Should XL Passengers have to Purchase Two Seats?

[Guest LatinoRican]

YES! Not too long ago, I flew on JetBlue and this man of enormous proportions sat next to me on the aisle seat. Well, half his body weight was on me. Thank God, it was only a 40 minute flight. I was in the middle seat and my friend had window; he chuckled all the while we were in the air. This mas also happened to coincide with us on the return flight, but, he was nowhere near us!

[Guest joeburger]

YES they should!

[OneFinger]

Congrats on your loss! Just out of curiosity, what was the incentive to lose the weight?

 

Thanks for the congrats.

 

I was obese for 10+ years before dropping the weight. I always wanted to drop the extra pounds but the body wasn't cooperating. Probably related to some of the prescriptions I was taking and the hormone changes associated with my age.

 

One of my co-workers found a weight loss doc that was approved by our insurance. He dropped over 160 lbs and that made me re-think using a weight loss clinic. So far, 4 co-workers have used this program and I've lost the least amount of weight.

 

I honestly feel 10 years younger and have more energy / mobility than I have had in many years. Prior to losing the weight I had sleep apnea, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and I hadn't felt my feet in 6 months (neuropathy). All those issues are gone and I'm doing more than I ever expected.

 

And, for those that are wondering, I still hire escorts and my sagging skin isn't a problem for them. I think my slimmer body makes their job much easier than my fat body.

[Midnight]

Yes, been there! If they can't fit in the profile of the seat, why should I suffer?

[+ deej]

Thanks for the congrats.

 

I was obese for 10+ years before dropping the weight. I always wanted to drop the extra pounds but the body wasn't cooperating. Probably related to some of the prescriptions I was taking and the hormone changes associated with my age.

 

One of my co-workers found a weight loss doc that was approved by our insurance. He dropped over 160 lbs and that made me re-think using a weight loss clinic. So far, 4 co-workers have used this program and I've lost the least amount of weight.

 

I honestly feel 10 years younger and have more energy / mobility than I have had in many years. Prior to losing the weight I had sleep apnea, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and I hadn't felt my feet in 6 months (neuropathy). All those issues are gone and I'm doing more than I ever expected.

 

What's really cool is that you did it because you wanted to. Not because someone said you should.

 

And that's probably the only reason it worked.

 

Seriously, pal, congrats!

[+ purplekow]

If you want to avoid suffering, you could buy two seats.

[Guest]

Congrats on your loss! Just out of curiosity, what was the incentive to lose the weight?

 

There will certainly be business issues, but there are already business costs associated with obesity.

 

There are already employers who won't hire smokers, or require existing employees to quit, because they get a cost break on their group health plan. Obesity, as health risks go, is right up there too.

 

As an employer, it's not just a health risk, but the risk of injuries is many-fold greater for obese employees. As for my position on this debate, it seems that the most rational solution would be for airlines to have a row or two of seats in which there are 2 rather than 3 seats on each side of the aisle. The cost should be 50% higher than the regular coach seat, and people who cannot fit between arm-rests of regular seats without spilling over into the next seat should be required to purchase these seats.

[EZEtoGRU]

As an employer, it's not just a health risk, but the risk of injuries is many-fold greater for obese employees. As for my position on this debate, it seems that the most rational solution would be for airlines to have a row or two of seats in which there are 2 rather than 3 seats on each side of the aisle.

 

Sounds like a first class seat.

[+ purplekow]

First class seats are usually much more than 50% greater in price. First class service is a lot different too, ask Elaine on Seinfeld. Ultimately though, I have said much that same thing that Unicorn stated, the service provider should be looking after the comfort of all the passengers at a reasonable price for each.

[+ deej]

As for my position on this debate, it seems that the most rational solution would be for airlines to have a row or two of seats in which there are 2 rather than 3 seats on each side of the aisle. The cost should be 50% higher than the regular coach seat, and people who cannot fit between arm-rests of regular seats without spilling over into the next seat should be required to purchase these seats.

 

OK, so if they have 8 "wide load" seats on the plane and nine people want them does that mean that one person can't buy a ticket on that flight for love nor money?

 

This is the same problem hotels have (or had) with limited numbers of smoking rooms. There is ALWAYS someone pissed off because they were all taken.

 

No, if you're over-sized buy an extra seat. You know who you are. Surely you've noticed that you don't fit into normal seats at theaters or on the subway. You don't need a gate agent to tell you. Just buy the damn ticket.

[+ FreshFluff]

No, if you're over-sized buy an extra seat. You know who you are. Surely you've noticed that you don't fit into normal seats at theaters or on the subway. You don't need a gate agent to tell you. Just buy the damn ticket.

 

But in that case, should we also ask the handicapped to pay extra to ship their wheelchairs? That's not meant as a rhetorical question, by the way, but it's one that needs to be asked. The FTO gene is carried by more than 1/3 of the population, so what makes obese people different from the handicapped except for the degree to which their genes affect the issue under discussion? And if it's the degree that's an issue, then should those who are handicapped as a result of accidents vs. heredity be treated differently?

 

(BTW, I'm a very small person, and yet I eat what I want whenever I want. My appetite just happens to be small, and my metabolism--according to a breath test I took a while back--fast. I'm already rewarded for that non-achievement in a number of ways, which is why I have to think twice about adding yet another way.)

 

This is the same problem hotels have (or had) with limited numbers of smoking rooms. There is ALWAYS someone pissed off because they were all taken.

 

I think the past tense is right according to my small sample of experiences. Often, when I try to book a room late, I hear that "the only rooms we have left are smoking rooms."

[+ purplekow]

OK, so if they have 8 "wide load" seats on the plane and nine people want them does that mean that one person can't buy a ticket on that flight for love nor money?

 

This is the same problem hotels have (or had) with limited numbers of smoking rooms. There is ALWAYS someone pissed off because they were all taken.

 

No, if you're over-sized buy an extra seat. You know who you are. Surely you've noticed that you don't fit into normal seats at theaters or on the subway. You don't need a gate

 

agent to tell you. Just buy the damn ticket.

So from your point of view, the 8 people should buy two tickets knocking 8 people off the flight, rather than just the one who does not get the large seat. I see. Hmmm. Some people make a fine argument. You know who you are. Surely you have noticed that your ideas don't fit into normal conversations in other places. You don't need a thread to tell you. Just make some sense. You must have really been squeezed mercilessly on a transoceanic flight. Or perhaps a fat kid sat on you until you cried in the third grade. In reading your posts elsewhere, i would not have thought you would put corporate profits ahead of the rights of the individuals utilizing those less than optimally designed corporate products. Are you sure you don't also post as Merlin?

[Guest]

Sounds like a first class seat.

 

Sounds, perhaps like someone who's never been in first class? First of all, first class seats are more than 50% more expensive; they're usually more like 3 to 4 times more expensive if you pay for them rather than getting upgraded. Secondly, the increased width is only one of the many differences between coach seats: there's also the increase pitch and thickness of the cushions, of course, as well as the improvement in service, meals, and free drinks. And, of course, priority boarding, check-in, and luggage handling. My suggestion of having a 50% wider seat that is 50% more expensive is to be fair to everybody: the hefty passenger, the airline, and fellow passengers. I don't think it's fair to make the obese pony up for first class airfare (and take those seats I usually get upgraded to), but it is fair to have them pay their fair share of costs and not make fellow passengers miserable.

[Lohengrin1979]

OK, so if they have 8 "wide load" seats on the plane and nine people want them does that mean that one person can't buy a ticket on that flight for love nor money?

 

This is the same problem hotels have (or had) with limited numbers of smoking rooms. There is ALWAYS someone pissed off because they were all taken.

 

No, if you're over-sized buy an extra seat. You know who you are. Surely you've noticed that you don't fit into normal seats at theaters or on the subway. You don't need a gate agent to tell you. Just buy the damn ticket.

 

Unfortunately, it's a matter of degree. Back when I was much larger, there were some seats I could fit into without much or any spillage and some that I could not fit into and so endured a flight flinching away from my seatmate. Not all people, big or small are experienced flyers and no what to expect. There is no "test seat" at the terminal to screen out the "fatties" and even if there were it wouldn't necessarily correlate with being able to fit into "normal seats at theaters or on the subway." It's this kind of lack of understanding from people who have never had a weight problem that make the size issue so unsolvable. It's not a matter of just getting two seats. For one thing, online ticket ordering will not let you buy two seats simultaneously and trying to get them together is a chore. So then you have to call in. It was a frustrating experience every time to say the least. I'm all for some bigger seats for those that need it. They have the greater financial responsibility of the price increase which is only right because you're renting space to park it on that plane but the two seat option has never worked effectively and won't any time soon.

[RockHard]

Just say no.

 

I don't think it's a good idea to encourage and/or promote obese comforts. Society would be better off, more responsible, if we did everything possible to help obese people reduce their weight, and help remaining smokers end their addiction to nicotine. How we go about doing that is another debate.

[EZEtoGRU]

Sounds, perhaps like someone who's never been in first class?

 

Actually I am in FC all the time. My flight today from Montreal to Dallas to Houston (One flight Buiness Class and one flight First Class) is the return portion of a r/t ticket. At the time I purchased it, it was only about 30% more expensive than the respective economy fare. Certainly not 3-4 times more expensive. I will be doing a Houston to Miami roundtrip next week on AA. I have just priced the economy fare ticket at $638 inclusive of taxes and the discounted F fare (which is currently available) at $1162........which is 82% more expensive than economy. Again, not 3-4 times more.

 

Of course, there will indeed be a greater difference between the economy and f/c fare for those that purchase tickets well in advance (3-4 months ahead) which I never seem to do. I do acknowledge that. However, one cannot make a blanket statement that first class is 3-4 times more expensive than economy without all the relevent qualifiers. The air fare structure in the US is very complex and relatively cheap first class fares can be had if one knows how to search for them.

 

In any case, the important thing for this thread is that having the airlines install several rows of fatty seats will not work well due to there almost always being too few or too many XL passengers to occupy these seats. This then results in an unhappy XL passenger if he/she cannot secure that seat.....or an unhappy airline that has had to possibly sacrifice additional revenue from the flight cause it had 8 XL seats in the cabin and only sold 3 of them.....meaning normal sized passengers had to be accomodated in these seats when they could have occupied a normal sized seat.

 

The only sensible solution is to keep the cabins as they are and to oblige XL's to purchase 2 seats. Its the optimal solution to address the size issue and also for maximizing revenue management for the airline.

 

Unicorn, we both agree that the XL passengers needs to shoulder the burden for this situation, we just have a different view on how that should be handled.

[Guest]

I don't think it's a good idea to encourage and/or promote obese comforts. Society would be better off, more responsible, if we did everything possible to help obese people reduce their weight, and help remaining smokers end their addiction to nicotine. How we go about doing that is another debate.

 

Well, I'm not sure making them pay 50% more is an encouragement. But I agree that the costs to society of the obese are, literally, huge, and that we need to have the courage as a society to figure out how to discourage the unhealthy lifestyle, just as we discourage cigarette smoking. President Obama and I would both like to heavily tax sodas with sugar or high-fructose corn syrup, although the President did say that such a tax would probably be politically impossible. I don't know how hard it is to quit smoking, because I've never done it, but it really pisses me off when an obese person reacts to the suggestion that he at least switch to a diet soda as if someone were to ask him to give up an arm. If I were a grand dictator, I would put a tax on sodas with sugar equal to whatever the cost of the companies' diet soda is (so that the company couldn't pass the tax onto to diet soda customer). The taxes collected could help defray costs associated with diabetes, or social security disability payments, or other obesity-related costs currently being shouldered equally by the obese and the non-obese.

[+ deej]

But in that case, should we also ask the handicapped to pay extra to ship their wheelchairs?

 

They should if the chair invades another passenger's seat space.

 

Actually I'm in favor of people using wheelchairs or walkers paying extra for the storage, as well as parents of small children paying for stowing their carrier/car seat/stroller/etc.

 

I think the past tense is right according to my small sample of experiences. Often, when I try to book a room late, I hear that "the only rooms we have left are smoking rooms."

 

More and more, I'm seeing entire hotel chains that don't allow smoking anywhere, which is why I said "had". It was one (admittedly really small) point that added up to my decision to quit.

[+ FreshFluff]

They should if the chair invades another passenger's seat space.

 

Actually I'm in favor of people using wheelchairs or walkers paying extra for the storage, as well as parents of small children paying for stowing their carrier/car seat/stroller/etc.

 

The problem is that we, as a society, are used to giving the elderly and handicapped special privileges such as parking spots and discounts--and they are used to getting them. Doing the opposite (in this case, imposing a fee on them) is likely to produce boycotts and negative publicity, and thus lost profits. That's especially true for the elderly, who have the muscle of the AARP behind them.

[Kevin Slater]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/16/nyregion/transit-agencies-in-new-york-area-consider-wider-seats.html?_r=1

 

Kevin Slater

[adriano46]

on long flight yesterday (where I paid for a roomier seat and many were left empty despite cheap cost of $12) i saw a man get on who had to slide down aisle sideways as he was too wide to walk face forward. i sighed a sigh of relief when he passed but turned to see looks of horror on others faces as he approached row after row. Steward gave him last row by himself (after movung a few around).

 

on another point entirely, saw THE most handsome young man in ages - on same flight. Tight jeans outlined a round, firm, melon shaped ass and thickly muscled calves. But it was was his face, dark,. smoldering looks, dimpled cheeks, and a beautifully outlined

muscular chest with large dark nips pushing against a light white fabric. I was STARING brazenly!!! what a god and he did not seem to notice!!!!!!!

[justaguy]

Damn, adriano...why wasn't I on that flight! That's one heck of a description you just gave. Drool worthy. BTW, welcome back...I thought you were going to be gone a couple of weeks.

[adriano46]

I am AWOL but.... Discovered I missed your daily photos. How I wish I had the courage to take a photo with my cellphone of this dark, handsome young man. Have looked for him each day on this tropical island - wonder if he is some wealthy guy's play toy for the week???????

[justaguy]

A pic would have been very nice, but discretion is better. I hope you bump into him soon.