*Please note that this post is not written with the intention to offend anyone.*
The other day I was watching Airline USA on TV. I always like watching that program because it gives you a bit of an inside on how an airport works and what kind of problems arise. In one incident their was an overweight man who got forced to buy an extra ticket because of his size. I don’t know how much he weighted, but it was enough to NOT fit into one airplane seat; he needed at least two seats to be comfortable. I felt a bit sorry for him - almost started to think it was discrimination - but I could also understand the reasoning of the airline. If he needed two seats it would mean someone else was missing out on that seat and therefor they could not sell that seat to someone else. He would however get a refund if they had some seats empty on his flight.
Yesterday I was sitting on the train and a situation occurred that made me think about that TV show again. It was in the middle of rush hour - all the city workers were going home after a ‘hard’ day of work. I sat down at a spot that could fit 4 normal sized people, but before my hubby could sit next to me an overweight woman sat in ‘one’ of the four seats. She was so big that her bum occupied two seats. The seat opposite of her was still empty, but my husband could not sit there unless he could fold his legs into his neck. I was a bit disappointed that he could not sit next to me and that he was forced to stand up for the whole trip.
Like I said before, it made me think about that TV show again and how that overweight guy had to pay extra because of his size. I started to wonder if it was fair that because one person is overweight two other people are missing out on a seat (it was rush hour so lots of people had to stand up in the train for a 45 minute trip). I can understand that people who are so overweight (we’re talking about people who are at least over 100lbs overweight) find it difficult to stand for so long so you can’t expect them to give up their 2/3 seats for other people. But should other people suffer because of them? Should overweight people have to pay extra for the extra seats they are occupying? What do you think?
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July 28th, 2008 at 6:55 am
Well, in my experience, you have to be more like 200+ pounds overweight to need to take up 2-3 seats. And granted, I don’t think it’s fair that they want people to pay extra, but I can certainly understand the reasoning behind it. However, I don’t see them charging handicap people extra when they require more room. A lot of overweight people are not fat because they want to be, but they have underlining issues.
I’ve watched episodes of Airline here in the US and the one instance where I saw them request the gentleman pay more was a very humiliating experience for him and considering how they went about it, he should have flown for free.
That’s just my 2 cents
August 13th, 2008 at 6:20 am
If one takes up more than their individual seat can handle then yes one should have to pay for two seats.
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August 15th, 2008 at 12:41 am
This is always a touchy subject.
However, being a thin guy I have no problems debating it.
I do think that if a person takes up more space, they need to pay for that space. As a train commuter it really irks me when I can’t get a seat because someone with fat to spare is taking up 70% of a three seater.
I understand weight is a medical issue for some. However, if you’re not actively seeking medical treatment for correction of it, then it is a choice. If you can show that you are taking medical steps (even if they don’t help), it may well qualify as a handicap.
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