United implements obese policy

Projekt

Projekt

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This should be no surprise to those of us who fly frequently. My only concern is if they start looking at big guys like me who are not obese but simply not designed to fit comfortably into an economy sized seat. I have a hard enough time making myself narrow for the armrests without being uncomfortable. When I am on a crowded flight I make a point of leaning away from my seatmate so as to not infringe on their space with my arms and shoulders. This ends up making me really uncomfortable.
I guess it is time for those who are not large due to a medical condition to really cut some weight or start facing more embarassment and fees.


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civil liberties should be all over this. Can you imagine the embarassment if you are asked to get off a flight and buy another ticket for the next available cause you are too big?

Like you Projekt...I was wondering about bigger guys who are not heavy..but just broad. There is no way 3 guys my size would fit in a row of seats without crossing the arm rest.
 
As a victim of sitting beside a guy that was wayyyyyy too large for his seat, and smelled terrible I am happy to hear it. Silver is a tall guy, and I have flown with him several times...he has never infringed upon my space like the guy who weighed about 450 lbs....I say make the tall guys sit in the emergency row.
 
How 'bout this. They make airline seat widths adjustable. When you buy a ticket, you must buy a minimum of width based on your widest point. Beyond that, you could then buy as much or as little space as you want. If you buy a seat based on the dimension of 12 year old and show twice as wide, you either get bumped to try again OR you get charged and given the additional space if it's available.

I see no discrimination in trying make air travel more comfortable. I'm of average height and probably below average weight for my height and I am ALWAYA feeling cramped on flights. Not enough leg room and WAY too little elbow room, and that's just the seat. If there's an average to large person next to me, I lose some of my seat b/c they can't help but use some of that space b/c they just don't fit in their own seat.

By the same token, when I'm the biggest person in my row, I tend to bleed into the others seats in spite of desperately trying not to impinge on their space and/or I wind up with leaning into the aisle and making that too narrow for folks to walk through on their way to the restroom.

The reality is that the smaller folks are always on the short end of this stick. I see no problem with charging based on weight and width. Add'l weight uses more fuel and add'l width uses more space. It's not discrimination, it's physical reality.
 
BusaPebbles said:
As a victim of sitting beside a guy that was wayyyyyy too large for his seat, and smelled terrible I am happy to hear it. Silver is a tall guy, and I have flown with him several times...he has never infringed upon my space like the guy who weighed about 450 lbs....I say make the tall guys sit in the emergency row.
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Now that's punishment. I always try to get bulkhead or emergency isle for leg room, and I'm not tall.
 
about the only person that can fit into an airline seat comfortably anyway is a person under 150....which leaves me out...
 
Projekt said:
My only concern is if they start looking at big guys like me who are not obese but simply not designed to fit comfortably into an economy sized seat.
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Who is in charge of making the determination of who is obese and who isn't? Certainly not the perp in question:laugh::laugh: Sucks to be chunky

obese1.jpg
 
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As a hefty guy, I approve of this measure. I probably wouldn't get charged extra, but there is no doubt that sitting next to a big person can be somewhat unpleasant, especially if you're in the middle.

Instead of adjustable seats, why not just provide some more expensive larger seats that can be pre-purchased for those that know. When you buy your ticket, it can be part of the legalese "is your waist larger than X? If so, you may find it cheaper to buy our X class ticket instead of buying 2 regular tickets."

It's all about presentation.
 
I agree with this to a point. Projeck brought up a good point about the "big" guys. I hope they don't get lumped into the same catagory.

Being an obese person, yes we can take up alot of room. I think they should be given a choice to either buy another seat or take another flight where they can have a seat to themselves. Like the smaller jets that have 2 seats on one side of the ailes and single seats on the other.

Of course I did have a skinny chick squish me one time. She had this big duffle bag full of stuff and instead of checking it, she brought it on board (pre 9/11). I literally could not move my legs for 4 hours.

I don't fly very often for the reason of the seating being so cramped.
 
dadofthree said:
Can small folks like me sit two to a seat and pay half price ?
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Actually I just thought of something, when my daughter was a year old we flew to CA. She sat on my lap the whole flight and was able to fly for free....You might have something there...if you are small enough you could sit on someone's lap...just make sure that someone isn't the "bigger" person or you could end up sitting on the fold down tray.
 
PS: I don't think it s/b about being obese. You can be obese and still be small, although that's not the norm. The issue should simply be about dimensions. Widest point is the real issue. If you size for the widest point, there will be no need for "judgement". Grab a tape measure, read the number. Simple.

Same thing could be done for weight. Step on the scale, read the number. Of course, weight is only an issue for fuel cost, if they choose to address that issue.
 
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so how are they gonna judge this said person, maybe like NASCAR and have a template you walk thru....:whistle:
 
The truth is that I observe and compare when on flights. Being 6'4" and over 260lbs with my head touching the ceiling gets me looked at already. Then I realized how much higher my head is above the headrest compared to the average person. My entire head is above the seat when most passengers can just let their head relax and be supported. Unless I am on a newer aircraft with the extendable headrests I am screwed and my head goes all the way back until I am counting lights. This physiology was not taken into account when the seats were designed. The ergonomics suck for me, I have zero lower back support and not enough width in the shoulders to keep me from crossing the line into the next seat.
If I look around I see that most people's shoulders barely protrude beyond the width of the seat back. Mine on the other hand are totally into the aisle causing many bumps or rather pleasant female flight attendant body contact.. Double pillows just came to mind for some reason. :whistle:
 
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One of my employees flew NorthWest to Dallas last year. It wasn't a problem on the flight down, but on the return trip they weren't going to let him on the plane unless he bought a second seat. He's 6'2ish 350#s or so. He wasn't going to get the second seat to spread out into. The flight was full, they were just going to charge him double and make him stay in the single seat. Our travel department straightened that out pretty quick and he flew in his one seat for the one seat charge.
 
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BusaWhipped said:
One of my employees flew NorthWest to Dallas last year. It wasn't a problem on the flight down, but on the return trip they weren't going to let him on the plane unless he bought a second seat. He's 6'2ish 350#s or so. He wasn't going to get the second seat to spread out into. The flight was full, they were just going to charge him double and make him stay in the single seat. Our travel department straightened thoat out pretty quick and he flew in his one seat for the one seat charge.
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That's idiotic. Not only that, but that's cause for litigation as they are clearly trying to punish him for his weight instead of actually charging for capacity.
 
BusaWhipped said:
One of my employees flew NorthWest to Dallas last year. It wasn't a problem on the flight down, but on the return trip they weren't going to let him on the plane unless he bought a second seat. He's 6'2ish 350#s or so. He wasn't going to get the second seat to spread out into. The flight was full, they were just going to charge him double and make him stay in the single seat. Our travel department straightened that out pretty quick and he flew in his one seat for the one seat charge.
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That is crap if you get charged for 2 seats then you better get 2 seats.
 
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