldn't like to be sat next to them either on a long haul flight, but i certainly wouldn't blame the person sitting there!!! It's preposterous to do so!

it doesn't kill people but a flight to australia with only half a seat that's small to being with would grate a fair bit.

and if it was in the terms and conditions that the person sitting there should have bought two seats i most certainly would blame him/her

LundiMardi · 21-12-2006 08:12PM

Commander Vimes wrote:

it doesn't kill people but a flight to australia with only half a seat that's small to being with would grate a fair bit.

and if it was in the terms and conditions that the person sitting there should have bought two seats i most certainly would blame him/her

How much would 2 seats to australia cost? Also having half a seat is a little of an exaggeration.

Maybe you should have to buy two tickets on a bus too?

Too fat to fly?

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