Southwest will charge large fliers extra fare

Wash Times ^ | 19 jun 02 | Mary Beaudette

[white trash redneck]

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.

[white trash redneck]

One of the worst flights I can remember was being stuck in the middle seat between two people who each required a seat belt extender to buckle the belt around their middle.

It's about time.

[1Old Pro]

"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.

It's not a question of discrimination. It's a simple fact that if you occupy two seats you pay for two seats.

[Eala]

I smell a lawsuit.

[FreePaul]

Long overdue. Maybe other airlines will follow.

[homeschool mama]

exactly.

[homeschool mama]

***"For an airline to charge people double based on the person's size is pure discrimination," Miss Berg said. "Do they discriminate the same way against basketball players who are 6 foot 5 inches and don't fit in their seats?"***

My husband is 6'6" and fits into a seat just fine...as long as it's in the emergency aisle. Flight attendants are always willing to accomodate him for this. He doesn't take two seats...just needs more leg space.

I think it's right to charge a two seat fare for a person requiring two seats.

[Redbob]

About d*mn time!

Being fat is like having AIDS: it's a lifestyle thing, and the result of conscious decisions.

[homeschool mama]

** "The fact is that Americans are getting larger," she said. "This is what the population looks like, and an airline has an obligation to make its seat fit the population." **

Oh brother.

[Tacis]

If you ever believed that fat poeople were jolly, boy are you in for a surprise! I've long thougt that fatness was the "class" status that people in general, including leftists, had the least sympathy for. Most of us can make excuses for minorieites, handicapped, fairies, smokers, drinkers, wife beaters or New York Yankee fans, but few of us look at a grotesquely fat person with any hint of understanding. I'm sure Rosie or Nadler, the Hutt will confirm my opinion.

[homeschool mama]

While there *are* some medical issues that pack on pounds (medications, thyroid)...it's rare.

People are overweight because of the hand to mouth action. Eat less and healthier, exercise more...

[JoshGray]

Charge by the pound!

[skateman]

"persons of size"

Don't ya just love, pc!

Not!

[kemathen7]

I couldn't agree more. A few weeks ago I was flying from Austin to Dallas. I had the middle seat. An incredibly overweight woman had the window seat. I happen to be very thin. When I sat down, she lifted the arm rest inbetween us and said, "Honey, you don't need the whole seat ... mind if we share?" I was practically squished next to the man in the aisle seat. Thank goodness it was a short flight. Glad my $215 ticket gave me half a seat.

[.38sw]

I'm nearly 6 feet tall, and still try for exit row seats to have a little leg room. I have been seated next to these "persons" of size, and I'm not talking about "tall". They overflow the arm rest and intrude severely on my space. The only good thing I can say is that when this has happened, it's been on relatively short flights. I think it is perfectly fair to require a person who overflows the seat to pay for another one. Discrimination? Oh, please...

[ppaul]

SW Airlines introduces

Fatty Fares!

("Fatty Fares" - you heard the term used first, here on FR)

[codebreaker]

But Southwest is first come first serve, if a tall person needs to sit in an emergency seat on a full flight they have to hope that someone will switch if they don't get there early.

[Hunble]

My wife is FAT!

Seriously, when we fly, I demand that we both get isle seats, since I do not want to be stuck sitting next to her. When she "flowes" into my seat, it can be very annoying.

But what is the alternative? If the airlines are going to charge her double, we simply could not afford the vacation.

Should I tell my wife that I will take a skinny bimbo with me instead? Heck, for the extra airline price, I could hire a hooker and die with a smile on my face.

I think not....

[Houmatt]

I smell a lawsuit.

You bet your rump roast.

You think overweight people are going to stand too long for being punished simply because they happen to weigh a bit more?

I mean it is bad enough the news and entertainment industry wants everyone to look like Calista Flockhart.

Will the airline industry join them? Will the nation's fat people go for it?

Will the new Austin Powers film get a Best Picture Oscar nomination?

[Minnesoootan]

Throw um in with the cargo,strap um to a pallet.

[medved]

I'm about 6-3, 240 or thereabouts, ande can drive most small cars pretty comfortably (I own a Dodge Neon), and do not have a whole lot of sympathy for anybody, including airlines, whose basic model of the human race amounts to smurfs, dwarves, midgets, undersized children, heinzelmenschen and nibelungen.

Within my experience, many if not most airline seats are made for people under 5' tall. That's just one more thing airlines need to think about if they don't want to become a footnote in technological history. The human race is not getting smaller and the world did pretty well for itself in the decades of fast ships and zeppelins. I could live with that at least as easily as I live with airlines and their attitude problems.