Vote to keep the fatties grounded!

[JamesLast99]

http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/news.php?yr=09&month=apr&story=gen-en-220409 .

Especially if its a flight to a sunny resort - who wants to see all that wobbling flesh.</p>

 

[oumahexi]

I can understand people's frustration when allocated a seat next to someone who clearly invades your space. My problem with this is what happens to those poor people who have fallen victim to a medial problem, such as Cushing's Syndrome? There is nothing in their poll to cover those who are not just trying to hide the worlds food resources from the rest of society.

Having said that, I doubt that anyone suffering such a medical disability would feel particularly rushed to purchase plane ticket to the nearest beach...

 

[Atomic Shrimp]

I wonder if they'd actually succeed with this, because of the human rights, privacy and discrimination angles.

But all of the emotive stuff aside, it should make sense - if you need two seats, then why shouldn't you pay for two seats? I know it's not like other things such as additional items of baggage, where there is an easy and obvious element of choice, but is it really so unreasonable to bill someone in proportion with what they use? We do it for water, electricity and lots of other things.

 

[Alc]

Why not introduce a larger version of those cage things they use for hand luggage on some flights? If it doesn't fit inside, you can't put it in the overhead locker. If the person doesn't fit into the larger device, they have to pay for an extra seat. Anyone with a medical reason for their size would be exempt.

I've also never understood why everyone isn't allocated an overall weight allowance. Say, 200 kilos per person (picking a figure at random). That could cover you, your luggage and any extra items. Then set a standard extra amount payable for every kilo over that amount.

It annoys me that a woman weighing 50 kilos would have to leave behind some luggage - or get charged extra to take it - when the next passenger might be a man weighing three times that, who's also bringing along a set of golf clubs for free.

 

[oumahexi]

As a frequent flyer I learned very quickly how to travel light and could manage a full weeks' worth of clothing in my hand luggage. It irked me when, one day, a fellow passanger, was charged extra for being over the limit in her luggage, yet I had none to place in the hold! Surely it would even itself out?

What I'd really like to know is, what would an airline do if each and every passanger they had booked on was obese and carrying full capacity of luggage? Would the plane be grounded due to weight issues? How do they gage that? How do they know that the total weight of passangers has not exceeded the tare of the plane?

 

[JamesLast99]

I would guess a plane knows how heavy it is?
As in there is some kind of weighing device.Maybe not.

 

[ColinEssex]

That means that most Americans would never be allowed to fly.

Col

 

[Alc]

As a frequent flyer I learned very quickly how to travel light and could manage a full weeks' worth of clothing in my hand luggage. It irked me when, one day, a fellow passanger, was charged extra for being over the limit in her luggage, yet I had none to place in the hold! Surely it would even itself out?

Agreed. I can see no reason why they couldn't have assigned her luggage to your allowance.

 

[oumahexi]

That means that most Americans would never be allowed to fly.

Col

Hello Cuddles

Only the poor ones, because they wouldn't be able to afford an extra seat. Which makes it kind of yet another tax on the poor, because face it, it's mostly but not exclusively, the poor and Venessa Phelps who tend to have bad dietary habits.

 

[dan-cat]

I would guess a plane knows how heavy it is?
As in there is some kind of weighing device.Maybe not.

I remember reading a story somewhere of a pilot speeding up and braking on the runway trying to shift the baggage around the hold. He was trying to do it to get a warning light to turn off or something. There was a big deal over it because it traumatized the passengers.

 

[dan-cat]

It'll never be introduced because the airlines will lose money.

If you make someone pay for 2 seats because of their weight they will find another airline that doesn't. The airline will lose that passenger permanently.

Considering ever increasing obesity rates, its more of a risk to upset the overweight passenger than it is to upset the person having to sit next to them because the latter will always blame the overweight individual first not the airline.

 

[dan-cat]

As an aside shouldn't the height-weight ratio be taken into account.

How do you deal with one 4.5ft individual and one 6.5ft indivdual who weigh the same?

 

[Atomic Shrimp]

It'll never be introduced because the airlines will lose money.

If you make someone pay for 2 seats because of their weight they will find another airline that doesn't. The airline will lose that passenger permanently.

Considering ever increasing obesity rates, its more of a risk to upset the overweight passenger than it is to upset the person having to sit next to them because the latter will always blame the overweight individual first not the airline.

The solution then, will probably be to make seats bigger, fit fewer of them in the plane, and charge more for everyone by default.

 

[Atomic Shrimp]

As an aside shouldn't the height-weight ratio be taken into account.

How do you deal with one 4.5ft individual and one 6.5ft indivdual who weigh the same?

There are really two issues at play here - A person's weight (where there might be some kind of margin in the plane's capacity that can cope with it) and the width of their ass. The two are somewhat proportional, but not in every case.

If you have a very wide ass, you might need two seats
If you are heavier than average, it might need to be factored into the plane's capacity to fly

If those two things (or both together) are going to keep happening, or increase in occurrence, the airlines are going to have to cope with them somehow - and they're not just going to eat the cost themselves.

 

[dan-cat]

There are really two issues at play here - A person's weight (where there might be some kind of margin in the plane's capacity that can cope with it) and the width of their ass. The two are somewhat proportional, but not in every case.

If you have a very wide ass, you might need two seats
If you are heavier than average, it might need to be factored into the plane's capacity to fly

If those two things (or both together) are going to keep happening, or increase in occurrence, the airlines are going to have to cope with them somehow - and they're not just going to eat the cost themselves.

So everyone gets to sit on a dummy passenger seat with a set seat width and an attached scale before they check-in.

Sounds like a solution

 

[Atomic Shrimp]

Yeah, but what about online check-ins and bookings? - would people honestly answer a question: "What is the width of your ass, in metres?" ?

And I think they would really violently object to being billed extra at the point of boarding, if it had to be done there.

 

[Alc]

So everyone gets to sit on a dummy passenger seat with a set seat width and an attached scale before they check-in.

Sounds like a solution

Which is an extension of my first post, so I feel vindicated

 

[dan-cat]

Which is an extension of my first post, so I feel vindicated

So you did. The patent is yours.

 

[Alc]

So you did. The patent is yours.

Okay, on to the drawing board. How does Obesometer sound?

 

[dan-cat]

Okay, on to the drawing board. How does Obesometer sound?

I had to take a 2 minute giggle break for that one