At this point in time, Obesity is considered a handicap. Handicapped people are awarded special consideration — when I walked with a cane, I was told to board the plane before the others. Special provisions are made for handicapped people just about everywhere in the USA. It’s the law, at least it is in ILLINOIS. I have a handicapped license plate, and consequently can park in special places, and don’t have to pay meters in ILLINOIS. I appreciate these considerations. As a handicap, I don’t understand why airlines are not OBLIGATED to make reasonable accommodations for Obese people, too.

why stop at double-charging obese people?
an obese person makes one passenger uncomfortable for the entire duration of a flight, so that obese person must pay double.
but a shrieking baby makes everyone uncomfortable. therefore i call for airlines to install decibel meters in every plane and institute a formula that pro-rates the discomfort of other passengers.
for example, if the flight is an hour long and your baby’s crying exceeds 120 decibels for 10 minutes, you should be charged an amount equal to one-sixth (10 out of 60 minutes) the price of each of the passengers’ tickets.
i also think the airlines should charge double for any asshole who mistakes my reading a magazine and listening to my iPod as a non-verbal cue that, yes, i’d love to have a three-hour conversation about your grandkids.

Charge ‘em. If you are fat, you pay extra. PERIOD!
Being fat is not a handicap. It’s a choice. You can choose to eat healthy and go to the gym. No instand gratification, but over time you will not be fat. How’s that?
And lady, a crying baby is not the same thing. Annoys me too, but I was once in the same shoes. It’s not the parents’ fault either.
Get real!

I’ve never heard of an obese person saying one day they woke up and thought, “You know what? I think I want to be overweight.” It is a vicious cycle that is difficult to get out of. Obesity isn’t a choice! Who wants to be a ridiculed, charged extra, etc. because they are having a physically and emotionally daunting time losing weight?
In some cases it’s genetic, in other cases it has to do with emotional and mental health. I’d venture to say that people with weight issues are battling as many demons as any other person, we can just see them more easily because that battle is visible weight.
The article I read about this on the chicagotribune.com cited one person as saying that the “complaints” from customers weren’t all directed at the obese. There were no specifications in some cases, so how do we know whether some of those complaints were from tall people who had little leg room? It’s unfair to assume that the discomfort on a flight was due to rubbing elbows with someone who is overweight.
What this boils down to is respect. People who have weight issues should be respected, and we shouldn’t be perpetuating the negative connotation of “fat” in this society. We’ve got ENOUGH problems.
ps to JDW: your comment made me LOL.

I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT AN OBESE PERSON GETS A HANDICAPPED PARKING PERMIT. OH AND LETS NOT FORGET ALL THE OBESE PEOPLE WHO ARE COLLECTING SOCIAL SECURITY THAT HARDLY PUT A DIME INTO IT. IT IS YOUR CHOICE YOUR FAT….YOUR POOR DIET OF FRIED FOOD AND PROCESSED ITEMS….YOUR FAULT. I HAVE AN IDEA…WHY DONT AIRLINES CHARGE BY WEIGHT? YOUR BEHINDS ARE NOT ONLY IN MY SPACE ON A PLANE BUT YOUR BURNING MORE FUEL AS WELL.
DO YOU NOT WATCH THE BIGGEST LOSER??? THEY DO IT.
NO EXCUSES. I AM TIRED OF IT.
700 COMPLAINT LETTERS? THAT IS THE 700 WHO TOOK THE TIME TO COMPLAIN….IMAGINE FOR EVERY ONE LETTER THIRTEEN PASSENGERS DID NOT WRITE.
BRAVO UNITED FOR FINALLY DOING SOMETHING RIGHT!

Yes, by all means – it is about time for the obese people to have to pay extra if they can’t fit into a seat. After all the rest of us have paid a healthyprice for our seat – we should be able to sit in it and claim it as ours for the trip – not have to be squashed by an obese person next to us. Obesity is generally a choice someone has made and if that is their choice certain sacrifices must be made like paying for two seats if you hang over one !!

I have battled with weight problems from time to time in my life, so I have compassion for anyone overweight.
But, in the past year, I was placed in a window seat next to a woman
whose clearly did not fit in the seat. Her entire left side was glued to me. I could not move!
To say I was uncomfortable is an understatement.
I tried to read to distract myself but could not.
Finally, I ask the flight attendant if there was another seat available because I didn’t want to sit by the window.
The lady next to me apologized for being overweight; she felt awful; so did I, but I also felt awful being plastered next to someone I don’t even know. We smiled at each other and I moved my seat.
The next time I was in a middle seat and the man next to me was so obese that when I sat down, I could not even sit back in my seat or put my arms at my side. I sat there like this for about 10 minutes before takeoff and I thought to myself, I am not going throught this again.
I saved my money long and hard for these trips and I believe that I have a right to be comfortable too!
I don’t know what the solution to this problem is but I know it is a problem that I never want to be faced with again.
When we travel, there are many situations that we might face, that will be not of our choosing (crying babies,loud or annoying people, delayed flights, cancelled flights)but not being able to sit in a seat that you paid for is where I draw the line.

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….