Comments on: Should Obese Passengers Be Charged Extra?

By: Anil Polat

Anil Polat — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 11:58:30 +0000

@ Angelua:

I like the upgrade idea 🙂 Most (longer) international flights on the major carriers provide a decent amount of space but short domestic or local flights just don’t cut it for tall or large people.

By: ANGELA

ANGELA — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 10:06:28 +0000

As a voluptuous person myself, I can fully understand the discomfort to passengers who may be sat next to an obese person. I often sit in the aisle seat with my husband in the middle and it can sometimes be a squeeze on cheap airlines like Ryanair or easyjet. I am not huge a size 18 (UK) but I have to say it is not fair on smaller passengers. I have never encountered any problems on Virgin, BA, Thai or Malay Airlines so I think it really is down to the carrier. In terms of paying for an extra seat, well the jury is still out on that one, I do think that the squashed passenger should be offered a seat elsewhere and if there are no avail seats then an upgrade!

By: Anil Polat

Anil Polat — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 23:02:13 +0000

suddenly susan:

I completely agree – why charge passengers for extra luggage weight (with many rules that don’t make sense) but not passengers who take up more seat space and inconvenience others?

Not a knock on the overweight, but you pay for the seats you occupy.

By: suddenly susan

suddenly susan — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 11:48:16 +0000

omg. i was just having a conversation about this very topic with my BF because of the strict luggage policies of airlines. the checked luggage weight max for europe is 20 kg per passenger in economy class. that’s 20 kg TOTAL–not per bag. the airline will charge you extra fees if you’re over this limit. we once had to pay ?36 for being over the limit because london’s luton airport only allows you “one large bag” for carry-on.

i understand that fuel costs are high and airlines need to pay more for extra weight on flights. but since i only weigh 50 kilos (110 pounds), why should i pay the same fare as an obese person who weighs over 300 pounds? it seems unfair that i’m charged extra fees for heavy baggage when my personal body weight plus luggage weight is still less than the weight of an obese passenger.