http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=humannews&StoryID=1627789
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - The Canadian Transportation Agency made it official: narrow airline seats are uncomfortable for many people and that does not make them discriminatory.
The federal regulatory agency ruled Wednesday against a woman who had complained in 1997 about Air Canada's policy of charging obese passengers a higher fare if they require the use of more than one seat or upgrade to wider seats.
Linda McKay-Panos argued the policy was discriminatory because her obesity was a disability that made it too uncomfortable to sit in the a single narrow seats used in the airplane's standard class section.
The Calgary woman wanted to upgrade to a wider business class seat at the same price, but the airline said no and she paid the extra fare.
"The agency finds that being unable to fit comfortably in the seat should not be enough evidence of the existence of a disability, as many people experience discomfort in the seat because of, among other things, its size and legroom." a CTA panel wrote in its decision.
The three-member panel's majority said that McKay-Panos's obesity was also not considered a disability because it had not prevented her from using airport facilities or boarding the aircraft with other non-obese passengers.
-this is a continuation of the thread "obese woman squashes passenger" but I belive we may have gone off topic on that thread......
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - The Canadian Transportation Agency made it official: narrow airline seats are uncomfortable for many people and that does not make them discriminatory.
The federal regulatory agency ruled Wednesday against a woman who had complained in 1997 about Air Canada's policy of charging obese passengers a higher fare if they require the use of more than one seat or upgrade to wider seats.
Linda McKay-Panos argued the policy was discriminatory because her obesity was a disability that made it too uncomfortable to sit in the a single narrow seats used in the airplane's standard class section.
The Calgary woman wanted to upgrade to a wider business class seat at the same price, but the airline said no and she paid the extra fare.
"The agency finds that being unable to fit comfortably in the seat should not be enough evidence of the existence of a disability, as many people experience discomfort in the seat because of, among other things, its size and legroom." a CTA panel wrote in its decision.
The three-member panel's majority said that McKay-Panos's obesity was also not considered a disability because it had not prevented her from using airport facilities or boarding the aircraft with other non-obese passengers.
-this is a continuation of the thread "obese woman squashes passenger" but I belive we may have gone off topic on that thread......
