Get out your wallet, fatty!

[Timbonez]

Anyone with a knowledge of health analysis will tell you that BMI is useless. It's a nice neat chart that makes no allowance for actual body composition. The answer for the airlines is much simpler. Just like they have a 'your bag must fit in this wire frame' container sitting at the check-in, they should have one that mirrors the standard allotted seat space. If you don't fit, you pay extra.

FF

I like this idea. And everyone can watch the embarrassment of the person when they don't fit. Call me cruel.

[brabus]

I like this idea. And everyone can watch the embarrassment of the person when they don't fit. Call me cruel.

I do to. Too bad it probably won't happen because it would be "demeaning" and "unethical." Don't worry, the obvious solution of stop being fat or don't fly will be overlooked. The ACLU will triumph again.

[FlyingBull]

Maybe it will work. Theme parks have been doing it for a long time. At least at Busch Gardens they have seats outside the lines that if you can't fit in them, then you can't ride the ride.

[capt4fans]

Maybe it will work. Theme parks have been doing it for a long time. At least at Busch Gardens they have seats outside the lines that if you can't fit in them, then you can't ride the ride.

How long has this been going on, and how quick cna the ACLU jump on this and ban it is my question???

[Jimmy.The.Engineer]

Anyone with a knowledge of health analysis will tell you that BMI is useless. It's a nice neat chart that makes no allowance for actual body composition. The answer for the airlines is much simpler. Just like they have a 'your bag must fit in this wire frame' container sitting at the check-in, they should have one that mirrors the standard allotted seat space. If you don't fit, you pay extra.

FF

More to a point, BMI was invented in the mid 1800s. People were malnourished and weighed half of what we do now. People are simply a larger species, these days. I'm not even talking about the fat asses. I have no time for lazy disgusting bags of shit in jogging pants. For normal people, BMI = bullshit.

[OverTQ]

2. Your average Olympic athlete will come out overweight on the BMI. BMI says I should weigh 178. I haven’t weighed that since high school. I was so skinny then, I went stealth when I turned side wise.

[Stunna]

How long has this been going on, and how quick cna the ACLU jump on this and ban it is my question???

They've been doing it for quite some time, I remember having to sit in one to see if I was big enough to actually stay in the seat during flips or something, so, maybe 15 years?

It's not discriminatory if you make everyone do it... Even if you really just wanna laugh at fatties...

[JeepGuyC17]

How long has this been going on, and how quick cna the ACLU jump on this and ban it is my question???

Some places have been doing it for a while. At Disney though, if an employee sees some huge dude in line who is obviously not going to fit on the ride, they're not allowed to tell them so. They have to let the person try to fit anyway and then send them away when they indeed don't fit.

[Guest CA]

I had a fatty sit next to me on a plane once.. I knew it was going to suck when the first thing he did was lift the arm rest before sitting down. If you know you have to lift the arm rest in order to fit, you're too fat to fit in 1 seat. Buy a second ticket and don't make my 2 hour flight awkward and uncomfortable.

I second the idea of having something to measure how wide you are. It could be an 18" wide doorway type thing that if you can't walk through it without turning sideways, you're buying 2 seats.

[StoleIt]

I had a fatty sit next to me on a plane once.. I knew it was going to suck when the first thing he did was lift the arm rest before sitting down. If you know you have to lift the arm rest in order to fit, you're too fat to fit in 1 seat. Buy a second ticket and don't make my 2 hour flight awkward and uncomfortable.

I second the idea of having something to measure how wide you are. It could be an 18" wide doorway type thing that if you can't walk through it without turning sideways, you're buying 2 seats.

I wouldn't let the dude get away with the arm rest thingy. I paid for my 17 inches (STS) of lateral room (wikipeida confirmed this is how wide a standard airline seat is) and don't intend on sharing any of it.

Call me cruel...call me racist/sexist/fat-ist?...but being cattle in the back of an airliner is typically bad enough with the crying children, sick people, and other annoyances I really would snap if I had to fight with 40lbs of excess blubber spilling into my seat as well.

[Spoo]

I wouldn't let the dude get away with the arm rest thingy. I paid for my 17 inches (STS) of lateral room (wikipeida confirmed this is how wide a standard airline seat is) and don't intend on sharing any of it.

Call me cruel...call me racist/sexist/fat-ist?...but being cattle in the back of an airliner is typically bad enough with the crying children, sick people, and other annoyances I really would snap if I had to fight with 40lbs of excess blubber spilling into my seat as well.

2, although I think you're in the clear - rac/sex/fat-ism doesn't apply here. You can't smoke on a plane because secondhand smoke is evil and gross. So is secondhand fat. You can do whatever you want to your body, just don't involve me. The second you try to defy physics and occupy the same space as me (which I payed for), I'm going to call you on it...fatty. And don't blame your "thyroid problem".

Edited for coherence.

Edited January 12, 2010 by Spoo

[mudhen69]

I agree that people who cant fit in one seat should pay more. I had to sit on the rotator from being deployed for 4 months next to some fatty who cried all the way from Ramstien to BWI cause she couldnt sit next to her husband. To add to my pain, she had a FULL SIZE bed spread and TWO FULL SIZED pillows to cuddle up with. I took an ambien and restoril and still didnt fall asleep cause I was so uncomfortable. I finally got up and stood in the galley and chatted with the flight attendants.

What I am really scared of is asserting my rights to my seat space on the plane. Last thing I want to do is rock the boat and have a couple Vipers come interscept us. Though, if I saw that they were Vipers I would just pass a note up to the pilot and tell him not to worry.

[discus]

Last thing I want to do is rock the boat and have a couple Vipers come interscept us. Though, if I saw that they were Vipers I would just pass a note up to the pilot and tell him not to worry.

Ba-dum, dum CHING!

[afnav]

I just wish I could get an exit row every time. The rotater cattle cars killed me with the 'Asian market' seating. Aisle seating didn't help when the feeders continuously banged my knees with the slop cart.

Have you guys noticed the level of radiated heat from 'encroachers'? Even when my soda-straw air valve is maxed out, it never seems to be enough.

I miss the days of taking my own ride when I fly.

[Spoo]

Ba-dum, dum CHING!

CHING? That's nothing short of a ZING!!!

[Guest IncompletePete]

If you can fit in it, one seat, if not you have to buy two.

Two seats = two meals.

Everyone's happy.

[Guest CharlieFoxtrot]

I came across this article about children on planes in the LA Times a little while ago. A little off topic, but well written nonetheless. Definitely a good read, and it definitely applies to obese fliers.

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/nov/24/opinion/la-oe-alkon24-2009nov24

Best line ever:

" I hear claims that some children are prone to tantrums no matter how exquisitely they are parented. If this describes your child, there's a solution, and it isn't plopping him in a crowded metal tube with hundreds of people who can't escape his screams except by throwing themselves to their deaths at 30,000 feet."

Edited January 17, 2010 by CharlieFoxtrot

[Chip]

I came across this article about children on planes in the LA Times a little while ago. A little off topic, but well written nonetheless. Definitely a good read, and it definitely applies to obese fliers.

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/nov/24/opinion/la-oe-alkon24-2009nov24

Best line ever:

" I hear claims that some children are prone to tantrums no matter how exquisitely they are parented. If this describes your child, there's a solution, and it isn't plopping him in a crowded metal tube with hundreds of people who can't escape his screams except by throwing themselves to their deaths at 30,000 feet."

well said. I think it's easier and much more quantitative to charge folks for 'size', but many a flight in my life has challenged by someone's screaming child. I can accept that there are extenuating circumstances, but living in Vegas, I have seen too many "extenuating" circumstances to and from to accept the number of unruly kids on a flight to F""""" vegas. REALLY PEOPLE!?

[Guest CharlieFoxtrot]

well said. I think it's easier and much more quantitative to charge folks for 'size', but many a flight in my life has challenged by someone's screaming child. I can accept that there are extenuating circumstances, but living in Vegas, I have seen too many "extenuating" circumstances to and from to accept the number of unruly kids on a flight to F""""" vegas. REALLY PEOPLE!?

Noise canceling headphones = your best friend on any flight.

[OverTQ]

Two seats = two meals.

Everyone's happy.

See, that is a selling point they need pitch.

[Wolf424]

Air France to charge obese passengers for two seats

From next month seriously overweight flyers will be asked to pay for two seats, or not be allowed on board for “safety reasons”, the airline announced yesterday. “People who arrive at the check-in desk and are deemed too large to fit into a single seat will be asked to pay for and use a second seat,” said Monique Matze, an Air France spokesman.

“They will be charged 75 per cent of the cost of the second seat, which is the full price excluding tax and surcharges, on top of the full price for the first. “The decision has been made for safety reasons. We have to make sure that the backrest can move freely up and down and that all passengers are securely fastened with a seatbelt.” She added: “People who cannot fit into a single seat will then be fastened by slotting the belt tip of one seat into the plug of the next, stretching over both seats. “However the charge will only apply on flights that are full booked. They will get their money back on flights where spaces are available.” Two years ago Air France was ordered to pay £5,000 in damages to a 27-stone passenger who had his stomach measured at an airport check-in desk before being told to buy two seats.

British Airways has no weight limits for passengers, but advises overweight people to buy a second seat for their own comfort and safety if necessary. Last year a picture, posted the aviation news website, Flightglobal, reignited the debate about obese passengers on aeroplanes.

Edit: Didn't paste properly

Edited January 21, 2010 by TheWolf424

[Bishop]

Two years ago Air France was ordered to pay £5,000 in damages to a 27-stone passenger who had his stomach measured at an airport check-in desk before being told to buy two seats.

What is 27 stones?

Edit: never mind.. I was being lazy

"The stone is a unit of measure, which in practice is usually a mass of about 6.35 kilograms."

27 stones = 378 Pounds

Edited January 22, 2010 by Bishop

[M2]

Silent Bob Too Fat To Fly?

Honestly, Smith is fucking huge!

Smith, 39, originally purchased two tickets "as he's been known to do when traveling Southwest," the airline noted, but when he decided to fly standby on an earlier flight, only one seat remained. Although he had been seated, he was asked to leave.

Notice in none of the press reports of this incident does Smith say how much he weighs. Based on the above photo, I would says he's close to 275-300 lbs! Hell, he admits to breaking a toilet because he's so fat! The first exercise he needs to start with is pushing his fat ass away from the dinner table!

Shit, he'd probably have a heart attack if he ever tried Chasing Amy!

p.s. By the way, Southwest's policy is nothing new...it's been in place for 25 years!

[Spoo]

What an asshole. He obviously knows he's a two-seat tubby bitch (Smith, 39, originally purchased two tickets "as he's been known to do when traveling Southwest," the airline noted), but chooses to make a scene when he gets burned trying to go standby. No time for this douchebag. Clerks is still funny though...

37? 37?!? Try not to eat any Cinnabons on your way across the terminal, fatty!

[schokie]

Kevin Smith's argument was that he fit in his seat just fine. He claimed to buy a second seat not because it's the only way he can fit, but because he likes the extra room to spread out. He said that he was able to put down both armrests and not spill out, plus he was able to fasten his seatbelt properly. I agree that he's obese, but he has a point in that he wasn't in violation of the safety argument that Southwest used to kick him off the flight. However, that's assuming that his side of the story is correct.

The problem I have is with people who take up half my seat, or won't be able to wedge themselves out of my way during an emergency egress. While fat people annoy me, I don't think Kevin Smith was completely in the wrong here.