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.

[glory]

Yeah ok...I've always had insurance(well most of my adulthood) and have been overweight at least a little all my life. I have used my insurance for two pregnancies and a gall bladder removal following one of those pregnancies and shortly for psoriasis treatment(until I realized I'd just have to live with it--so see I didn't even waste any more of "your" money going when it was pointless)and all the preventative type of care you'd expect ANY person to partake of(paps, yearly exams, etc). How about we keep it fair and if I have health problems THEN it can go up? In the meantime, I don't enjoy paying for your sprains and aches due to your over exertion. Should I force YOU to pay more too? And what if despite all your good caretaking you have a defective gene making you more likely to cancer, well damn, I DEMAND that your insurance goes up too. I find people only mean this when they THINK they aren't affected by it! When I read threads like this I start to give creedence to lefties who think the right lacks compassion.

[NittanyLion]

No, if you do not like having your "space" being taken up by a fat person, YOU get up and move. Not them, YOU! Being uncomfortable sitting next to a fat person is not their problem. It is YOURS!

You have it exactly backwards. It appears you have such an emotional response to any mention of fat people, you lose all logic when responding. Very sad.

[arm958]

Charge by the pound!

That's fair. When you send a package via FedEx you pay by the pound; why should human cargo be any different? I weigh 160 lbs. and I don't want to subsidize some glutton's plane ticket. My daughters weigh much less. Why should they pay the same fair that someone three times their weight pays?

[MississippiMan]

A few years back, I flew from Nashville to Indy sitting in front of the tallest woman on Earth. Can't remember her name or her exact height, but she was a BIG woman and very, very nice. I'm not comparing her to someone who can control their size; she cannot.

Anyway, I had a window seat and she took up all three seats on the row behind me. Even then, the only way she could fit was to sit crossways, with her back against her window. Her shoulders were so wide that they were wedged in between her seatback and the back of my own. The result was my seatback being pushed forward at a dramatic angle that was uncomfortable to say the least. It was a short flight and I didn't mind, because like I said, she has zero control over her size.

MM

[Houmatt]

Why would I? That's my seat.

Same goes for the person sitting next to you, who you claim is in your "space." What do you want that person to do, pay for your seat as well? You want them to move? How about tough sheep?

You either sit down, shut your bleeping mouth, or you get another seat.

PERIOD!

[.38sw]

I'm still trying to figure out where to move to when the flight is full. Sit in the aisle? See if the flight crew will share one of their jump seats?

[arm958]

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

But they are under no obligation to charge heffers the same price as regular humans.

[Politicalmom]

Not to mention those who are injured or ill, and unable to exercise.

My doctor told me himself it would have been nearly impossible for me to avoid gaining weight after a serious injury which kept me in bed for a year, followed by years of lung problems, during which I was NOT ALLOWED to exercise,per doctor's orders.

[Houmatt]

You have it exactly backwards.

Oh, really? How so?

Please, enlighten us. I really want to hear this.

[Freebird Forever]

You either sit down, shut your bleeping mouth, or you get another seat.

I'm happy to see that you can control your use of obscenities on the public forum much better then in your Freepmails.

Exercising restraint in other areas may benefit you as well.

[NittanyLion]

Same goes for the person sitting next to you, who you claim is in your "space." What do you want that person to do, pay for your seat as well? You want them to move? How about tough sheep? You either sit down, shut your bleeping mouth, or you get another seat.

That's right, the person sitting next to me is entitled to the one seat they purchased, which extends laterally to an imaginary vertical plane over each armrest. I have a right to the same. If they require additional space on either saide of this plane, they can purchase it accordingly.

Pretty simple stuff, actually. I'm surprised at your total inability to grasp it.

[medved]

The basic reality is that airline seating arrangements are determined by bean-counting rather than any realistic assessment of the needs of fliers. I avoid airplanes as much as possible and will beat a hasty path to zeppelins if they ever bring them back.

It's not just the size thing. I've had flights that never made it, I've had airline people try to put me on two broken airplanes in the same day, I've been on Pacific rim flights on which I stood in the aisle most of the time to keep my legs from cramping in the horrible seats, I've seen Koreans treated in a manner which would create an instant race riot on the aircraft if they ever treated blacks similarly...

Like I say, if the airline industry goes under, I won't be amongst those crying over it.

[NittanyLion]

Please, enlighten us. I really want to hear this.

See Post #211. Like I said, it's a very simple concept.

[Intimidator]

just curious, but how much does your wife weigh?

[medved]

Its good to be 5'8" and 160 lbs sometimes. hehehehe

Other times, it doesn't work out too well. Get yourself a film of the Louis/Conn fight; Billy Conn was wishing he was bigger. Martina Hingis is wishing she was bigger these days...

[Hap]

Where did you find this information? I looked on SWA's website but there is no reference to the new rule.

[.38sw]

You are right. I was slender for the majority of my adult life, then had a chronic illness that lasted for several years. I couldn't exercise very much, and gained a significant amount of weight (but still didn't require a seatbelt extention on an airliner, nor did I flow into the next seat). Now that my health is better, I'm working on taking off the pounds, but it ain't easy. Not complaining, it's just reality. I'm walking my way through a lot of athletic shoes!

[luckodeirish]

A second AMEN!!! I was talking to a Japanese woman who has a chain of resturants in Los Angeles, and she said they have to give Americans 4 times the food (thus the rice) that Japanese eat. She said one of the most often asked questions is: "how big are the portions"?

[skateman]

The point still is, you take up two seats you pay for two seats.

[skateman]

"disability". .

And whose fault is that....