Overweight? Buy an extra seat

[decodelighted]

Date: 4/29/2009 6:50:35 PM
Author: neatfreak

Date: 4/29/2009 5:22:57 PM
Author: redrose229
I think the airlines should have a few larger seat (either in the front or the back) that are big enough for a larger person...and they should charge more for it.

They do. It''s called first class.

And if they called it "fat class" instead I bet the folks sitting there would wipe the smug looks off of their faces.

 

[Harriet]

Farts and body odour? I had a woman next to me who wouldn''t stop digging her nose.

 

[akmiss]

Date: 4/29/2009 6:51:57 PM
Author: musey
Oh jeez

yup, everyone has something to complain about. Lets just agree that traveling is a &*$#!

 

[E B]

Date: 4/29/2009 6:48:10 PM
Author: decodelighted

Just drawing parallels re: the issue of infringing on other people''s personal space. Your fart comes into my personal space. As do odors & high-pitched wailing & jarring movements of a repeated nature.

Just sayin''.

Fair enough, but your ticket price doesn''t include guarantees against these annoyances, though it''d be nice if it did. What you ticket price buys along with passage is a full seat, and it simply isn''t fair to have to squish into three-fourths or half of a seat when you''ve paid for the full thing.

Besides, how would you fine a farter? "Excuse me, ma''am- your row mates had to suffer through three incredibly smelly farts they suspect came from you. That''ll be $30, please, cash only."

 

[kama_s]

Date: 4/29/2009 6:01:02 PM
Author: Haven


My husband had the most maddening experience with seat reclining on a flight home from Denver last year. The man sitting in front of DH reclined his seat, so DH then reclined his own seat. The woman sitting behind DH was an extremely large woman, and she called the flight attendant over to complain that DH reclined his seat. The FA told DH to put his seat upright, and DH said ''No. The person in front of me reclined, I have the right to do the same. I''ll put my seat up, if you force him to put his up, as well.'' The FA pushed back and whispered to DH that she was a very large woman and she was uncomfortable with his seat reclined, and the only way she could sit comfortably is if she reclines her seat, but the one in front of her remains upright. DH said ''Well I''m uncomfortable sitting upright with the seat in front of me reclined, that doesn''t count for anything?''

The FA told DH that the woman behind her had a special circumstance because she was so large. DH refused to comply, because he did not want to be cramped for the four hour flight. The FA brought the head FA over, who sided with DH, so the whole thing ended there. Ridiculous.

The exact same thing happened to me as well, and on an 8 hour flight. The lady sitting behind was not only larger, but quite tall as well. I can only imagine how uncomfortable she must''ve been been but I absolutely refused to put my seat back up. I paid exactly what she did, so I had full right to recline my seat as much as she did. She was very rude, and quite loud too...obviously trying to bully me! She even called two FAs and they asked me to put my seat up. HUH?? I told the FA there is a reason why first class was introduced. If she needs more room, upgrade.

I think you''d have to be really large to need an extra seat. I''m by no means thin (size 10/12) and I fit myself and sometimes even my purse on my seat. I do wish I had more leg room though.

 

[kama_s]

Date: 4/29/2009 6:53:05 PM
Author: decodelighted

And if they called it ''fat class'' instead I bet the folks sitting there would wipe the smug looks off of their faces.

LOL. I have to admit, I''m totally guilty of that the few odd times I''ve flown business/first!

 

[Lauren8211]

Oh man, this thread got funny.

Anywho...

As far as charging less for thin people -- doesn''t work that way. You pay a certain amount for a seat. That seat is a standard size, if you don''t fill it up, that''s your issue. If you overfill, you should pay for another.

If I order a burger and don''t eat the whole thing, I don''t get reimbursed by the restaurant for the parts I didn''t eat. Likewise, if I''m still hungry after my burger, I don''t get more for free because I have a larger appetite.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Date: 4/29/2009 7:17:30 PM
Author: EBree

Date: 4/29/2009 6:48:10 PM

Author: decodelighted


Just drawing parallels re: the issue of infringing on other people''s personal space. Your fart comes into my personal space. As do odors & high-pitched wailing & jarring movements of a repeated nature.


Just sayin''.

Fair enough, but your ticket price doesn''t include guarantees against these annoyances, though it''d be nice if it did. What you ticket price buys along with passage is a full seat, and it simply isn''t fair to have to squish into three-fourths or half of a seat when you''ve paid for the full thing.


Besides, how would you fine a farter? ''Excuse me, ma''am- your row mates had to suffer through three incredibly smelly farts they suspect came from you. That''ll be $30, please, cash only.''

I agree. I am very protected of my personal space and since planes are tight as they are I would (and have been very unhappy) when someone else''s body is in my little space vessel on the plane. If someone needs extra space they should have to buy two seats. I would think that someone who would need to do this would KNOW ahead of time to avoid any confrontation. Not sure there is a way for the FA''s to check this until they see someone sitting. Frankly most flights I have been on lately are PACKED. There aren''t many empty seats to be had if necessary.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Date: 4/29/2009 4:29:21 PM
Author: musey
Here''s a little article from the Council on Size and Weight Discrimination (I had NO idea that such a thing existed):


Council on Size and Weight Discrimination - Airline Seating

Interesting article musey - thanks for the link. I actually thought at lot of their arguments were pretty flimsy and/or based on faulty logic, but a few of them I actually saw some merit to. But it really undermined the credibility of the whole article when they argued first that airlines were private businesses and should behave as such, and then that they are public businesses, and should behave for the public good.

 

[musey]

Date: 4/29/2009 7:17:30 PM
Author: EBree

Date: 4/29/2009 6:48:10 PM
Author: decodelighted
Just drawing parallels re: the issue of infringing on other people''s personal space. Your fart comes into my personal space. As do odors & high-pitched wailing & jarring movements of a repeated nature.

Just sayin''.

Fair enough, but your ticket price doesn''t include guarantees against these annoyances, though it''d be nice if it did. What you ticket price buys along with passage is a full seat, and it simply isn''t fair to have to squish into three-fourths or half of a seat when you''ve paid for the full thing.

Besides, how would you fine a farter? ''Excuse me, ma''am- your row mates had to suffer through three incredibly smelly farts they suspect came from you. That''ll be $30, please, cash only.''

Oh but they have those credit card sliders now, so that would make it a lot smoother process.

 

[musey]

Date: 4/29/2009 7:42:22 PM
Author: elledizzy5
As far as charging less for thin people -- doesn''t work that way. You pay a certain amount for a seat. That seat is a standard size, if you don''t fill it up, that''s your issue. If you overfill, you should pay for another.

If I order a burger and don''t eat the whole thing, I don''t get reimbursed by the restaurant for the parts I didn''t eat. Likewise, if I''m still hungry after my burger, I don''t get more for free because I have a larger appetite.

Hey, that''s a pretty good analogy!

 

[AmberGretchen]

Date: 4/29/2009 4:36:57 PM
Author: musey

Date: 4/29/2009 4:33:30 PM

Author: Steel

Date: 4/29/2009 4:25:33 PM

Author: musey

To whether seats have gotten smaller... aren''t most airplanes quite old? Like 15+ years? Just sayin''...

I''m def on your wavelength Musey.

It is a conspiracy...they are spending a fortune on creating exact replicas* of the older planes but with seats 1/3 smaller! How cunning....


(*complete with icky seat stains and wonky food trays)

yessss, yesssssss.... the plans are falling into place perrrrfectly.....

I know they refurb some planes periodically, and that some airlines have replaces some of their seats to maximize seating capacity, but still...

LOL you guys are cracking me up

And musey - you are making me so excited to fly VA - DH and I are taking them to NYC in June, and now I''m totally stoked to see what their nice planes are like

 

[Lauren8211]

Date: 4/29/2009 7:52:47 PM
Author: musey

Date: 4/29/2009 7:42:22 PM

Author: elledizzy5

As far as charging less for thin people -- doesn''t work that way. You pay a certain amount for a seat. That seat is a standard size, if you don''t fill it up, that''s your issue. If you overfill, you should pay for another.


If I order a burger and don''t eat the whole thing, I don''t get reimbursed by the restaurant for the parts I didn''t eat. Likewise, if I''m still hungry after my burger, I don''t get more for free because I have a larger appetite.

Hey, that''s a pretty good analogy!

Awww... shucks.

I''m an analogy-nerd.

 

[princesss]

Date: 4/29/2009 7:51:54 PM
Author: musey

Date: 4/29/2009 7:17:30 PM

Author: EBree

Date: 4/29/2009 6:48:10 PM

Author: decodelighted

Just drawing parallels re: the issue of infringing on other people''s personal space. Your fart comes into my personal space. As do odors & high-pitched wailing & jarring movements of a repeated nature.


Just sayin''.

Fair enough, but your ticket price doesn''t include guarantees against these annoyances, though it''d be nice if it did. What you ticket price buys along with passage is a full seat, and it simply isn''t fair to have to squish into three-fourths or half of a seat when you''ve paid for the full thing.


Besides, how would you fine a farter? ''Excuse me, ma''am- your row mates had to suffer through three incredibly smelly farts they suspect came from you. That''ll be $30, please, cash only.''

Oh but they have those credit card sliders now, so that would make it a lot smoother process.

Easiest way to resolve it:

We all put down a $200 deposit, and the 10 people seated closest to you and the 2 FAs that helped you vote to determine how much of it you get back. It would make for much more courteous passengers.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Date: 4/29/2009 4:56:27 PM
Author: phoenixgirl
That said, this is not an issue that speaks to me. I too know the horror of seeing that the person next to you is spilling into your seat. They are thinking, ''Phew! A petite woman!'' and you are thinking, ''I did not pay good money to canoodle with this stranger!''

Well stated PG - I have been there so many times I can''t even tell you...although I have to say, being next to Body Odor Man (literally the smell was so strong it made me nauseous) was worse than being smushed up against an overweight stranger - so next time that inevitably happens, I will just remind myself that it could always be worse...

 

[musey]

Date: 4/29/2009 7:53:01 PM
Author: AmberGretchen

And musey - you are making me so excited to fly VA - DH and I are taking them to NYC in June, and now I''m totally stoked to see what their nice planes are like

You''re gonna love it. LOVE.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Date: 4/29/2009 5:34:37 PM
Author: Kay

Date: 4/29/2009 4:56:27 PM

Author: phoenixgirl



That said, this is not an issue that speaks to me. I too know the horror of seeing that the person next to you is spilling into your seat. They are thinking, ''Phew! A petite woman!'' and you are thinking, ''I did not pay good money to canoodle with this stranger!''

ROFL! I still remember a flight I took in college, back when I was a size 4/6 (although not petite at 5''10''). I was in the aisle seat and an average sized guy was in the window seat. A rather large man appeared to take the middle seat. As he was sitting down, the other guy raised the arm rest between them to give the big guy more room. I could feel eyes on me, but I kept my eyes glued to my book. The guy was spilling into my seat over and under the armrest as it was -- there was no way I was going to remove the barrier and open the flood gates.

It was a very uncomfortable flight.

OMG Kay ROFL - "the flood gates" I''m totally with you though - I would be the person who wouldn''t raise the armrest, no matter what. In fact, I''ve asked people in that situation to put the armrest down. I don''t really care if people don''t approve of that, I feel like I''m perfectly within my rights to request that, and I''m always perfectly polite when I do

 

[AmberGretchen]

Date: 4/29/2009 6:01:02 PM
Author: Haven

Date: 4/29/2009 5:36:34 PM

Author: musey

Date: 4/29/2009 5:33:56 PM

Author: tlh

Date: 4/29/2009 5:16:50 PM

Author: musey

That said, this is not an issue that speaks to me. I too know the horror of seeing that the person next to you is spilling into your seat. They are thinking, ''Phew! A petite woman!'' and you are thinking, ''I did not pay good money to canoodle with this stranger!''

Ooooooh that would make me mad!!!!

My husband had the most maddening experience with seat reclining on a flight home from Denver last year. The man sitting in front of DH reclined his seat, so DH then reclined his own seat. The woman sitting behind DH was an extremely large woman, and she called the flight attendant over to complain that DH reclined his seat. The FA told DH to put his seat upright, and DH said ''No. The person in front of me reclined, I have the right to do the same. I''ll put my seat up, if you force him to put his up, as well.'' The FA pushed back and whispered to DH that she was a very large woman and she was uncomfortable with his seat reclined, and the only way she could sit comfortably is if she reclines her seat, but the one in front of her remains upright. DH said ''Well I''m uncomfortable sitting upright with the seat in front of me reclined, that doesn''t count for anything?''


The FA told DH that the woman behind her had a special circumstance because she was so large. DH refused to comply, because he did not want to be cramped for the four hour flight. The FA brought the head FA over, who sided with DH, so the whole thing ended there. Ridiculous.

OMG Haven your poor DH - I can''t even comprehend that the first FA thought it was OK to treat him like that. Seriously, WTF?!!

Good for him for sticking to his guns though - he was 100% right.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Date: 4/29/2009 6:13:05 PM
Author: decodelighted
I think there should be a per minute penalty assessed for crying children. The second one starts crying, an attendant makes you swipe your credit card into a time clock thingamajig ... when the kid stops hollering ... you stop paying.


Also, when someone farts -- I think you should be able to punch them in the face. Body odor? Forced to wear a red ''O'' on their forehead.


Oh, and if a kid is rocking in the chair in front of you -- slamming into your knees repeatedly -- or kicking the back of your chair for sport ... they must be wrapped neck to knees in athletic bandages for the rest of the journey.


Its only fair!

OMG Deco - ROFLMAO, I could TOTALLY get behind the crying and kicking penalties - I can''t tell you how many bruises I''ve come home with from people letting their kids kick or punch me and then they always act like its somehow my fault!!

 

[Steel]

Hmm.

What about Jack Spratt & wife. If they flew together and he did not use all of his personal seat space but she used extra could it be considered to even out? Could Jack get a refund if the wife had to pay extra?


Jack Sprat could eat no fat
His wife could eat no lean
And so betwixt the two of them
They licked the platter clean...

 

[AmberGretchen]

Date: 4/29/2009 8:02:17 PM
Author: musey

Date: 4/29/2009 7:53:01 PM

Author: AmberGretchen


And musey - you are making me so excited to fly VA - DH and I are taking them to NYC in June, and now I''m totally stoked to see what their nice planes are like

You''re gonna love it. LOVE.

Hehe I''m just beyond excited now. I will have to see what I can do about talking the business travel division at my new company to book me on VA flights whenever possible. If I''m going to have to travel a ton for work, I might as well make the most of it, right?

 

[decodelighted]

Date: 4/29/2009 7:17:30 PM
Author: EBree
What you ticket price buys along with passage is a full seat, and it simply isn''t fair to have to squish into three-fourths or half of a seat when you''ve paid for the full thing.

Just not sure about that. Trains don''t work that way ... even Amtrak ... you''re not even guaranteed a seat period. People stand in the aisles all the way from NYC to DC on busy days. What you *do* seem to be guaranteed in that case is a strange man''s *e* stabbing you in the thigh.

 

[icekid]

Date: 4/29/2009 8:34:24 PM
Author: decodelighted

Date: 4/29/2009 7:17:30 PM
Author: EBree
What you ticket price buys along with passage is a full seat, and it simply isn''t fair to have to squish into three-fourths or half of a seat when you''ve paid for the full thing.

Just not sure about that. Trains don''t work that way ... even Amtrak ... you''re not even guaranteed a seat period. People stand in the aisles all the way from NYC to DC on busy days. What you *do* seem to be guaranteed in that case is a strange man''s *e* stabbing you in the thigh.

Err... don''t suspect they could make you stand on a plane, with that whole seat belt rule and all. I agree with Ebree that I expect to have access to my entire seat after I''ve paid for it. The food analogy might apply here too; sorry, you''re going to have to pass half of your hambuger to the guy at the next table. He looks more hungry than you!

And while I absolutely think people should not let their children kick the seat for 9 hours (happened to my poor sick hub recently), I think crying babies are another story. They can''t help crying- it is what they are programmed to do. I''m fairly certain most parents do not WANT their kid to cry and annoy everyone else.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Date: 4/29/2009 8:39:56 PM
Author: icekid
I think crying babies are another story. They can''t help crying- it is what they are programmed to do. I''m fairly certain most parents do not WANT their kid to cry and annoy everyone else.

amen to that.

 

[musey]

Date: 4/29/2009 8:39:56 PM
Author: icekid

Date: 4/29/2009 8:34:24 PM
Author: decodelighted

Date: 4/29/2009 7:17:30 PM
Author: EBree
What you ticket price buys along with passage is a full seat, and it simply isn't fair to have to squish into three-fourths or half of a seat when you've paid for the full thing.

Just not sure about that. Trains don't work that way ... even Amtrak ... you're not even guaranteed a seat period. People stand in the aisles all the way from NYC to DC on busy days. What you *do* seem to be guaranteed in that case is a strange man's *e* stabbing you in the thigh.

Err... don't suspect they could make you stand on a plane, with that whole seat belt rule and all. I agree with Ebree that I expect to have access to my entire seat after I've paid for it. The food analogy might apply here too; sorry, you're going to have to pass half of your hambuger to the guy at the next table. He looks more hungry than you!

Ditto, I don't see the similarity. On a plane, a ticket is a seat. You even have to buy a kiddo a seat, after a certain age, even if you're going to have them in your lap the whole time. It's all about seat usage.

And while I absolutely think people should not let their children kick the seat for 9 hours (happened to my poor sick hub recently), I think crying babies are another story. They can't help crying- it is what they are programmed to do. I'm fairly certain most parents do not WANT their kid to cry and annoy everyone else.

Ditto again. I am terrified of traveling with my future child(ren), because I know there will be time that they'll cry and I know how much people hate it - and how little you can do about it, a lot of the time. I always try to give a reassuring smile to parents of a crying child, because I want them to know I'm not as annoyed by it as they probably think (fear) I am (though I have a high tolerance).

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Musey, luckily people are usually pretty cool about crying babies. Probably b/c most people have been there (or will be there) someday. As long as we try to sooth her, distract her, feed her, play with her, etc people are nice. I am sure once kids are a certain age it is not so forgiving anymore. You have to buy a seat for a toddler after their 2nd b-day.

 

[musey]

Date: 4/29/2009 9:05:16 PM
Author: Tacori E-ring
Musey, luckily people are usually pretty cool about crying babies. Probably b/c most people have been there (or will be there) someday. As long as we try to sooth her, distract her, feed her, play with her, etc people are nice. I am sure once kids are a certain age it is not so forgiving anymore. You have to buy a seat for a toddler after their 2nd b-day.

That''s good to hear. I must be friends with some pretty unforgiving people, because they all roll their eyes and trade snide whispers like CRAZY whenever there''s a crying baby around. My friends are wonderful under all circumstances not involving babies

they just have no patience for the little ones.

We were on a plane with a couple of friends last year, and there was a baby crying up a storm the ENTIRE flight (~5 hours). I felt bad for the parents, but they were also shoving junk food in her mouth the second she started crying... so as soon as she was done with the treat, she''d cry for more. Vicious cycle...

Sometimes, you can''t win.

You''re either the parent that won''t shut their kid up or the parent teaching them bad eating habits (in others'' eyes, I mean, in that one circumstance).

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 4/29/2009 8:39:56 PM
Author: icekid

Date: 4/29/2009 8:34:24 PM

Author: decodelighted

Date: 4/29/2009 7:17:30 PM

Author: EBree

What you ticket price buys along with passage is a full seat, and it simply isn't fair to have to squish into three-fourths or half of a seat when you've paid for the full thing.

Just not sure about that. Trains don't work that way ... even Amtrak ... you're not even guaranteed a seat period. People stand in the aisles all the way from NYC to DC on busy days. What you *do* seem to be guaranteed in that case is a strange man's *e* stabbing you in the thigh.

Err... don't suspect they could make you stand on a plane, with that whole seat belt rule and all. I agree with Ebree that I expect to have access to my entire seat after I've paid for it. The food analogy might apply here too; sorry, you're going to have to pass half of your hambuger to the guy at the next table. He looks more hungry than you!

And while I absolutely think people should not let their children kick the seat for 9 hours (happened to my poor sick hub recently), I think crying babies are another story. They can't help crying- it is what they are programmed to do. I'm fairly certain most parents do not WANT their kid to cry and annoy everyone else.

Crying babies are another story IMO. Sometimes there is just nothing you can do. We are flying with our twins in a month and I KNOW we are going to get dirty looks as we board the plane! But at least we are parents who try our absolute HARDEST to quiet them down quickly when they cry. I only get annoyed if the parents have tuned their kids out as they cry and aren't trying to quiet them down.

 

[Lauren8211]

I can tolerate crying babies on a plane for the most part. However, the last time we flew, this ... eh... 2-3 yr old was having the mother of all temper tantrums. Screaming, crying, choking on his spit, flailing. It was intense. I thought FF was going to lose it. It was a horrible noise. The kid was directly behind us.

Meanwhile, the mother was flying with her husband and mother, and the entire time they''re trying to shut the kid up, her mother is going "He''s out of control. I can''t believe your kid is so poorly behaved. What are you teaching him?!"

Oh man. I''d want to strangle my mother.

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Date: 4/29/2009 4:13:43 PM
Author: somethingshiny
Okay, maybe I was exaggerating a TEENY bit when I said some pregnant women double their weight....But, I have two cousins who each weigh under a hundred pounds. During all of their pregnancies they''ve gained at minimum 60 pounds and its all in the mid section (and I''d bet nearly impossible to fit into the seat). I guess my point it, pregnancy is different than just overweight.


Other random thoughts while reading the post...


My mom is super skinny, should she get an option to buy half a seat? (obviously not, purely based on safety, but I think these questions will become arguments against the ''extra'' fee)


I agree with musey that it simply cannot be a weight issue, but a measurement issue. An athletically built woman will weigh more than a chunky woman. A tall woman will weigh more than a short woman. It''ll have to be based on height and measurements, IMO, to be a fair matter.


Another thought, body builder men would weigh a lot more than an averagely built man. Will he pay extra for his bulk? For that matter, his shoulders are probably much wider than his rump and if his shoulders were sitting next to my boobs, it wouldn''t matter how big the seats were, we''d all topple over.


I''m on the Make Bigger Seats side. I guess I''ll be flying first class to avoid the issue all together.

Many women gain a lot of weight in pregnancy, but it is not ok to gain a bunch of weight just because you are pregnant. Normal weight gain is between 20-35 pounds depending on weather or not you are overweight or underweight (overweight women are supposed to gain less). OB''s measure weight gain, and if you are gaining higer than normal (I think it is 1 pound a week in the second trimester), then they will tell the women she is overeating and needs to cut back. Excessive weight gain puts the mother and baby at risk for serious medical complications.

I am not sure where people got the idea that it is OK to gain an indefinite amount of weight in pregnancy. But I notice that a lot of women do gain too much weight and are under the impression that is just part of being pregnant.