United Airlines is the latest airline to jump on the anti-fat bandwagon and penalize their overweight passengers by charging them, should they not fit 'comfortably' into one seat, for two seats! They say that they are doing this because they received 700 complaints last year about overweight passengers.
In my capacity as someone who knows the 'overweight' landscape well, as an 'ex-fatty' (50 pounds permanently removed 8 years ago), author of two best-selling weight loss books, seminar leader and Life & Wellness Coach, I have a few questions for United Airlines and the other carriers who have adopted this two-seats/two-faced policy.
What other complaints have you received in the past year, and how many? Has no one mentioned the delays, cramped seating (no matter your size), or poor food choices? I'd like to see a full report on complaints.
You say that your criteria for double charging is, "if a passenger cannot close the arm rest, or cannot fasten the seat belt with and extension." Given that 34% of Americans are obese, might you consider making the seats larger?
What if you still receive complaints about those who manage to 'fit in' their seats, but nevertheless, a bulge or a ripple of fat ungulates across the divide? Where will you draw the line or the tape measure?
Will you have a "model" at the gate, as you have a display/image of what size luggage constitutes a carry-on?
You penalize overweight people yet you offer no real healthy choices when distributing your peanuts, snack bars, cookies, et al. Why not offer fresh fruit?
Instead of adding to the problem, creating even more of a stigma for those who are over-weight, why not become a part of the solution? Partner with Life & Wellness Coaches, fitness centers, nutritionists alike. Offer frequent flyer miles to those who create healthy lifestyles. Dedicate a section of your flight magazines to health education.
Step up to the healthy plate and make a real difference.
Links to health:
How to STOP Eating!
10 Ways to Fill Up on Happiness
The Best STAY FAT Strategies
What do you think of United's 'fat' policy? Weigh-In!
Spread the healthy word ... NOT the icing!
Janice
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Janice Taylor is a Life & Wellness Coach, specializing in weight loss, reinvention, transformation & happiness, author, seminar leader and 50-pound-BIG-Time-LOSER! Write Janice for an Introductory Coaching Session.
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You know, Janice, even when you weighed the 50 pounds more and were overweight, I bet you still would fit in an airline seat. When I was 20 pounds heavier, I still fit in a seat.... I know people who are technically "obese" who are male who just have a large belly--but you can sit next to them fine.
I think that people who don't fit in a seat properly SHOULD have to pay for an extra seat! People with small children pay for a seat, even if the child spends most of the time being carried.... I have a friend who is a musician who has to buy a seat for her cello to avoid checking in a highly valuable Stradivarius.... It's like checked baggage--you have extra weight in your baggage, you pay extra--so why not pay extra if you carry significant extra weight on your body? They're not charging people because their BMI is over 25 or 30, they're charging people because they are inconveniencing other passengers.
Sorry Janice- this is one issue you are going to get slammed on. I am about 60 pounds overweight but I still fit in an airline seat. But it is totally unfair to me, as a paying customer, to have to share my seat space with someone else. Not only is it unfair, it is dangerous and, in my case, medically impossible. You see, I am highly claustrophobic. The feeling of being trapped in my seat or just not being able to move because the person next to me is taking up part of my seat is guaranteed to make me lose it. It isn't a choice- I can't help it.
No, if you can't contain your body within the seat/space you paid for, you should have to pay for two (or, as in one case I personally saw) or three seats. These people may not have made a choice to be grossly obese but I certainly shouldn't be punished for it!
However, I do agree that the airlines have exacerbated the situation by making the seats so small. This is why I fly First Class whenever I can get away with it. On a recent trip we were offered the opportunity to upgrade for only $100. I was the only one who did so. Worth every penny since I also have very long legs and get tired of people getting angry with me when they can't recline their seats into my lap (I offer to switch with them but they usually won't- they prefer to grumble).
Nope, if someone is 100+ pounds overweight and takes up 2 seats they should pay for two seats- on airplanes, at sporting events, movies, wherever. The obese do not have more rights than those of us who are fat, thin or in between.
Very interesting to read people's thoughts on this sensitive issue. I do agree with those who argue that it is not fair to have part of your seat taken up by the person next to you when you both paid the same price to be on the flight. Maybe in response to this problem, the airlines should start installing some rows of larger seats, so where there were three seats, there would now be two larger seats. The price could be 1-and-a-half times the price of a standard seat, so at least the person who doesn't fit in a "regulation" seat doesn't have to pay double the price or first class (and the airline makes the same amount of money). These larger seats could also be useful to parents with babies or handicapped people requiring more space, or just people who want more room but don't want to pay first class prices.
Yes, why stop at overweight people? Why not charge pregnant women and older men for their big bellies? Why not charge extra if you are forced to look at someone's "ugly" face whilst sitting next to the poor soul. Stinky feet? Charge 'em! Tots running up and down the aisles with snotty noses? Throw them off the plane! What about the matron who forgot to leave Estee Lauder at home? We are all in this together, folks, like it or not. Get an aisle seat if you are thin, and then if you get squashed, quietly ask to change seats...It seems as if hatred is the status quo these days. That large person could have the skills to save your life in an emergency...
I wrote a thesis on OBESITY, A HANDICAP, many years ago. I believe that no matter what the cause of Obesity, it ranks as a handicap. I believe that in some legislation somewhere it is also called that, and obese people receive the same considerations as any handicapped person in the USA. In the case of the airlines, they should legally be obliged to add some wider seats to accommodate obese people. If handicapped, i.e. blind, those unable to walk, or with a cast are charged more for their fare because of they need extra help, then obese people should be too.....but since we all know that society isn't going to let that happen, obese people should not pay more either. And that's the way it should be....
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