Too fat to fly?
 

Did you see the program on Channel 5 last night?
Weighing passengers isn't an option.
Surely the best way to solve this, apart from a crash diet, is for airlines to include on the booking form, the dimensions of the seat, and the maximum size of the seat belt;if unable to fit within these comfortably, another seat plus belt extender can be booked.It must be better than asking a passenger to leave the plane, the embarrassment of the walk of shame.
If the passenger does not comply, turns up anyway, then can't fit in the seat, then they will not be able to fly.
The people in the documentary, it was a wake-up call which spurred them on to losing vast amounts of weight, so it was worth doing!

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

I didn't see the program - why isn't weighing everyone an option?

Seems extremely fair to me.

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

What would happen if all the "bigger" folk wanted to sit on the same side of the plane?:)

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

Passengers do not need to be weighed.

All that needs to be done is to have one of those measuring racks like they do for cabin baggage.

Anyone who does not fit in, must go in the hold.:)
http://www.storage.co.uk/assets/imag...n-in-a-box.jpg

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

Cannot remember where I read this story but a man, who was overweight, had to book two seats but on arrival at check-in he found out that one seat was at the rear of the plane and the other at the front. His return flight was better - his seats were separated by the aisle.

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

To refuse carriage because of one's weight (or indeed insisting on weighing them) is an infringement of human rights.

I can see the queues now, loads of people wanting compensation from the low cost airlines!!!!

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

Yes but what about my rights that I've paid for my full seat and seat area and get sat next to one of those who thinks they 'are OK' but are overflowing into my space?

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

Since when ?

First time I flew on a package holiday it was Compulsory !

Myself plus baggage on a set of old Woolworth type scales and a guy standing by with a pen and paper totting up the figures.

Anyway I thought at least one airline in the States was operating that way, but there again they aren't hogtied with nonsensical Eu regulations.

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

regarding weight-you could have a 18 stone man of 6ft 5", and a woman weighing the same, but 5ft 3". The man would have fitted comfortably in the seat, but the woman would be spilling over into the next seat.
That's why you can't just use weight as the guide.
That's why I suggested every airline displaying the dimensions of the seat on booking, in order to avoid humiliation.
DD-must be along time since you flew on a budget airline?

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

No No No! I understand what you´re saying but come on, a 6ft 5 person does not sit comfortably in an plane seat! :confused:

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

I agree he would have to get extra legroom, but he would be able to do the seat belt up, whereas the woman would not fit in the seat or do the belt up.

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

At 6ft 2 I recently flew business class Gib to LHR with BA and my knees didn't fit the seat spacing :thumbdown:

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

We pray the snacks trolley serves the other side first :p

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

This is a good example of victim blaming

The fault of having no room on airline seats is that of the airline for providing seats that are too small, not that of people who are bigger than average

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

They shouldn't have to make them bigger to cope with the obesity crisis!
Have you never had a massive person spilling over into your space on a flight?If so, you would agree that the onus is on with the individual to be a reasonable size!

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

Another good example of people blaming everyone else but themselves!
There are people out there that can´t get through a standard size door, so where do you draw the line?

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

What is a reasonable size ???

A female model ?

A jockey ?

A professional rugby player.?

All generally fit but not the same size

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

Probably within about half a kilo of Mr O´Leary?

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

Quite right - I see American are squeezing in an extra seat in each row by reducing seat width by 1" and narrowing the aisles. Perversely, this when the general population is getting larger because of better nutrition. Airline seat standard sizes were originally set several decades ago when people were generally a lot smaller. Another example of economy passengers being treated as cattle (milch cows?) by greedy airlines.

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

They havent made seats bigger, they have made them much smaller

I am only 6 foot but still the seats are incredibly uncomfortable

It is not up to you to decide how much somebody should weigh. In my opinion, if a person has bought a seat but cannot fit in it, then the airline should be obliged to accommodate them, unless they clearly state when you buy the seat that you must be a certain height and weight. In which case, they would probably closed down for discrimination

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

This a bit of a "fattist" response - probably from someone who is genetically predisposed to thinness ;)

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

The flip side of that coin is clear.
I for one don´t like rubbing shoulders with that of a "heavier" person when they are effectively invading my space.
Your "thinnest" attitude would suggest being one genetically predisposed to fatness?

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

No neither would I, so blame the airline! They are failing to give you a comfortable flying experience

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

Haven´t you reaised how out of step your thinking is on this subject compared with your usual posts.?

In fact you have done a 180 degree turn, but then again if we were talking about overweight British expats in Spain, I am sure you would be blaming them.

You blame the victim for almost everything in Spain, from being not able to speak the language, not knowing the law inside out, and employing dodgy lawyers, and ending up with an illegal property. According to you the victim is resposible for his own hardship/problams/downfall.

Yet here we have a case of FAT/OBESE people who have been gorging themselves over a long period of time, squeezing their bulk into seating that is bursting at the seams, spilling over into the personal space of other passengers, spoiling their flight, and yet in this case IT IS THE AIRLINES FAULT.

Why the radical change of heart, why is it the airlines fault, because if we follow your usual train of thought, then the "bigger folk" know that airline seats are of a certain size and should have made sure that they do not exceed the boundaries of said seating.

Sorry to have strayed off topic, but surely I can't be the only one that has noticed the irony.

I think your post should be in the double standards section in PDT.

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

You entirely missed my point: Without admitting to either state (in fact I'm nicely in the middle in my opinion) if one is genetically predisposed to being large then there is not an awful lot one can do about it so why should you be discriminated against. You would be the first to complain if you were allocated a smaller seat or asked to share if you happened to be thin or small :rofl:
I'm advocating a bit of fairness and balance in the discussion.

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

No double standards at all

Buying a property is the very difinition of a legal transaction. As Marx would say, property is power and the start of all inequality i.e. owning property comes with responsibility. A responsibility to know the law, to understand the terms of the sale and to comprehend the environment in which you are buying. After all, when you buy property, you are buying a piece of that country.

On the other hand, airlines want to make profits by making people fly as uncomfortably as possible and then blaming fat people

A bit like how the Tories and the PP want to take more money from the general population to give it to rich people, but try and make you blame the poor people for them doing so :D

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

Not a very liberal point of view - in fact it's bordering on fascist! Let's prevent people with genes which predispose bigger - taller, broader and yes fatter - frames from flying, in fact let's ensure that the human face is evolved to fit airline seats!
I bet Mr O'Leary is having a good laugh, rubbing his hands in glee at the thought of all that extra dough!

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

OMG.

Really fat people are by their very nature uncomfortable in their everyday life, and altering the seating on an aircraft and possibly pushing up the price for the other passengers will not alter their lives at all.

I have seen overweight people in shoe shops, who cannot put their shoes on or even take them off, due to excess weight.

In my local a hairdresser an extremely overweight woman cannot have a "backwash or even a frontwash" and has to arrive with her hair already wet, ready for styling/cutting.

I have been in local bars, where customers cannot use the toilets, due to the fact that they cannot manoevre in such small places.

Airline seating is just another obstacle for overweight people and for most it is minor consideration, because it is not something they do everyday.

So should every situation where overweight people are uncomfortable be changed at great cost to business , or should the people affected be responsible for their own predicament, and look to themselves for a solution?

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

All companies cater for the majorities. Even when they know they will lose customers. Regardless of the product. Super car manufacturers never consider obese people as their audience.
You´re right in saying that it´s a discrimination but one I find quite understandable.
Besides, over average sized people are accommodated. You need to be pretty darn huge not to fit. In an industry whereby weight costs money.
I´m sorry but I fail to sympathise.
Perhaps as "nicely in the middle" type people, we might discuss this further one day in our comfortably adequate allocated seats :thumbsup:

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

Ideally yes, there would be no fat people, as it is a pretty easy thing for an individual person to solve logically, but emotionally it isnt

We have to realise that people come in all shapes and sizes. Airlines are selling seats for people, not just for small and thin people. So they should take that into account in the design of their aircraft.

Saying that fat people shouldnt be allowed or should pay extra is the thin end of a wedge that would lead us to the bad old days of apartheid or even the Third Reich

By the way, I've always wondered how the hell basketball players fly around the world :) They can't all afford a private jet or first class tickets

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

Perhaps some entrepreneurial airline might consider extra width seats (at extra cost) just as they offer extra legroom at extra cost. ISTR that BA used to have seat configurations on their short-haul fleet which could be either two across or three across after a minor adjustment (in order to expand the business class seating area). That way the airlines can economically cater for the growing minority :D Maybe they could call it Premium Economy (not just " the fat seats" )

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

Why is my view bordering on being fascist?

People who are not in the catergory of being "average Joe" have to pay for all kinds of extras, the world is not catered for them, so why should fat people be any different?

A diabetic or gluten intolerant person has to pay extra for their food products, because most foods are for people with no digestive problems.

People with extra big feet, have to pay more for their size to be catered for.

It happens to lots of people with a whole host of dfferent needs, and if someone is so big that they cannot use "standard" seating, through being way overweight, than that to me should be a wake up call.

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

Because one of the aspects of fascism is that those who do not conform to some state defined norm in these authoritarian societies are discriminated against - and in the extreme cases eliminated.
It's not quite the same as a gluten intolerent or big footed person as they still have a choice - what is suggested is that large people will be prevented from flying (a restriction of their freedom of movement as guaranteed by EU primary four precepts BTW)

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

What worries me most about extremely obese people on flights is not so much whether they should pay extra, or seats be made wider to accommodate them, it is the issue of safety in the event of an emergency evacuation. Would you like to be stuck in the aisle behind such a person trying to get out of their seat and struggling to move down the aisle, and how could they safely use an evacuation chute?

I know some people with disabilities would also have problems in an emergency evacuation, but if they aren't massively overweight then at least the crew stand a better chance of being able to move them safely.

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

Everything is possible - at a price. The trouble is passengers want to fly for next to nothing and airline shareholders demand their company make a profit. The airline attempts to satisfy both.

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

Quite a few years back a pal of mine had that very job, flying basketball players, american football players and ice hockey players around but only within the States and in ancient Dakotas, DC3s at that.

Though I never flew in a DC3, I'm sure those old prop driven jobs of the early package era allowed far more legroom than today's flying sardine cans.

Whats more they often had real deep luxury leather seats that you could sink deep inside of and almost hide, as well as real genuine 24 carat drop dead gorgeous Air Hostesses with what must have been the biggest knockers I ever got to see quite a lot of in my younger days...........:D

Yeh, the airlines used to look after their customers properly back when I were a lad. ;)

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

Talking of old aircraft, great programme tonight BBC2, "Cold War, Hot Jets" Catch it on iplayer.

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

Thanks Ag. forgot all about it.

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

I once flew back from Australia and was seated next to a professional rugby player. As an unprofessional ex rugby player myself, of the same size as the real thing, we had an interesting conversation for more uncomfortable hours than I care to remember.

I'm afraid I'm like the reformed alcoholic or smoker now, I haven't got much time for fat people, and where I live now is bouncing with them. They limp about with walking sticks and enormous guts hanging down to their knees.

I appreciate a few may have medical problems to explain their enormous guts and I feel sorry for them, but the great majority are just silly people who eat and drink too much.

There's nothing worse in this world than a reformed anything and I'm guilty as charged.

Re: Too fat to fly?
 

See how we danced to America's tune! How we did all their dirty spying work for them and gave Russia our jet technology! Embarrassing!