Should overweight people be forced to buy two seats in coach?

If the flight is not full, then no, I don't think it's fair to charge. However, if the passenger needs 2 seats on a flight, and the flight is full, then the airline stands to lose a sale so charging for the second seat is perfectly reasonable. This conclusion is based on the fact that passengers needing 2 seats should reserve 2 seats, or they will risk getting on a 100% full flight and not having anyplace to sit.

Since it is impossible to know in advance if a flight will fill up in most cases, one way to implement this would be to charge for and assign 2 seats at time of sale to a very large person, but to refund the 2nd seat charge if every single seat is NOT sold.

Yes. I once had the pleasure of setting next to a woman that seighed about 400 pounds. She was in the center seat and her arms were resting on my chest and on the chest of the woman setting to her right.

Aside from the gross factor, I lost the sale because my suit looked like I had slept in it. I don't care what they pay for their ticket but Nobody should be forced to set under their overhang.

Overweight people should have to buy two seats if they weigh as much as two people. If they weigh that much, chances are they will need the extra space. When it comes to selling airplane tickets, much of the price comes from the cost of fuel, and the fuel cost goes up with the weight of the passengers and cargo, not the number of people on URL1 may seem cruel to make larger people buy multiple seats because of their size, but people should realize that because they are bigger, life is going to be different for them and they should accept that.

It is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is something that needs to be addressed in today's America.

If they are intruding on the people next to them and invading their personal space, then absolutely. I would rather them do that than have the airlines start to accommodate the obese by making extra large seats. And I want to make it clear that I am not attacking fat people, I am a big guy myself.At a mean 6'3" 300 pounds I look like a linebacker for the Chicago Bears.

If I have to pay for another seat because my elbows are smacking the guy next to me in the face, then it is my fault and I need to accommodate the people next to me or lose some damn weight. :) The one thing the airlines could do to make it less embarrassing I guess without just making all seats gigantic, is to make the seats movable so that they easily go from small to medium to large seats with a lift and a slide here and there. This would accommodate the larger person without embarrassing them by simply asking for a larger seat and not have to quietly whisper "I would like to buy two seats please".

If you do this though you do have to charge for a small, medium or large seat. You are taking up more room and potentially taking money from the airlines that they would have received for the extra people they could have booked.

I don't know how feasible this is, but maybe airplanes could have a few rows of removable/modular seats, this way if there are overweight people they can put the bigger seat in place. Airlines would charge more for this kind of seat but without it being double the price.

Yes. This has nothing to do with the fact that they choose to be that way, it has to do with the economics of running an airline. Cramming obese travellers into small seats affects those around them, and results in lower quality of service.In addition, heavier passengers affects the weight and balance of the plane -- evening this out by the purchase of two seats only makes sense, as the airline cannot overstress the plane by letting heavier passengers increase the weight past it's payload limit or offset the plane's center of gravity.

This is not a fat tax, this is logic. A 800lb person does not have the right to pay the fare of a taxi, when in fact it may require a forklift to move him from place to place, so the same analogy must hold for airlines, since in fact both weight AND space are crucial considerations in flight.

It's an interesting question. I am not a small man, so it is of not entirely academic interest to me. I think, though, to be fair, if a person cannot fit into a single seat, fairness obligates they buy a second.

I definitely think they should have to buy an extra ticket. However, I do not think it should be half price. If I have to pay full price for my 5 and 3 year old sons, then they should have to pay the standard price for the extra seat they are taking up.

Maybe if the are a frequent flyer member, they could have a smaller discount. Definitely not half though. I too have members of my family that would be forced to deal with this.

I think most of us have had to deal with this at some time while flying.

You will not like this answer but flight = weight ..not if you are large or are you small size..it should be about total weight you and your bags....this will be fair to all because some people who are 200 lbs but don't look like it ..

I don't think large people should have to buy two seats. I think the airlines should make bigger seats. I'm tall and scrawny at 120 lbs, and most of the seats are uncomfortable for ME.

I know a few very large people and they hate flying, avoiding it all costs, because it's so uncomfortable for both them and their neighboring passengers. Society has already ostracized them for their weight. Let's not financially impoverish them too.

Yes. Otherwise they you accompany some very thin with them to share the next seat :) Akash...

Yes overweight persons must buy two tickets .... :).

Hmm....personal opinion - no. I think it's a form of discrimination.

Of course, overweight people shouldn't have to buy two seats. Not all overweight people body goes past their own seat into another's. If they are that big where they do go into another seat there should be a surcharge of some sort.

If I was sitting next to someone that large I would feel uncomfortable. The problem with charging them more becomes prejudice. Would you charge a mother with a newborn more because the baby cries and inconveniences the others?

There is no right or wrong. If I was that overweight I would buy a business class seat so I wouldn't make myself and others feel uncomfortable.

I think that it is wrong to make overweight people buy a new ticket. In most cases it could not be their fault that they are overweight. For example obesity could be genetic.(see: news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/958023.stm and news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7230065.stm also see obesityfocused.com/articles/about-obesit...) People could also grow overweight through certain anti-depressant medicines.

Such as prednisone or (see: healthyplace.com/Communities/thought_dis...) A quote from the above mentioned website: "Although it may seem hard to swallow, certain prescription drugs can cause people to gain weight - sometimes a pound a week - they get little attention when experts search for causes of the national epidemic of obesity. " I think one practical solution to such a problem would be to make certain places on a coach or airplane where seats are slightly bigger. To cover costs fat people may have to pay a little bit extra for such seats.

These seats should also be available to passengers who want more space. Of course these passengers should also have to pay extra. I totally do not think it fair to make fat and obese people pay more for a extra seat.

But costs need to be covered because otherwise the coach could make money from the seats*. This is the reason why a small fee should be charged to make use of the big seats.(* For example if a big seat is 1/3 bigger than a normal seat than for every 3 big seats you create you can make 4 smaller ones) Another reason is so that people do not take advantage of the seats by thin people sitting in the fat seats to have more room to sit.

You should pay for what you use. Tall clothing costs more than regular or petite clothing. Why?

Because it uses more fabric. Why should someone else get two seats for the price of one? Why should I have to be scrunched up because someone else is overweight?

While this might seem like making someone pay for being "disabled," and maybe it is. However, disabled people have to pay all the time. I am legally disabled and have to pay $150 a month for my medication because the insurance won't cover it.

That's not fair. Is it fair? No.

Justified? Yes. Life is not fair.

You want fair? The fair is in August.

Of course morbidly obese people should buy two seats. As previously stated, they unbalance the plane, consume more than the average fuel per person, are disgusting to be stuck next to a fat blob overflowing into your personal space and (in most cases) got that way because they can't stop eating, ie: by their own will or lack thereof. Yes, it's a fat tax, and yes, it is right.

Why should I pay more for my miniature seat space only to be covered in what could be mistaken for whale blubber? Why should my miniature seat be deformed because a whale sat on it for 15 hours when the cushion is made for average human weight? Why should I pay the fuel costs to carry what is considered far-above-average weight?

Screw fat people. It's not discrimination because they weren't born that way, but rather they ate themselves to that weight. And don't move them to business class to "accommodate" them: they'll just deform those seats too.

People over a certain weight who cannot prove it is due to medical reasons (ie, hormone levels or what have you) not only should have to pay for a second seat (for the comfort of all passengers; remember when smoking seats were available but segregated? ) but they should also pay additional fees so the company can replace the seats they destroy with their abnormally fat asses.

Well, lets see. I'm not overwieght, but I'm tall. I think I should be able to buy an extra seat in front of me and have them take the seat out so I don't have to keep my knees up under my chin.

You really don't have to be very heavy to not fit easily in airplane seats, so where do you draw the line. Maybe airlines should stop cramming so many seats on a plane and give us a little more comfort. Just my opinion, with my knees up under my chin.

I'm 'overweight', as is everyone just about, now that the standard of 'overweight' applies to just about everyone. So, I guess it depends. I used to fly in the old days (glory days, getting all misty eyed) of Pan Am, when seats were wide enough for a man of average girth and nearly wide enough for a child to sleep in.

The seats have gotten much narrower as airlines try to squeeze as many people as they can in. See, not just the fat guy's problem. There are a lot of people like me.In my family, we're about 25%.

That being said, since the airlines keep reducing the seat size, and offending me by trying to make me buy two tickets, I drive. I think the airlines can charge whatever they want to charge.It is not discrimination to pay extra because I am larger. It is not discrimination for me to simply not fly, either.

In the old days of dignity and respect, the larger person got upgraded to business or first class if seats were available.In the modern day when everyone hates fat people despite most of us being classified as fat, it is perfectly ok to 'punish' fat people, and let's be perfectly honest, a lot of this is 'punishment' because skinny people are supremely confident that if we'd just get off our asses and work out we'd lose all that weight, and they're tired of looking at fat people. It's a very bad attitude and it permeates our society, leading to a culture of blame that can't help in any way, as I can assure you, nobody wants to be fat in this society. So, I would say airlines are free to do as they like, but the government should not make it a policy and people need to learn a little bit of sympathy for those who are less fortunate than they and look to their own problems rather than judging those who have a different set of problems.

First off, airlines should provide better seats for everyone. Wider and more leg room. Right now we're crammed in too tightly so that airlines can make a few extra bucks.

Once you do that, though, you could offer a few rows of smaller, tighter seats at a discount. Obviously nobody could take these seats unless they were small enough to fit into them. And anyone who is too large for the bigger seats would certainly have to pay for two.

As a fellow who weighs a bit over 300lbs, I say yes. That being said, it needs to be something inforced by the airlines and not just a "manners" issue. I'd be happy to pay extra, but am not going to do so if every other overweight person on the flight is just going to squeeze into their seat while I pay extra not to.

Instead of singling out obese people, I would make it a requirement for everyone to be charged "per pound. " There could be a little platform at the ticket window that weighs a person without anyone knowing about it. Then the person could be put into a weight class and be charged that amount for their ticket.

The airline folks would not see the actual weight, therefore no embarrassment to the passenger. Passengers could also input their weight when booking tickets online. As for people who are unable to fit into a standard seat, there should be special seats on planes to accomodate them and not interfere with the comfort and safety of other passengers.

This would require airlines to make adjustments to their current seating, but the cost could be defrayed by money made in the "weight class" program.

Warning, note of bitterness coming out in this... If I have to walk ALL the way out of the airport, through security and into virtual exile just to have a cigarette because people like the idea of smoking indoors(I would be happy with just a smoking AREA, it doesn't have to be in the middle of populated portions), then I see no problem with a little discrimination thrown at the rest of the populace. Since obesity is not a "protected" class of people(such as age, gender, etc), it does not follow under any civil protection laws. But, on a less bitter note, an extremely overweight neighbor on the airplane is guaranteed to make an uncomfortable flight for one or both of us.

Either they are doing contortions to not lean on me, or vice-versa...usually with one or the other of us getting frustrated by the deal.

This problem was not created by obese people. This is a problem which was created by the airlines trying to make as much money as possible by making seats as small as possible and having "one size fits all" seats. It is not just obese people who are affected by this "one size fits all", it is also tall people, people with disabilities, and people with injuries.

The issue with obese people is the airlines are not accommodating them at all. Typically, obese people do not need two seats them need seats which are a couple of inches wider. The solution is not to charge obese people for two seats, but for the airlines to provide some seats which are a couple of inches wider and seats which are a couple of inches longer for tall people.

There will be huge demand from people of all sizes who are willing to pay a reasonable premium for a slightly larger seat. Everyone would be happier passengers will have seats of the size they want and airlines will make some more money from selling premium sized seats.

Should just be a mandated and volunteered by the companies. Basically, it should say if you are over 350 pounds, etc, then you automatically qualify for an extra reserved seat as a selection. I think it is a little difficult like say at an airport, if we had to ask people to step on the luggage scales.

A much more polite stance is to simply offer the service as a kind gesture. That said, have you heard that Japanese airplanes would require people to stand up, like a subway in the future?

The pricing scheme used by airlines to budget for sales revenues that will be used to offset expenses entails a dollar amount per seat occupied. It does not sell fractions of seats, but whole seat units. Thus, this pricing scheme dictates that if a passenger occupies more than one seat's space, he/she should be charged the fare for two seats.In the same way, a very thin passenger that doesn't take up his/her entire seat must pay the whole seat unit fare, and not a decreased fare.

Alternatively, airlines can be more sensitive to their passengers needs and incorporate a per-passenger-pricing scheme where the extra cost is spread out among the expected passengers. Double-seat-rider probabilities can be estimated based on past experience, and a new higher fare price can be determined, which will be paid by all the passengers of a specific trip. Passengers requiring two seat can specify their double-seat need at the time of seat reservation, so that a specific trip is not oversold.

This pricing scheme is more friendly and a little more expensive.

If they really want to do this, then there should be a per pound policy just like cargo. So each ticket would have a different price depending on the weight of the traveler. If someone is over a certain amount of weight then they do pay the ticket price according to the new policy but also get a second "free" seat.

I disagree with the fact of having two groups of travelers (normal and obese). If they really want to do this, then they should do it for all people rather than creating traveler types.

Many who are extremely obese also have complications that may make them physically disabled. It is likely that charging extra might be seen as not only discrimination but also as an ADA compliance issue.

The percentage of severely obese people that fly and take 2 seats is low enough that teh airlines should eat the cost-- it is not fair to squish the person next to them--and most oese people are not that way by choice--most are due to a helath problem-either physical or mental...being sick is expensive---people who are sick have less ability to pay for an extra seat.. the money should come out of teh pockets of the CEOs who make too much too begin with.

No! I really think is very offensive! It should be taken as an insult!

Of course. Every other form of transportation or shipping charges by either weight or volume. If you need to take more than 1 seat, you need to pay more.

Same thing with luggage, pets, and kids. Think of the flipside - if you had people skinny enough so they could fit 2 to a seat, you'd be dang sure they'd be getting the seats for half price.

They chose to eat a lot and allow themselves to get fat so yeap they should pay...

It's not as much about how many pounds, it's whether or not you intrude on your fellow passengers. It should be like the carry-on bag test - if you can't fit into this space you need to make other arrangements (upgrade, move if possible, or pay for a second seat, and the airlines should bend over backwards for case-by-case solutions that work best for all passengers). Ultimately you will have to discriminate against someone - either you make a seat that fits any person which will result in fewer passengers per plane, so everyone average size or less is paying extra for large seats that go underutilized, or people bigger than the seat pay the difference.

Since when is discrimination on airlines news? I don't get to go early or walk on the red carpet when I board, or pay extra to fly 1st with the real silverware and napkins. People who don't have the cash for a ticket don't get to fly at all.

Thank god for AMEX Platinum.

This is really a can of worms. I'm not small myself--smaller than I was, but not as small as I could be--but I do fit in one seat. I think if someone is really sitting in more than one seat, they should have to pay for that.

The airplane, after all, was designed for a certain average size, and can't operate safely if that is exceeded. In addition, I think that were I a passenger who found that my seat was being occupied by both myself and my seatmate, I'd demand a change of seats or a free upgrade, and be persistent until I got it.

There are a host of economical, sociological, ethical and moral considerations with this question. This answer will try to tackle economical and sociological factors, other answers or graduate theses can approach the rest. As others have indicated, precedent has recently been set in Canada regarding this issue.

This is certainly a grey area, with valid arguments for and against each side. Airlines may incur increased costs, while fliers may find shortages of seats and costs passed on to them. On the other side disabled fliers will maintain dignity and not impose on their neighbours.

Ultimately this might be about basic human decency and comfort. If one was clinically overweight they would face the double impact of social stigma and physical discomfort being crammed into a narrow seat. The degree to which disabled and overweight passengers can be accommodated while minimizing impact on airline and passenger cost the better.

The solution to this issue assumes: - The passenger needs to disclose thier situation to the airline - The airline must not violate the privacy of nor embarrass the passenger - The airline has the capacity/capability to accommodate the passenger The exact solution should depend on the willingness of the airline and the passenger to incur increased costs. The solution in Canada seems to place all of the responsibility on the airline, but this is not a sustainable option given the economic climate.

If an individual can not fit comfortably in one seat and needs the extra room of a second seat, sure I think an airline should be able to charge for that seat. My issue is not that because individuals can choose which airline to fly and choose accordingly. The problem is how the size/seating arrangement is chosen.

If the airline chooses this based on some index, it can never be done so fairly, if it is optional for the person to decide to pay for an extra seat, who would in their right mind. Canada fixed this issue for the airlines, not saying this is fair or right, just a fact to throw out there for others to read, it's an interesting concept.

No. They should be made to walk to their destination instead, thus burning extra calories and leaving the plane to svelte hipsters like me. "Stewardess!

More martinis for me and my skinny friends!

Southwest already have a policy of requiring large customers to book 2 seats. southwest.com/travel_center/cos_guidelin... I think it's a sensible arrangement. The discrimination argument only holds to a certain extent, after which logic has to take priority.

If I can't sit on my seat properly because the person next to me is 400lbs then I don't want to fly. Especially if it's long haul!

The answer is no... Discriminating against fat people is the same as discriminating against stupid people (I'm not calling fat people stupid) but according to the 2004 election, most people are stupid. On a similiar subject, the news has been telling me that most people are fat, too. But, you either provide a service to everyone at the same rate, or you take your service and shove it!

(Says the skinny guy) In addition, I think it's important to specify that it's the airline's responsibility to provide comfort to ALL passengers. Why not make some larger seats? Issue resolved.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.