The Titanic Awards

“Those who are not prepared to get help for an eating disorder will have to make other sacrifices or pay extra fees or fly on airlines that choose to be more accommodating in this regard.”

So what is the test here – weight, size, or a desire to reduce them both? The presumption that all overweight people are so because of a psychological problem is ludicrous. The belief that this problem is superable by sheer will is more so. Airlines can and should be expected to accommodate “extremely wide” passengers because not doing so is direct discrimination.

I totally agree with Paul. disallowing larger people to fly is sheer discrimination. People should not be refused services because of size. That’s exactly like saying you’re not allowed to fly because you’re tall. There are no height restrictions on flights…

Any or all of the above. I’m not up on the legalities of what airlines are selling when they sell a ticket (or even if such a broad stroke concept exists). But whether they are selling passage, a seat or a weight allocation the fact remains that many airlines have drawn an arbitrary line which discriminates against the overweight. How airlines address this is up to them and as you point out there are many methods they can employ to avoid such discrimination; methods of which Mr Russell had availed himself before this flight.

My broader point is this that you seem to be blaming the victim, which is no way to resolve this increasingly prominent problem. Let’s accept for the sake of this argument that the arbitrary line drawn by the airlines is at a point which a person’s weight can only exceed either due to a physiological problem or a psychological one (thus handily offending the many millions who just happen to be fat). Asking the former to “make other sacrifices or pay extra fees” is horribly unacceptable, because they’re _ill_. Asking the latter to do the same is… well, exactly the same. Condemning these people because they’re “not prepared to get help” misunderstands what illness is, and given your assertion that “no passenger should have to fly with lard in their lap,” I can only assume a deliberate one.

I think the airlines should remove the back row of seats and replace them with over-sized seats. They’d probably have to charge fare +half so they wouldn’t be losing the money on removing one seat.

But if a row consists of 3 seats per row they could put in 2 over-sized seats. In doing so everyone on the plane would be more comfortable.

I recently took a flight and was in a window seat. The flight had 2 seats on each side of the isle. I saw this large man getting on board and I immediately prayed he wasn’t in my row. I felt so sorry for the woman opposite of me when he sat on her side of our row. She must of been so uncomfortable since the arm rest couldn’t be used and he was over flowing into her lap.

@James

I forgot to mention. There is also the issue of safety for all of the passengers on the plane. When it comes to weight distribution on planes. I believe airlines have balance out, as best they can by not knowing each passengers weight. Too much weight on one side could be disastrous to a troubled flight.

Hilarious, what about the rights of the poor person who also paid for a seat and must endure a human walrus stuffing themselves in the next seat covering neighbors with fat folds of flesh…. Who’s the victim here again?

i totally agree that they should buy an exta seat, or fly first class where the seats are bigger, Yes there are some medical conditions where you cannot help but put wait on, but if someone is so fat that the overflow a seat on an aircraft or otherwise, then that is simply not down to a medical condition but eating far more than the should or that is healthy, Why should the passanger sitting next to them, who has paid the same amount as them suffer throughout their flight with someone’s fat rolling over the side of their armrest,

It should be illegal to charge extra……

What readers may not be aware of is that Air Transat is a Canadian airline. This issue has been specifically dealt with in human rights appeals in our country. Airlines have been ordered to provide, free of charge, an extra seat to someone whose size makes it impossible for him to fit a regular seat. He should have been accomodated. (Granted, he is not a Canadian citizen and therefore human rights legislation does not necessarily apply, but I strongly doubt that the flight attendant knew or asked his citizenship).

Now… this was a full flight. But, if it is routine (which it is) for airlines to bump passengers when they oversell flights, this should have been treated in this manner and a passenger bumped or placed on an alternate airline.

@Mary, they didn’t oversell the flight he was to big and if it illegal to do that in Canada then he should have made arrangement prior to his flight and told them he was to big for one seat. I have an aunt who was to big in the past but has since slimmed down whenever she went anywhere she made it known that she was to big, bought an extra seat and made sure that they understood that she had to have the seat next to her. She had common decency which seems to be lacking here.

Folks, Paul can either lose weight or buy two tickets.
he ways 2 1/2 times my weight and I find economy class seats uncomfortable.

As for you lot who call this discriminaiton, if I eat two meals in a restaurant, don’t I pay for two? If he needs 2 seats he can pay for them.

I have no sympathy. Once having been almost crushed to death on a flight next to an obese man, DO something aobut you own weight and stop making innocent passengers put up with your enormous rolls of fat.

Maybe there is an opportunity for an airline for fat people – how about Fat Pig Air?? And paint the planes pink or lard coloured.

Fatsos need to walk not flying around the world. Couple months trip to their destination on foot will help them to reduce the weight

@Mark

What a totally inane comment regarding your proposed airline – I nominate you to be the first customer if ever an airline was formed for Total Losers.

I sad situation for these peoples. The airline company should have special seat for these peoples. For everybody else that are ready to throw rock to those peoples, should look at themselves and family, we all know fat peoples. Specialy in America land of the fat.