Posted on 06/19/2002 7:17:02 AM PDT by white trash redneck
Edited on 07/12/2004 3:54:49 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
Southwest Airlines will start charging larger passengers for two seats on its 2,800 daily flights starting June 26.
The airline, which operates out of 58 U.S. cities and is the largest carrier at Baltimore-Washington International Airport, will begin charging "persons of size" for two seats if they think they may not fit comfortably in one.
(Excerpt) Read more at washtimes.com ...
That's right! Your neightbors shouldn't object to you taking up their space. They can move, or just shut up! :-)
"For an airline to charge people double based on the person's size is pure discrimination," Miss Berg said.
Considering that the seats are eighteen inches wide, what does Mrs. Berg call it when a large person takes up twenty-two inches of seating, thus encroaching two inches on either side and shorting two passengers each of two inches from an already narrow seat. Talk about inconsiderate.
"Do they discriminate the same way against basketball players who are 6 foot 5 inches and don't fit in their seats?"
No Miss Berg. Basketball players sit in first class because there isn't enough leg room in coach. Similar to why overly wide people should sit in first class.
"They think they can get away with it because they think discriminating against people on the basis of weight will be acceptable to most of the population," she said.
Any flyer that has had their seat shorted by two inches isn't discriminating. They have legitimate gripes with the airlines for not deliver as promised.
Picture this: in the coach section sits three 255+ pound people sitting side-by-side.
You know how absurd this could get; to the point of airlines creating special sections with say, fifteen seats that will accommodate large people. What happens next? The large people complain that they are being singled out and segregated based on their large size and demand that they be integrated among the other seats throughout the plane.
"Nobody likes me -- everybody hates me -- I think I'll go eat worms."
But the plan is to charge a person extra even if they do not get an extra seat. That is pure hockey!
That's not how it works, as far as I know. The person gets two seats that he or she paid for -- except when the plane is full, which they never know until a few minutes before the plane leaves the gate, then the double-seaters get a refund for one of the seats.
When the plane is full the person sitting along side is subsidizing the obese person's fair for the "privilege" of being overly cramped. Come to think of it, the smaller person would probably be willing to pay the "per inch price" that space is worth to get it back for his own use and comfort rather than be overly uncomfortable for the duration of the flight. He may not think it's fair but his comfort is more valuable to him than the value of fairness. And he or she would probably consider the small dollar cost a small price to pay for comfort gained. From reading some of the rude comments I'd say that is the case -- comfort more important/valuable than money.
Am I the lazy ass so many talked about?
Obviously not. I shudder to think that you would take their comments personally when you know you're not. To do so would be irrational.
BTW, for what it's worth, in my #304 post I was talking to Miss. Berg in the manner I did because her comments IMO were ignorant.
Empathy for people wanting a free ride? No thanks. That's what got this country in the mess it's in!
Somehow, I had to chuckle at the "big dose" comment though ... but that's just my warped sense of humor.
Keep 'em coming! The more you try, the more foolish your arguments look. When an opponent is reduced to emotional pleas, as you've been, I know I've won.
If everything checks out, the biggest obstacle to her getting in shape is probably the depression she feels from being overweight. It's a self-defeating cycle, but a little success goes a long way. The hard part is getting started. Then she needs to be patient and understand that the weight won't come off as easily as it went on.
It's good that you're not on her case about losing weight. That's likely to make her depression worse. But you could probably subtly encourage her to improve her overall health, weight loss being part of that.
Approaching this as a team effort is good. Take steps to improve both your diets. Find activities that she'll enjoy. She apparently doesn't like the gym and isn't likely to stick with it long term. If that's the case, take up bike riding, rollerblading, walks in the park, swimming, etc. Anything that's active that she'll enjoy enough to do regularly. Then make it a permenant part of your fit life.
If she gets to a point where she wants to talk about losing weight (many women will not), encourage her to take a long term outlook. If she's looking at the scales everyday, she'll get discouraged. She should look at the scales once a week at the most and strive for continuous, though slow, improvement. She should aim to lose about 1 to 1.5 pounds a week. If she only loses one pound a week, that would be nearly 30 pounds by Christmas. That'll be over 50 pounds by this time next year. Keep reminding her that she can be 50 pounds lighter in just one year and you'll keep her encouraged and on track.
LOL! I can see that argument with a flight attendant or sky marshall within 30
minutes of takeoff or landing at DCA.
Try it, and let me know how you fare.
Try 13 - 18 hours on a Pacific rim flight in a Northwest airliner (Northwest tries to ensure that even small kinds of people like Koreans feel cramped).
It may really be time for the human race to disabuse itself of the idea that anybody needs to get from Detroit to Seoul in one day and go back to fast ships and/or zeppelins.
The Hindenberg was a hell of a thing and it turns out hydrogen had nothing to do with its final demise; it was the aluminum oxide outer paint. Zeppelins were vastly more efficient than jetliners. They flew with diesel motors, could land anywhere, and offered spacious accomodations to their customers. No paying customer in those days would tolerate what we get on airplanes for a second. Cruising at 80 mph without having to stop at lights, they'd get you to most places in a perfectly reasonable amount of time without the nervous-system damage caused by present air travel.
At last I have found myself a real genuine self proclaimed world class critic to bounce my arguments off of, before making a fool of myself before the whole world. I will continue to avail myself of your services as long as they remain free.
I don't have to win this argument though-charging big people for two seats is going to fly like a pig iron glider.
It will be fun watching blubberphobes plastered to their seats by the over flow of their fellow passengers excess flab. How does that grab your self described, "warped" sense of humor?
Hey Flight Attendant! another round of Wild Turkey, sheesh!, is that the biggest bottles ya' got?
Why do you think it is fun to commit assault on another human being?
Only a pervert would enjoy pressing their body against and on top of a stranger.
Only a pervert would enjoy watching someone commit assault.
Tracer said: Your med school alma mater must be quite proud of you...
What's your point, Tracer? It's common knowledge that medical issues are a rarity when it comes to blaming weight gain. Check out any on-line medical journal or other publication, or programs such as *Weight Watchers*. Most overweight folks are overweight due to overeating. I'm not discounting that certain medical conditions and medications can increase weight difficulties.
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