Obese entitled to 2 airline seats- Canada

[Digital Fury]

Sigh. I always have to explain this. Because it's a business, and a business caters to its customers. Only a small percentage are willing to pay extra for first class, hence only a small percentage of seats are larger. Most people want to pay less to get where they are going, so in order to make a profit the airlines have to squeeze a lot of low cost seats together.

Lots of coach class tickets = low prices = lost potential income = could have made more and maybe bankruptcy

Again these are just a bunch of assumptions built into a castle of cards, by your logic prices would always be too high anyway. You know what you also missed? that prices could be even lower if passengers would agree to fly stacked in chicken cages or standing, so how come they fly anyway?

Pricing would be more equitable/flexible, if you were actually renting floor space for the trip, plane manufacturers just have to be inventive in coming up with a system that allows that.

 

[OutThere]

Flip it, someone has a genetic high metabolism that requires them to consume more calories per day than the next person. Should the higher metabolism person get extra portions for free when they go out to eat?

I like this argument. I eat roughly 4000 or so calories per day to maintain my relatively skinny weight....I want double meals for the price of one!

 

[macdim]

Count me in as one who thinks this is absolutely ridiculous.

Smokers want their treatments paid for by everyone else when they contract diseases related to their horrible, disgusting habit and now the obese want the world to conform to them?

What is this world coming to?

I know some people don't have control of their weight for whatever reason, but when I'm in the food court eating my turkey sandwich filled with veggies and I see fat people stuffing multiple burgers or fried chicken, french fries, and humongous sugar-filled drinks down their throats, I am truly disgusted.

Therefore, my opinion is that those who truly cannot control their weight and have medical proof of a thyroid issue or other such condition, should be allowed to this service. Those who could be thinner and healthier but choose not to, do not deserve two seats and should not be accommodated.

 

[reimerd10]

This is absurd. Airlines should charge based on space and weight, just because somebody decides to be grossly overweight should not entitle them to any special treatment. If they want to indulge on a box of donuts for breakfast and 4 liters of coke a day that's fine but when they fly they should be expected to pay for the number of seats they need.

 

[decksnap]

Smokers want their treatments paid for by everyone else when they contract diseases related to their horrible, disgusting habit and now the obese want the world to conform to them?

Smokers pay a lot more taxes.

 

[Applespider]

There's unfairness everywhere.

I've got big boobs so I have to pay more for my bras than someone with average sized boobs because the stores argue that they take more fabric and engineering. When they're the same bra, I can accept the fabric but not the engineering aspect.

Funny how the same thing rarely applies in reverse. I take a UK10 in trousers which use a hell of a lot less fabric than a UK20 does (far less than in that bra) and don't need the re-engineered seams but pay exactly the same price for em.

And obesity for most is treatable. It takes willpower, hard work and time - it's easier to blame it on something else.

Weight isn't the be-all and end-all though since those muscular types who work out will have a higher weight than others but fit more comfortably in the seats.

 

[apsterling]

I know some people don't have control of their weight for whatever reason, but when I'm in the food court eating my turkey sandwich filled with veggies and I see fat people stuffing multiple burgers or fried chicken, french fries, and humongous sugar-filled drinks down their throats, I am truly disgusted.

So you're disgusted by me, yet I weigh only 105 pounds and stand 5'8"
Really?

 

[bjett92]

If the flight crosses the border into the us does that mean the obese person can legally be squished back into one seat since in the us they can only have one seat when they pay for one seat?

 

[macdim]

Smokers pay a lot more taxes.

Not enough to cover the salaries of the healthcare professionals that take of them and the drugs and treatments they require. Not to mention the treatments of those who may be adversely affected by another's smoking habits (second hand smoke).

So you're disgusted by me, yet I weigh only 105 pounds and stand 5'8"
Really?

I thought I said fat. You are technically underweight. And to clarify, I meant the type of food they are eating (have you read what the ingredients and fat content are in a BigMac, for instance?), not them as people.

I'll be the first to admit to occasionally indulging in some fatty foods, but obese people didn't get that way by eating veggies, drinking water and exercising regularly!

 

[decksnap]

Not enough to cover the salaries of the healthcare professionals that take of them and the drugs and treatments they require. Not to mention the treatments of those who may be adversely affected by another's smoking habits (second hand smoke).

I assure you, I've already paid in for a new set of lungs and then some, should the need ever arise.

 

[apsterling]

I thought I said fat. You are technically underweight. And to clarify, I meant the type of food they are eating (have you read what the ingredients and fat content are in a BigMac, for instance?), not them as people.

Right, but I eat that stuff just as often as many of them do.

 

[aethelbert]

If the flight crosses the border into the us does that mean the obese person can legally be squished back into one seat since in the us they can only have one seat when they pay for one seat?

Then what's the point? You have an empty seat.

 

[macdim]

Right, but I eat that stuff just as often as many of them do.

Then you are lucky you have a fast metabolism and you don't retain the fat as easily. They don't. It's the luck of the draw. Unfortunately, these people don't put too much emphasis on their health when they should. That is irresponsible to both themselves (which is fine) and to others in the situation we are talking about (taking up an extra seat on a plane without paying for it, which imo is unacceptable).

Also, just a note about you eating those things: you may be skinny, but it doesn't mean you're healthy. Remember that. You are what you eat.

I don't want people to think I never eat such foods and that I am a health freak (I'm not). I play sports, eat a decent diet and am in overall good health. I just don't agree with people getting special treatment for a "condition" that is avoidable whether it be obesity or smoking-related issues.

 

[apsterling]

Right. And I offset it because I can afford to with my metabolism.
I'll go to McDonald's and have my Chicken Sandwich and Coke (slightly healthier than the burgers) and then go home and have a bunch of grapes and unsalted nuts, and juice.

But I can afford those calories.
And I understand where you're coming from.

To tie it in though, because I'm underweight, should I be getting assistance in my flying, paying less cause I don't take a whole seat?

 

[macdim]

To tie it in though, because I'm underweight, should I be getting assistance in my flying, paying less cause I don't take a whole seat?

Do you want to share half your seat with another underweight person? Generally people try maximize the space available to them on a plane, within their one seat limit of course .

 

[apsterling]

If I paid half-rates, gladly.

 

[teflon]

Nope. Why do toddlers that are required by law to sit in a seat they occupy a small percentage of have to pay full fair? If you think a large person should have to pay for two seats then a small one should have to pay for a fraction.

Actually children often pay less than the full adult fare if they're under 12. For example, I know for sure that on international flights from Air Canada children under 12 pay children fare. Domestic flight often don't offer the same service, but they can be had for much cheaper anyway.

How about people who cheat the system by not eating before they board and then stuff themselves during the flight? It's just not fair...

No matter how much you eat, you're not going to weigh more than 5 pounds without making yourself seriously sick. I don't think anyone is going to make themselves sick on a plane just so they can escape 5 pounds at the weigh in.

Who serves food on flights anymore? Well, I did get like 3 peanuts today on my flight, but not enough to tip the scales.

Who eat the food served on flights anymore ?

If the flight crosses the border into the us does that mean the obese person can legally be squished back into one seat since in the us they can only have one seat when they pay for one seat?

Technically, as long as the plane is still in air then you're still in Canada, regardless whose territory it is flying above. As soon as long as it lands though, it would be counted as US territory.

 

[bjett92]

Technically, as long as the plane is still in air then you're still in Canada, regardless whose territory it is flying above. As soon as long as it lands though, it would be counted as US territory.

So they would be required to sit in one seat on a connecting flight then.

 

[Melrose]

I don't think they should get an extra seat unless they are ready to give me a perk for being thin. Giving an overweight person a free seat is discriminating against being skinny..

Oh, the world is unfair.

 

[dmr727]

I've got big boobs so I have to pay more for my bras...

So uhhhh....how you doin'?

 

[Eclipse278]

Again these are just a bunch of assumptions built into a castle of cards, by your logic prices would always be too high anyway. You know what you also missed? that prices could be even lower if passengers would agree to fly stacked in chicken cages or standing, so how come they fly anyway?

I don't really get what you're trying to say here. I was just explaining ticket prices. I didn't assume anything. It's called scarcity. Say I have X number of first class seats, and Y number of coach seats. I want to sell each seat for the most amount possible, while still having a price low enough to fill each seat. Empty seats are lost money for me. That's the way business works. When ticket prices are too high, people wont buy them and planes fly empty. When ticket prices are too low, everyone buys them early and the flights are oversold immediately. The key is finding the middle ground where the flight is sold out, but at the highest price you're able to get. Now split that in half and if you're really good at it, you'll fill first class with just enough people willing to pay more, and just enough people in the back paying for just coach. Airline pricing in a nutshell. And are you honestly saying airlines should try stacking people with how much they complain already? On top of that the legal and safety reasons that would prevent that? You wouldn't be able to evacuate the plane fast enough in an emergency. Also lack of restrooms? As much as people want cheap tickets they wouldn't pay and wont be legally allowed to pay for that. How come they fly anyway? Because they agree that the cost of the ticket is worth the extra time you get from not having to drive. No one is putting a gun to your head and forcing you to fly. It's economics.

Pricing would be more equitable/flexible, if you were actually renting floor space for the trip, plane manufacturers just have to be inventive in coming up with a system that allows that.

That's the best part! We already have a system set up exactly like this! Floor space inside a plane is divided into little units, called "seats". If you want the standard amount of space on the plane, you can buy a "seat", and if you want some more room, you can buy two "seats" (or a first class seat!). It works the same way in the cargo area for your bag! We'll call those units "bags". Depending on your airline you get a standard amount of space in units "bags", maybe it's one, maybe it's two, maybe it's zero. And you can pay more to increase the number of "bags", or space you take up! It's really cool you should check it out sometime.

So I know it's cool and fashionable to hate airlines and think everything is so overpriced and the airline pilots are so overpaid, but I work in the industry and I know transportation has value.

 

[MagnusVonMagnum]

I think this is crazy. If you need 2 seats, you pay for 2 seats.

Link

I'm not exactly 'thin', but I do fit in one airline seat ok. I mean where is the cut off line supposed to be in Canada? Comfort? Hey, I want 2 seats just because I want the extra room and comfort and not having to smell my potentially unhygienic neighbor! Frankly, I think everyone should get 2 seats if fat people are going to get two for one. Why should fat people be rewarded for being fat? If they can get two for one, so should everyone else! That is only fair. Otherwise, they're discriminating against thin people by not giving them an extra seat also!

 

[Mac Kiwi]

Maybe tall people should also get extra leg room?


This ruling is just absurd.

 

[OutThere]

Maybe tall people should also get extra leg room?


This ruling is just absurd.

I like this almost as much as the double meals for people who have fast metabolisms...I'm 6'1" (185cm, not even particularly tall), and my knees press uncomfortably into the seatback in front of me when flying coach, even when sitting up straight. I want more leg room!

 

[angelneo]

I like this almost as much as the double meals for people who have fast metabolisms...I'm 6'1" (185cm, not even particularly tall), and my knees press uncomfortably into the seatback in front of me when flying coach, even when sitting up straight. I want more leg room!

<sarcasm>
Yes, I demand more leg room, we can cite economy class syndrome as an excuse. If obese people get 2 seats for free to be more comfortable, tall people should get 2 seats (in front) for health reasons.
</sarcasm>