Get off the high-horse, Dan. All of your examples are completely irrelevant. The issue is paying for one seat, and not getting it because the (portly gentleman|full figured lady) next to you is taking up his seat
and 1/3 or more of the seats next to him. Some airlines are attempting to address this by requiring those who will occupy more than one seat to actually
pay for more than one seat. Your spurious examples have no bearing on squashing or being squashed by the person sitting next to you.
Oh, and obnoxious kids. If you can't teach your children (kids are baby goats) to comport themselves with a modicum of decency in public, don't take them out in public. Different places have different standards of behaviour. Comercial airliners, restaurants, churches, theatres are not playgrounds or amusement parks. Too many parents seem to be either unaware of these distinctions, or unwilling to instruct their children in them.
AB
Agreed. There must be a lot of FReepers responding to this thread that are insecure in their fatness. Whatever happened to personal responsibility?
If a passenger can't fit in an airline seat without overlapping into their neighbors personal space, then they should negotiate a solution (two seats or a window seat with no one next to you) with the flight attendent or purchase two seats or a first class ticket (1st class seats are usually wider).
If you are stuck sitting next to "fatty" then first suggest that they find a solution listed above, else hit the attendent button and ask the flight attendent to arrange for a solution listed above. If that is not possible suggest that they find you a better seat, else you expect a full refund for your ticket, as they clearly cannot provide you with the service offered to other passengers, not subjected to "fatty's" excess girth.
How does paying more to the airline make the trip more comfortable for the person sitting next to the large person? Sound like the logic a lawyer or some government agency would use.
PS - I've put on a few pounds recently, and all this talk about making larger people pay more for airline trips is very stressful on me. Who can I sue?