Thursday, December 3, 2009
Debates on Larger Airplane Passengers Paying More
Since the release of the photo showing a large airplane passenger blocking the aisle, there has been in increase in the debate about whether or not larger travelers should have to pay for two seats or be allowed to sit in one. One man complained that he suffered physical injury because he had to sit in a contorted position while seated next to a larger passenger. Others express sympathy for the larger passenger, and think that they should just be treated equally and pay the same amount as other people. Flight attendants claim that it is a hazard, and in the case of an evacuation the larger passenger would be a hindrance. The debate over making larger passengers pay more can be centered around one question: is this appropriate?
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9 comments:
I really am not trying to be insensitive, but I do think that larger airplane passengers should have to pay more. The fact is, the people who are going to have to pay more are those people who are hugely overweight, not those that need to lose a pound here and there. To a certain extent, this is in their control-they can work on losing the weight or must suffer some of the consequences. They do jeopardize safety to some extent, but so do a lot of things. Having to deal with an infant, or having a person in a wheelchair could cause safety precautions to be slowed too. The big problem, in my opinion, is that it is completely unfair to the other passengers in terms of comfort. I think that extremely large people should have to pay more, but not just as a penalty. The extra money they pay should definitely go towards an extra seat for them to sit in in addition to their original seat. That way, everyone can be more comfortable.
I agree with Rachel on this one. I don't think that they are that much of a safety hazard, but they would slow down safety precautions.If someone is so big that they themselves don't fit well in a single seat, then they should have to pay for an extra seat and get that seat.
I agree with the past two commenter's. if the take two seats charge them for two seat. In your post it said some feel bad for "larger" passengers.I think that you need to take emotion out of it.
I agree with everyone here. The large airplane passenger should pay more for an extra seat because it would be unfair to others if he only paid for one seat. If the passenger is uncomfortable in the airplane seat, he or she can purchase a first or business ticket since the seats are larger. However, if the passenger does not have enough money to pay for the first or business class seats, then he or she may need to lose a few pounds so he or she can fit in the economy class seat.
Nick, can you read your own comment again? I find that "I don't think that they are that much of a safety hazard" and "they would slow down safety precautions" don't belong in the same sentence...
I must agree with Rachel and have nothing to add, so I'll save you all the time reading though.. Though I'm not sure how many people actually do read the comments.. anyway..
Agreed with Tim, fact is fact, they take up more space, what can we do? Though a lot of the debate may be about discrimination, how come we can charge overweight people more for simply being overweight?
Yvonne, though the idea is abstract at best, even in an ideal situation, it's hard to lose a "few pounds" when a person is so big as to take up two seats in a matter of days, it is a very good weight loss incentive.. (I'm not sure if that sentence made grammatical sense but too lazy to make sure it's right, again, don't think too many people will read this)
Question:
If we were to charge overweight people extra for passenger seats on an airplane, how would we know that they are overweight enough to have to pay that extra bit?
Most people buy airplane tickets online nowadays. Are people going to have to put in their weight and height; etc? (and then how would the airport confirm that the person is not lying?)
-Yuzo Yanagitsuru
I agree with the people who commented for the most part. I believe that the overweight people would not cause a safety hazard, but mostly a discomfort for the people around them. I believe the policy of charging an overweight person more for two seats will never happen. Many people would believe it to be unfair for someone to pay more to ride a plane because of their weight.
I don't think it is fair to charge overweight people more for an airplane ticket. Sometimes, it may not be their fault entirely that they are overweight and they cannot control it.
Yes, and reading the second comment above mine, it really does raise a question of how people know which people are overweight since most people purchase their plane tickets online nowadays since it is more convenient.
There are checks, such as if you buy a ticket online but show up at the terminal without a two ticket purchase, they can refuse to let you on the plane.
Chris, I must emphasize again, they can be safety hazards. The aisle's in a plane are not very large, if they obstruct movement in the time of an emergency, that is a safety hazard. Do I think it's a big enough hazard to warrant banning on planes altogether? No, but I do think it does warrant enough to require the two ticket purchase as well as for the consideration of those around the person.
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