Southwest Airlines Will Charge Large Fliers Extra Fare (Double Fare for Obese Starting June 26)

The Washington Times ^ | June 19, 2002 | Marie Baudette

[codebreaker]

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 into one.

[palmer]

The Hillary = "perthon of thighs" got a lot of play on the
other thread.

[oldironsides]

That is funny. I note that Geoffry Dorhmer, Ted Bundy and Tim McVeigh and Osama bin laden were slim. Southwest giving breaks to skinny's? I wonder if we keep 10 lbs under we get a fare cut?

[.38sw]

I thought obscenity was verboten on this forum, and that post is certainly obscene! I think i'll print it out and place it on my refrigerator as a diet aid. Right next to the photo of Al Gore, in full make-up (photo from the presidential debates).

[codebreaker]

Looks like she will need some extra peanuts.

[glory]

The FAA defines a standard passenger as 170 pounds.



so I guess a fair amount of healthy men(not overweight) will have to pay double too?
Your bias is terrible btw. Who cares what your personal bias is my friend. If you don't care for fat folks, don't associate with them, but to make stupid comments? I think for very obese people, this is reasonable, but let's face it...lot's of people are "getting off" on these sorts of things because they hate fat folks, ugly folks, whatever and they enjoy watch people they don't enjoy to look at, be punished. This is disgusting behavior whether it's on the right or the left. Never seen it so obvious as the right though and it's one thing that I've always found repugnant about fr boards whether it's making fun of Anne Coulter because she's too skinny or making fun of the fatties.

[Constitution Day]

One Ticket for Puerta Villarta

Good thing she's not visiting a country that still has whaling.

[glory]

Agreed...I was thinking the same thing. My husband would qualify as this. Tall and big, but not fat! But I guess since his size intimidates some of the mini men, they can finally get "back at them" by making them pay more. Whatever...when I read some of the comments, I think this makes some VERY small men feel better about themselves;-) I guess they gotta take what they can get to get back at that linebacker they always disliked in school...

[glory]

We have young children so we usually get a whole aisle to ourselves now(and first pick). Works out great for us. Frankly I'd rather sit next to someone heavy(as long as they aren't sweating--goes for thin and heavy) than next to someone who will yack my ear off the whole flight--that is the worst!!!

[Malichi]

I love it. I took my kids to the circus last weekend paid 75.00 for center ring tickets. Wonderful seats. Then right before the show was to begin this Two-Ton Tessie rolls up on her scooter and parks it in the center of the handicapped area set aside for wheelchairs. She wasn't handicapped just fat. The children in front of my family as well as my kids had most of their view of the center ring blocked. One lady, who was overweight herself, complained to the security guard. He asked the lady to move, then someone with the coliseum management asked her to move, then a lady with the circus asked her to move. Nope. Finally some dipwad came and told the lady that complained that she would have to move because they couldn't ask the woman on the scooter to move because of the ADA. Needless to say everyone around us was p.o.'d as we watched the fat chick move around, put her feet on the floor, stand up and stretch, and consume three bags of cotton candy, two boxes of popcorn, two hotdogs, and two large softdrinks. My bet is that her and the two people with her bought cheap tickets and drove her fat behind in on her scooter and played handicapped to get a good seat.

[glory]

Not true. My mother and I tried to buy one of those fairs once and it's an unrestricted fair so it's the same price for that one as two of the discount fares. Go to thier site and price a ticket if you don't believe me.

[mc5cents]

How about "P.O.L's"? 'Persons of Lard'?

[mc5cents]

[PBRSTREETGANG]

Will they have a template that you have to fit your A$$ into before your allowed to board?

[Chemist_Geek]

It appears to me that the overweight individual made a conscious choice to be the size that they are.

Categorically false.

However, Southwest can try this, and will make for an interesting experiment. They will save some money on fuel, and the weight & balance issues on the airplane will be a little easier.

[Pylot]

I am not making fun of fat people. I believe that obesity is a huge problem in America but I am not out to correct it. If someone can not control their urge to eat that is no more my problem than if they are unable to control their urge to drink alcohol or shoot heroin. I don't care about others personal decisions. When their decisions affect me personally, however, that is another story.

You need to have the experience I described. To be stuck in an airplane with a morbidly obese person pressed tightly up against you, sweating on you, for a three hour ride in a plane that you paid $500 to be on is somthing that is grossly unfair to me. To get off the plane and smell like the pig you sat next to is enormously unpleasant.

Stupid comment, no. Just one of the many very unpleasant experiences I have had with a fat person on a plane. A fat person who, by any logic, should have paid for and used a second seat. I fly a lot because of my job.

I don't hate anyone, but I do detest being forced to sit in intimate proximity to a person who is so fat that they must share the space I paid for.

I am 6'1" and weigh over 200 pounds but I am quite capable of sitting in the middle row and not intruding on my neighbors space.

If you want to be a bleeding heart for fat people, do it at your own expense!

[luckodeirish]

The irony is that the fatties who buy 2 seats will probably get 2 meals!!! ROFL

[luckodeirish]

That's OK! Just never been called a democrat before. Damn near made me cry. LOL