Airlines should install a couple extra wide seat and a halfs throughout the plane. There should be an up charge for those seats.
“Airlines should install a couple extra wide seat and a halfs throughout the plane. There should be an up charge for those seats.”
The only way it would work though, would be to mandate people over a certain size purchase those seats. Lawyers would have a field day, despite logic.
One possible way to avoid discrimination lawsuits may be to make all seats even smaller, so that very wide people cannot possibly fit into them, mandating that they buy two seats, just so they can fit.
Airlines should install a couple extra wide seat and a halfs throughout the plane. There should be an up charge for those seats.<<<
They do. It’s called First Class and it costs more. Sometimes the extra cost is unreasonable for example, when you’re only going to be on the plane for 2 hours and the seat costs $1700 while an economy seat costs $250.
That first class seat makes a whole lot more sense if you’re going to be on that plane for for several hours.
Despite the narrow seats on planes, even economy is infinitely more comfortable than the seats on a greyhound bus going cross country, and that bus doesn’t offer more comfortable accommodations.
There have been times when for one reason or another, my plane ticket was selected for a seat upgrade. An additional $40 and you have a first class seat! Now, I LIKE that idea and if I have that extra $40, I do grab it. Most American flights are relatively short anymore, and most of the time economy is just fine. If for some reason I’m offered an exit row seat, I’ll take it as I am willing to help in an emergency as long as I’m able. I’ve received the bonus of having my luggage stowed below, for free for that service. The less I have to carry from one terminal to another during my trip, the better I like it.
I’m a small person but obesity does differ from one person to the next. According to government formulas, I’ve never been obese, but according to MY body history, I have been even if it didn’t show. For example, if my normal adult weight is 125 and I’m weighing 150, for my height the 159 is good, not obese. But, for ME and my build, that’s WAY overweight!
As mentioned, muscular people tend to weigh more because muscle weighs more than fat. Weight and height is not necessarily an indicator of obesity.
I think width at the hips is a better indicator...though not necessarily the best indicator, and shoulder/arm width. If a person flows over, then they do need a wider space even for their own comfort. First class has wider seats, and it’s much quieter, closer to the rest rooms, faster meal/snack/drink service, easier to get on and off the plane. If you’re a large person, really, you should strongly consider flying first class. See what you can do to work a ticket deal.
As little as I am, I’ve been there pinned up against the window as the man next to me over flowed his seat. It’s NOT pleasant.