UA Charging Obese People for Extra Seat

So if I wanted to avoid having a kid kicking my back for the whole flight, could I buy the row behind me as well as the row I'm in....so I can stretch out?

...or does this only apply to really fat people?

-mini
 
Come on folks, you mean if you went to Outback and ate two steaks, that you'd actually expect to pay for them both?

Oh...

Wait.

Nevermind! ;)
 
I support this. I had to sit next to a really fat chick while I was in the middle seat and every time she would breathe the arm rest would go up and down because she couldn't get it down and I don't think she appreciated me trying to slam it down into her.
 
I think the tall people that ask you not to recline your seat so as not to hit their knees should be next.
 
Good, about time. When you buy a ticket, you are paying for 18.5 inches X 32 inches... if you need 30x32, then you should have to pay for it.

You couldn't be more wrong.

When you buy a ticket, you are contracting for carriage--which, like most legal terms, has a specific meaning. In this instance, "carriage" means: "the transportation of passengers and/or baggage by air, gratuitously or for hire, and all services of Carrier incidental thereto." In other words, when you buy a ticket, you are contracting for transportation of a passenger from one point to another, you're not renting out a specific amount of square footage on the airplane.

Here are a few Contracts of Carriage for you to check out:

Delta Air Lines
Southwest Airlines
Allegiant Air

Southwest's Contract of Carriage in particular has some interesting language, and requires a "customer of size" to agree to purchase a second seat or be denied boarding--making it a voluntarily entered, contractually binding thing.

So if I wanted to avoid having a kid kicking my back for the whole flight, could I buy the row behind me as well as the row I'm in....so I can stretch out?

...or does this only apply to really fat people?


Interestingly enough, SWA's contract also otherwise prohibits "purchase of more than one seat for use by a single passenger". So no, you can't buy a whole row of seats with the intent to stretch out and sleep through the flight.

Even with such language, it's only a matter of time before such practices are found unlawful by the courts. Indeed, 14 CFR Part 382 prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in air travel, and the courts have already found obesity to be a disability in the eyes of the law.
 
Come on folks, you mean if you went to Outback and ate two steaks, that you'd actually expect to pay for them both?

Oh...

Wait.

Nevermind! ;)

Doug....you are making sense again... You better stop that. ;)
 
Come on folks, you mean if you went to Outback and ate two steaks, that you'd actually expect to pay for them both?

Oh...

Wait.

Nevermind! ;)
An apples-to-oranges comparison. The air carriers are licensed to transport passengers on a per-passenger basis, not a per-pound or per cubic foot one. One passenger = one fare.
 
Interestingly enough, SWA's contract also otherwise prohibits "purchase of more than one seat for use by a single passenger". So no, you can't buy a whole row of seats with the intent to stretch out and sleep through the flight.

Even with such language, it's only a matter of time before such practices are found unlawful by the courts. Indeed, 14 CFR Part 382 prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in air travel, and the courts have already found obesity to be a disability in the eyes of the law.


It sucks that obesity is considered a disability, except in some cases. Next, smokers will claim disability and so will alcoholics (both equally voluntary activities as stuffing one's fat-face). That being said, here's a quick article on obesity & disability:

http://library.findlaw.com/2000/Feb/1/128328.html
 
An apples-to-oranges comparison. The air carriers are licensed to transport passengers on a per-passenger basis, not a per-pound or per cubic foot one. One passenger = one fare.
Hey...that's the ticket! Let's start charging by the pound! P90x here I come!!!

-mini
 
A step in the right direction for the airlines! I remember sitting next to some obese guy, and it wasn't the greatest experience I've ever had in terms of commercial flights.
 
I want a 30% discount for being scrawny. Fair's fair.

Don't ask me why but my mental picture of you involves a guy that weighs about 4 Bills with a thick guttural Russian Accent w/ alcohol on his breath and wears a sweat suit.

No Offense:)
 
Don't ask me why but my mental picture of you involves a guy that weighs about 4 Bills with a thick guttural Russian Accent w/ alcohol on his breath and wears a sweat suit.

No Offense:)

Hah. None taken, I wish I were that awesome. I'm about a buck fifty soaking wet, but I make up for it by having a big mouth on the internet. I don't wear anything-suits, but hoodie and jeans is the preferred "professional attire" in my line of work. Just a mild southern accent, but I think I can accomodate you in spades on the "alcohol on my breath"! Bottoms up, JC. ;)
 
Make sense, and it's been a long time coming.

It's lost revenue, and now is not a time to be losing money. Make it where you can, and if someone needs an extra seat they should be charged the same fare for that seat.
 
Hah. None taken, I wish I were that awesome. I'm about a buck fifty soaking wet, but I make up for it by having a big mouth on the internet. I don't wear anything-suits, but hoodie and jeans is the preferred "professional attire" in my line of work. Just a mild southern accent, but I think I can accomodate you in spades on the "alcohol on my breath"! Bottoms up, JC. ;)

Awesome...but I can still pretend.
 
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