Is it wrong to force an obese airline passenger to pay for two tickets?

Question

Yes or No...

I'm basing my question on a blog I recently wrote

Answer 1

I don't think it's wrong, because airplanes have total weight restrictions that they have to follow. The weight of everything and everyone on the plane is already predetermined. If the weight is over the limit, it can cause safety problems.That is the reason that obese passengers are required to purchase two tickets. Their weight is the weight of 2 passengers. I don't believe it's discriminatory. It has to do with safety.

Answer 2

It IS wrong if the person can fit into one seat without occupying the space of the person next to them.

It is NOT wrong if the person can not fit into one seat and needs the exra room, however, the passenger should be approached discretly, possibly by asking them to step off the plane to speak to the flight crew or gate agent rather than be embarassed by having the issue addressed in front of other passengers.

It is important to keep in mind that not all passengers are overweight due to poor eating habits. As Hassen pointed out, there are many medical conditions that can contribute to a person's weight issues. I have a medical condition that causes chronic pain and fatigue. Although I eat sensibly the medication I take to manage my condition makes it almost impossible for me to loose weight and very, very easy to gain.

Most passengers who are large or overweight know that they are. Most of us would choose to be smaller if we could.

Some people think it's ok to discriminate against people with weight issues. While they would never make a joke based on a person's race or ethnic background they seem it's perfectly ok to poke fun at those who are overweight.

Answer 3

My only concern is that this rule doesn't seem to be consistantly enforced and part of that reason is due to the akwardness of telling someone "You're too large to occupy just one seat." I think that I agree with another poster that stated "If you occupy 2 seats then you should pay for 2 seats. It's not fair for the person next to them to buy 1 seat and only get access to 1/2 of one."
Having it become a safety concern is not fair to the other travellers.
From working in the airline industry I do know that if a larger sized person books in advance and explains the dilemma many airlines will not force them to pay full fare on two seats but will have them pay an extra fee for the second seat. It's when it is last minute that the full fare nonsense usually occurs.

Answer 4

I don't think it's wrong as long as it is consistently enforced and is based not on body weight but rather how you fit into the seat. The biggest reason to require an obese passenger to purchase an extra seat is not to offset extra fuel costs (my 105-lb sister carries about 50lb in checked baggage AND anothter 50 in her carry-on every time we fly) but to ensure the comfort and safety of other passengers. If the passenger does not fit into one seat, they should purchase two.

But there's problems with this. I have seen an obese passenger who purchased 2 seats arrive at the gate to find his seat assignments had changed and the 2 seats were no longer together. How does THAT help anything??? And people need to know before they arrive at the airport if they need two seats; that way they can make the purchase discreetly and not leave it up to the flight attendant to decide if they need the second seat or not.

Answer 5

I'm skinny but I want 2 seats for the price of 1. Of course they should charge extra. An airline is a business and makes rules based on revenue management. If you require 2 seats they cannot sell 1 of them, so they lose the revenue of selling that seat. Domestic US Airlines cannot discriminate based on disability. So even if it is a disability they are not required to give the obese person special treatement, just equal treatment. And they will equally charge fat, skinny, young, old, black, white, blind, deaf, people for an extra seat if they want or need one.

Generally they will not charge if there are open seats, but on a full flight you can guarantee they will.

Answer 6

Absolutly Not. Its for the Comfort of the Obese person and the comfort of the people around them. It is not meant to be an Insult, or a put-down. And usualy the seats are Cheap. And Travel Agents are nice to them.

I personaly would not like to sit next to someone who is obese because I would like to have a great flight. But I mean no disrespect. And did you know that if their flight leaves with extra seats that the person can get his or her money back? Its true.

Answer 7

I don't believe they should be charged double, but I do believe they should be charged extra (I don't know how much, nor do I care to go that far into it). Or they need to put in a small section of wider seats in economy so that big people can fly.

While some people are obese by choice (they eat a lot, don't exercise, eat junk food), many are not.

There are many medical reasons people can be obese, such as:

Metabolic syndrome
Hypothyroidism
Familial obesity
Cushing's disease
Cushing's syndrome
PCOS
Edema
Insulinoma
Pseudohypoparathyroidism
Prader-Willi syndrome
Laurence-Moon-Biedl syndrome
Hypothalamus tumor
Reactive hypoglycemia (type of Hypoglycemia)
Encephalitis
Brain injury
Third ventricle tumor
Some brain tumors
Chromophobe adenoma
Craniopharyngioma (type of Brain cancer)
Ethanol
Melanocortin 4 receptor defect
Kleine-Levin-Critchley syndrome
Adiposogenital dystrophy
Prednisolone
Polyphagia
Young-Hughes syndrome
X-linked mental retardation-hypotonic facies syndrome
Borjeson-Forssman-Lehmann syndrome
Pseudohypoparathyroidism type 1a
Pituitary tumour (growth hormone secreting)
Insulinoma
Bardet-Biedl syndrome

and MANY more medical reasons! http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/o/obesity/causes.htm#underlyconditions

Should people that have a medical condition be punished for something that is out of their control? I don't believe they should.

Answer 8

From a business point of view, no its not wrong. Mianly because that person is taking up two seats. Morally no they shouldn't. Then again if you have to pay for two seats on an airline maybe you should review some of your health choices!

Answer 9

No. If you occupy 2 seats then you should pay for 2 seats. It's not fair for the person next to them to buy 1 seat and only get access to 1/2 of one.

But it does need to be done tactfully. No one deserves to be embarrassed. And honestly those seats are allowing for much extra "baggage"

Answer 10

Yes and NO.

In my opinion, it all goes down to that exact person in question. if he's nice and knows himself about his situation, you wouldn't want to offend him, will you? in other words, if he's an ******, you probably would like to charge him triple.