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.

[mewzilla]

If they're gonna cater to obese folks, how about offering seats with more legroom for those of us who are vertically over-endowed in the inseam deptartment? And heck, I'm not overweight but I'd buy a plus size seat just for the extra space. Guess the airlines just have a passenger revolt in their future. Serves them right for sizing their seats for my great-great-great-great grandfather's generation.

[Houmatt]

If you make an airline haul that person around at no extra cost, in a business where paid seat occupancy rates are EVERYTHING, how are you not penalizing the business?

Aren't you forgetting something? In order for any business to succeed, you need something called, "clientele". No customers, no business.

If a passenger is being unruly, or just being an bleep, they can be removed from the plane. But why treat a passenger in a negative manner when they are not doing that at all? That is what you are doing when you are asking a person who is only overweight to pay for two seats.

[tdadams]

I once was on a flight with a woman who was so large, she required TWO seatbelt extenders. I'm not kidding. Her "husband" (I think that's what he was) could've probably fit in a half of a seat, he was so skinny.

I guess we could share "fat person on a plane" stories all day here. I fly SW all the time. I'm not someone who requires a lot of pampering on a flight, however, I do get irritated at someone encroaching my space.

A couple of years ago, I was already boarded sitting by the window with the two seats next to me empty. I saw a woman starting to board that was so huge she had to get forward momentum to squeeze past each row of seats and walked with a cane. I saw her eyeing my row. With more audacity than I usually have, I stopped a normal sized person in front of her and invited them to have a seat.

[Hunble]

Hmmmm, I am seeing a new military tactic....

When you are confronted with a hijacking situation on an airline, you have all the fat women enter the isle.

They are so suck, that it would be impossible for them to attack the pilots.

And no, I will not make any fart jokes......

[Salgak]

Well, when the published fare is "x" dollars per person, and suddenly it's "2x", that's when the warning flags pop up. ..

[Bella_Bru]

"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."

No, the industry does not have an obligation to accomodate your Super Size loving lardass. There are few people that actually have thyroid or other problems that makes losing weight impossible. The rest have a problem with understanding basic nutrition.

[Trust but Verify]

I embarked on the diet 2.5 years ago. I have only allowed myself a 5 lb 'slush'. If I gain as much as 5 lbs, it's time for me to STOP and get back on the right track. I have been extremely successful with this strategery. I expect that will continue. But thanks for your positive input.

[Houmatt]

Denny's never DID single out blacks for poor service

Sorry, but that just does not reflect the facts. Again, Denny's was sued for it. And they lost. End of story.

[tdadams]

for those of us who are vertically over-endowed in the inseam deptartment?

Well, I don't want to brag, but...

[McGavin999]

Actually, as a public carrier, they ARE under an obligation to accomidate everyone. . . .

Your ticket price purchases you the use of a seat. If you require more than one seat you should have to purchase the use of two seats. It's pretty simple really.

[Bella_Bru]

Excuse me, but the nation's fat people are fat because of choices they make. If they take up 2 seats on a plane, fares will go up because that will be one less seat the airline can sell. So all of us should pay more because you can't put down the snack cakes?

[texlok]

"This is what the population looks like, and an airline has an obligation to make its seat fit the population."

So in other words, the airlines are supposed to only care a few dozen people per flight, because they are going to have seats the size of sofas?

[Hunble]

I know, you wife just says OUCH!

[Bella_Bru]

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

There is a large (excuse the pun) middleground between anorexic looking and el blobbo.

[Trust but Verify]

but what you are expressing is almost a mental defect

I what way? I eat a very healthy diet. Lots of grains and fruits/veggies. But I also exercise DAILY. It has become a way of life.

I truly believe, though, that a person who is obese (I was) really, really has to want to change their life in order to 'sacrifice' their eating pleasures.

But it HAS changed my life. I was a size 24! I had to shop in the plus sizes, which held very little in 'style' for a 40 year-old woman. Now I can sometimes wear a size small. Very powerful incentive for me.

[mewzilla]

LOL. With my inseam and a gimpy knee that does not like being pretzeled, flying coach for me is a nightmare.

But what the hey. An obese public can make up for the fact that I can no longer find women's clothes with a waistline by getting me a bigger seat on a plane. Go for it, folks.

[Trust but Verify]

I will pray for you. I know you can do it! One day and one pound at a time. Baby steps.

[Vicki]

It's not only the seating space they require, but the more weight the plane has on it, the more fuel it will use.

[CindyDawg]

Thank you, Did you really mean to post that it was EASY for you?

[Houmatt]

If an airline has three seats on one side of the aisle and a larger person requires 2 of those seats, why should the airline not require $ for the second seat?

Duh, because it is WRONG.

Would we even be having this discussion if the people in question were black or homosexual?

I don't think so.