Posted on 01/29/2010 1:33:50 PM PST by NormsRevenge
You're paying to check your belongings, so why should other people's excess baggage get a free ride?
That's the question being asked by a growing number of travelers. As airlines look for new ways to boost revenue, fees for checked bags are on the rise; so is scrutiny of overweight customers whose baggage is built in.
It's a touchy subject, Airfarewatchdog.com has found, and one that airlines have been happy to avoid discussing, where possible. As late as 2008, United Airlines wouldn't even address the matter with us.
But an outcry among passengers, tired of their seatmates taking up more than their fair share of jealously-guarded seat space, is said to have played a role in the airlines new rules for transporting “customers of size.” Where a terse “we have no policy” was once the standard response, United adopted new regulations in 2009. Customers who were unable to confine themselves to one seat would be required to buy a second, should the crew be unable to reseat them.
It's a policy that's becoming increasingly commonplace.
To many, the idea seems simple enough – if you cant fit into one seat, you should probably consider buying two.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Weight restrictions can be tricky....I weigh that but absolutely don’t encroach other seats. My problem is being tall over 6’3”......I’d say put the restriction where it really counts.....at the wide part - the hips....
That don’t work with Delta....they oversell every flight...
I recently sat behind a woman so large she could not fit into the seat with the seat back up so she kept it reclined even at meal time and during landing. The flight attendant tried to push it up two or three times before landing but it went right back to recline position as soon as the attendent left.
It’s not very comfortable sitting straight up with a reclined seat just a few inches from your face. I can’t imagine that was safe.
The airlines are hardly likely to address a problem that they caused. This happens because the kickbacks from the eternal luggage theft rings are too lucrative for the airlines to end them.
The people who care enough about their stuff to do what is annoying you are the people who are obsessive enough to hire private detectives and mount stings against the theives.
As the airlines are perfectly aware.
The status quo is the cheapest solution.
Until they shrink the seats again.
Men don’t have to be fat or wide to weigh 220.
Weigh a student athlete sometime. Or the young men in our military.
220 lbs? i know several men who are 220lbs., close to 220lbs., or more than 220lbs. who would not need another seat...
Using dimensions makes some logical sense, but weight would be the easiest to defend legally, since weight directly impacts fuel usage.
Well, I guess, then, I’d have to force my company to buy two seats (or one first class)....I actually had a good friend whose doctor prescribed larger aircraft seats and gave him a letter for any trip longer than 4 hours.. My company accepted it .
Make them not only buy thrm but use them!!!!
Yep. Look at linebackers. They normally weigh around 250.
Personal pet peeve.
Buying two seats is just right...especially on a plane where weight counts. Don’t like it?? Take a bus!!
Side benefit of my plan - discourage steroid use.
I hate Delta even more than any other airline. Buy 10 refundable tickets and don’t show up for any of them.
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