Jezebel 
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New York, 8:44 AM
Thu Nov 26
64 posts in the last 24 hours
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08/25/09
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08/25/09
I'd rather be on a plane FULL of fat people than deal with any of that. Making fat people pay more is BS.
08/25/09
I don't know that I am entirely against having big people pay more, but it just seems odd, like....where is the line that says someone is too fat?
My boyfriend was recently on a SW flight for work and was sitting next to a heavyset man. An attendant came over and asked the man if he could put his seat arm rest down (it was in the up position) and the guy got all huffy and said "of course I can" and shoved it into position. He was obviously not comfortable so when the attendant left my BF said, "you can put your arm rest back up if you'd like" and the dude ignored him. BF said he felt really awkward.
It makes sense to me that if you are going to take two seats, you should pay. If I needed two seats to be comfortable I assume I would be okay paying extra. As long as seats are made to accommodate people of average size, which I don't know that they do at the moment...
08/25/09
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08/25/09
I don't think Flying Ass Holes should have to pay more for their seat, but they should fund the drinks of those around them to make it more tolerable.
08/25/09
I've sat next to larger people who were in my space and that's uncomfortable, but I've also gotton 'the look' from a skinny seatmate (and I was totally on my own seat, bitch - you can't catch fat) so I definitely sympathize with folks being asked to pay twice. Who's to say what's too fat - should it be up to the seat mate? And I kind of sympathize with people larger than myself- all the people who were 'in my space' looked kind of mortified and apologetic.
And of course I recently took a bus ride with a skinny girl next to me and she curled up in a ball, with her butt on my seat - so skinnies can take up space too! And she was not apologetic.
08/25/09
Obviously an unpopular idea, but airlines are desperate.
08/25/09
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08/25/09
I was once on a flight with the most appallingly behaved child on the planet. By the end of it, I wanted to push the kid and his parents out the emergency exit without that nifty slide inflating.
08/25/09
08/25/09
The woman seated in front of my daughter kept her seat in maximum recline for 95% of the flight effectively pinning my child in her seat.
I let her kick the woman's seat for the entire flight.
08/25/09
I'm confused as to how a toddler would be pinned in her seat by something that doesn't pin me in my seat. Seat kicking, on the other hand, is never, ever ok. EVER. (Says the girl whose perfectly straight, un-reclined seat was kicked for three hours on a recent flight.)
08/25/09
You also could have just asked the woman if she wouldn't mind putting the seat up a bit, so your daughter could move around.
08/25/09
damn straight.
plus, the people who curl up into a ball means their feet are on their own seat. um, no. please keep your feet off of the seat because they never clean the seats enough as it is.
08/25/09
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08/25/09
I do think though that there should be a size limit (not a weight limit because weight does not always equal a certain amount of space) per seat..because if the passanger is too big for the seat it becomes uncomfortable and unsafe for not only they themself but also for the passanger/s next to them. Though how this size limit would work, I have no idea. You cant go by jean size since height and muscle mass makes a difference. I guess you could say that if someone sits down and obviously the seat isnt large enough to accomodate them, then they should pay for another one as well. After all, the airlines cannot keep expanding seat sizes all the time..But they do need to make sure that the seats available are ones that accomodate a wide range of sizes, including larger ones.
08/25/09
Airlines should be regulated properly. They should have to charge what it costs to fly people (way more than we currently pay) and they should have to treat passengers with dignity.
Yeah, so we couldn't afford to fly as often - but we are zipping around the planet at unsustainable rates right now.
08/25/09
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08/25/09
I think a reasonable compromise for the comfort of everyone, would be to say that if you are really have difficulties sitting in one seat, presumably also bothering the person next to you, you should be offered the seat next to you, at a heavily, heavily discounted rate (like say, 20% of the ticket price) This could be an option available to you when booking, and you wouldn't have to go through an ass-judging at the gate (unless a size 2 thought they would get the second seat to lie down, abusing the system).
I don't see the airline industry changing that much. At the end of the day people want cheap and available flights and are willing to put up with a certain amount of discomfort, within reason. I only see increased discrimination against overweight passengers if itn is decided that everyone's fares are going to jump up for the comfort of the minority.
08/25/09
I simply think the seats should be large enough to accomodate obese people, but morbidly obese, no. Most people would not have to "change the ass" as you say :P But it is true that nowadays even a slim person can feel cramped in the seats that some airlines provide.
08/25/09
My husband paid a lot of money for a whole seat.
BUT, the problem is how to communicate this issue. Obviously calling someone fat is out of the question. Maybe "I paid for a whole seat, not 1/2 of one." On the one hand, it's not like this couple didn't know that they were taking up way too much space. On the other hand, if it had been me (I weigh significantly more than my husband and have an ample, but seat-fitting, tush), I would have flat-out not been able to fit.
I have thought about this for 2 years and I still don't know what we should have done.
08/25/09
I agree, it seems seats are either getting smaller or the spaces in between more cramped. They can only expand their seats so long. At some point, they end up losing business because if they make seats large enough to accomodate morbidly obese people, a thin person sitting in one of those seats would waste space that could fit another person (i.e. another seat, which equals more money).
08/25/09
She wrote to the airline that since she'd only gotten to use 2/3 of her seat, she thought she was entitled to a 1/3 refund. They sent her a voucher. So sometimes it works!
08/25/09
[news.bbc.co.uk]
08/25/09
"However we do not require them to do so this is a recommendation for their own comfort."
What is so wrong with this?
08/25/09
08/25/09
08/25/09
Someone who is wider than their seat, unfortunately, often is. And I'm not specifically talking weight-- I've been next to some very trim, but very broad male seatmates who were halfway into my seat who could have perhaps considered buying a second seat for both their comfort and mine.
I've done a loooot of travel for work, and for one or two hours I don't really care what size my seatmate is. But having only 1/2 or 3/4 of a seat on an 8 hour international flight can be truly miserable. As noted above, if it's some jerk spreading his legs too wide or hogging the armrest, I can ask them to quit it. Someone who is of larger size of course this isn't an option.
08/25/09
And, it's not just for the comfort of other people. I mean, I like my personal space but you can't really expect it on a plane. I can't imagine squeezing into a seat that is too small can be that comfortable...
08/25/09
04/17/09
04/17/09
Poodles: wearing Madame-style scarves and sunglasses. Divas.
Scottish terriers -- flying undercover for the TSA.
Saint Bernards -- embarrassed, trying not to take up too much room. Probably sitting next to one of those Benji dogs
Golden Retrievers -- overly friendly with the flight attendants
Irish Setter -- wearing a fedora and tie, Don-Draper style, on a business trip
Beagles: the pilots, of course
The occasional cat -- attempting to nap, paw over eyes, ears slowly laying flat on the head as the puppies in the next seat refuse to shut up
04/17/09
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04/17/09
But at the same time, this new airline is just a dumb idea. Seriously . . . are we going to send our pets on vacation without us?
I want an airline that will let me buy a (discounted) seat for my 110 lb. dog - then we'll talk.
04/17/09
04/17/09
Said dog is now looking at Travelocity's Top 20.
04/17/09
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