United to charge double for heavy people

I think it's fair enough if they don't fit into one seat. If two seats are required, they should pay for the two.

OK so what are they going to do? Put commercial scales at all of their gates? If a person weighs more than XX, charge them? Or stand there with tape measures? I can just see this, (I'm sorry sir but your rear end is just too big. You have to buy another ticket to get to your destination.)

Where and how do you draw the line. I'm overweight. If they come after me they're gonna have a H3ll cat to deal with.

I can't even imagine the humiliation. Excuse me miss, but you're too fat for your seat... can you please step to the front of the plane. It's bad enough dealing with a weight issue than to have to deal with some stupid flight attendant.

United Airlines: Passengers requiring extra space
I've got mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, airline seats are awfully narrow nowadays, particularly for domestic flights, so you could argue that the airlines are at fault if heavy people can't fit. On the other hand, I once had to endure a nine-hour flight next to a person who filled not only her own seat, but a great deal of mine, and I feel that was very unfair to me, because I'd paid for a "full" seat for myself. That happened on a 2 1/2-hour flight, too, but it wasn't quite as bad because of the shorter flight.

No, the arm rest couldn't be put down. I didn't think the crew had noticed, and I didn't complain, but I got an upgrade for the return flight.

I was pretty angry about it, because not only was I extremely uncomfortable, but my safety was also presumably jeopardized. I read somewhere that a few airlines were considering a couple of extra-wide seats in each plane for such cases, but I suppose just insisting that people fly business class or get two seats is more practical for them.

No, she didn't say anything at all. Since I fly on a very popular international route, I have to book months in advance (or fly business class, which is too costly, and still has to be booked weeks in advance), so I get my seat assignments when I book at no extra charge.

omg i'm 10 pounds overweight and I am NOT going to let some random person weigh me!! No, if it means i'm not flying again then so be it!
I'm saying this because the only way to be fair about this is to weigh every single passanger and determine whether they fit their standard.
I think it's incredibly unfair to just wait for the person to get on the plane and tell them they cannot travel unless they purchase another seat.
Purchasing another seat isn't going to give them the comfort that they pay for- those tiny seats aren't designed to be used in pairs by one person. I'd say the airlines need to build bigger seats inside their planes designed for bigger people and anyone should be allowed to get them at their discretion at a higher price. I'm talking bigger than business class seats.

I highly doubt that they'll weigh anybody. It's far more likely that they'll take somebody who is morbidly obese off to the side at check-in, and have them sit down on a "model seat" to see whether they fit.

Ten pounds over isn't the concern. 100 pounds is, and that's not all that uncommon these days.

I'm pretty sure many morbidly obese people will be infuriated and will try to sue for discimination. I mean, anyone who has mobility issues due to their size, not being able to walk is probably very much aware that they need special accomodations. But those who are just on the borderline of being able to fit are going to be very upset by this.
This should be kind of like going skiing: you put down your weight and they give you the right size ski that can support your body and that's the end of the story!! I know the airlines may lose some $$ if they approach it this way but it's really the most sensitive way to approach it, by making bigger seat to accomodate bigger people and assigning seats based on weight.
The only thing with that is that if the airlines make the assignment you will have a bunch of heavy people on one side and then skinny ones all together...I'm sure there is a way to compensate for this though maybe scattering the seats or something. I'm sure there are many ways to deal with this without confronting people about their weight.

Yes, well somebody's gotta pay for the comfort of treating people as equal human beings. I think as a society we should pay this price because we dont' want to offend people. Like I said i'm talking about borderline people not the extremely obese with a four digit weight.

Oh my goodness. The longest set of flights I've ever taken was from LAX to JFK, from JFK to Ataturk (Istanbul, Turkey), and from Ataturk to Manas (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan). At the time, I weighed 120 lbs (I'm 5'3") and the seats seemed small. On the other hand, bigger seats means less seats and a higher ticket price for everyone.

It'd have been worse for me though, if I had to share part of my seat with my neighbor. In that case, I don't see it as a matter of discrimination to charge someone who requires more than one seat for the extra space they are using.

Admittedly, I'd be pretty upset if I had to pay for more than one seat for myself so I don't know...

I am sure that before it became widespread to always build ramps as well as stairs, have bigger stalls in the restrooms all to accomodate the handicapped, people thought the same way about building all that stuff for them Until someone became loud enough to start social change.. So I have to respectfully disagree.

How is being overweight synonymous with being disabled? If I pay for a seat on an airplane, I want that seat to myself.

I was suggesting that they build bigger seats for them rather than making them pay for two seats because the seats are not designed to be used like that. that way everyone can have their seat to themselves. So just like we have handicapped bathrooms that are bigger for the disabled we can have bigger seats for the larger people.

ETA: I honestly think size is an extremely sensitive issue. I have friends with eating disorders, and it just saddens me because if we didn't have this ridiculous thin standard of beauty people wouldn't have this disease. Anyway by separating people according to their size, it only amplifies this issue and contributes to depression that overweight people can have that could even lead them to developing an eating disorder....I think that since there is nothing to be done about people's perceptions of beauty the least we can do is not make it worse by separating people at airports and everywhere else they may go. I guess it's just me being overly passionate about making big people feel comfortable in their skin. I've been very close to people with these issues in my life and I just know what it's like, it's sad and a once broken mentality cannot be easily repaired.

More likely, it was the former and she was VERY embarrassed. I don't know if you have ever been overweight, or have been close to someone that was, but I know that people I have known were VERY conscious of their weight and tried to accomedate others as much as possible. Of course, there are rude people of every size so who knows.

And, maybe she barely managed to scrape up the money to pay for one seat to see her grandson graduate from highschool, or see her dying mother one last time. It's easy enough to say "she should have purchased two tickets" but you have no idea what her situation was.

I know a lot of people are overweight due to eating problems and lack of excercise, but that isn't the ONLY cause for obeseity. Sometimes it IS out of the person's control due to medical issues. So, should they be punished and be made to pay double because they have a medical condition? Or should you just "suck it up" and be inconvienced for a few hours so someone else with a condition can actually try to lead a normal life?

I agree with Utopia. If the airlines (and everyone else) can put in ramps and handicap accessible places, why can't they put in a few rows with bigger seats for larger people?

But, is it your place to decide by looking who has a medical condition and who is overeating? There is no arguement from me that American is not healthy, but how do we determine that? And I ask again, should the people that are overweight due to a medical condition be discriminated against?

This is Tricia's quote from page 1:

"Passengers requiring extra space
For the comfort and well-being of all customers aboard United flights, we have aligned with other major airlines’ seating policies relating to passengers who:

* are unable to fit into a single seat in the ticketed cabin;
* are unable to properly buckle the seatbelt using a single seatbelt extender; and/or
* are unable to put the seat’s armrests down when seated.

Any customer ticketed on a United or United Express flight and meeting one or more of these criteria must either purchase a ticket for an additional seat, or purchase an upgrade to a cabin with seats that address the above-listed scenarios. The seat purchase or upgrade must be completed for each leg of the itinerary. If a customer meeting any of the above-listed criteria decides not to upgrade or purchase a ticket for an additional seat, he or she will not be permitted to board the flight."

So, yes, in my opinion this is a form of discrimination since it is across the board for anyone that doesn't fit that criteria, regarless of the reason. What I'm debating here is what do YOU think could be changed besides making overweight people pay for two, when it is only one person with one person's feelings?

I have an idea....lets shave 2 inches off of all the "skinny" seats and use them to expand the aisle seats for the "fat" people. You will still be comfy; the overweight people will be comfy (especially on international flights...that's an extra what, 10" to 14" inches of seats) and everyone will be happy. (yes, I was being sarcastic....but actually, that's not a bad compromise IMO. Same number of seats....).

LOL I had the same idea, but when I thought about it: my friend who weighs 90 pounds complains of being uncomfortable in those seats!! I think it's honestly imposible to make the seats smaller than they already are!! they are made for the smallest person possible. I actually thought of this seriously not sarcastically lol.

The reason she isn't comfortable probably has nothing to do with the width, it's probably more because the seats feel like they are made of concrete and NOONE is comfortable in them. The last time I flew was a few years ago and I was 140, with very ample hips and there were still 1 1/2 on each side so I don't see how the width could possibly been what bothered her. Unless it was just coach itself, which I hate as well so I can understand!