You want to know what annoys me? People who are morbidly obese and then complain that they have to buy extra tickets on the plane. What’s worse is when they sue for it.
SANTA FE (AP) — A brother and sister from northern New Mexico are suing Southwest Airlines for humiliation after an airline employee told them, in front of other passengers, that they had to buy extra tickets because their weight would cause “comfort and safety” problems for others.
Granted, if all of the allegations in the article are true, the Southwest folks were pricks… and they DEFINITELY shouldn’t have been told they didn’t need to buy extra tickets… but…
Look, I’m a thin guy. I take care of myself. I eat meals that are reasonable for me. I exercise often. When I fly on a plane, my lack of obesity DOES NOT give you permission to hang half of your gut into my seat. Nor is it any sort implicit consent to make me sit in half as much space such that I’d feel like a damn sardine and my face would be pressed so firmly against the window that young children seeing the window from the outside of the plane would cry and hide their faces.
You think being asked to buy an extra ticket is humiliating? Lose some weight, or take the fucking bus. I’m not even remotely close to kidding. There is, of course, a tremendous difference between being over-weight, a common problem here in the US, and being so much over-weight as to cause discomfort for other passengers.
You think the scenario was humiliating for your children? Is it any more humiliating than the scene that was undoubtedly caused by their morbidly obese parents?
This kind of thing annoys me because of the implication that folks who are in shape should just suck it up and not complain about folks who should have their own row on the plane.
I think, to counter, we skinny fuckers ought to be suing the morbidly obese people next to us on the planes for not buying an extra ticket.
June 29th, 2004 at 4:10 pm
Amen to that!!
Southwest ought to offer a settlement: “we’ll pay for you to have gastric bypass surgery.”
June 29th, 2004 at 4:27 pm
UPS charges both per pound and by volume - humans are really just cargo from an airline standpoint, so I don’t see the practice as discriminatory at all. Large cargo, large price… doesn’t matter if you’re black, white, gay, crazy, deaf, methodist or stupid.
June 29th, 2004 at 11:00 pm
Petey, do you think that people like you and I can lobby to only pay half price for a plane ticket since we only take up half the seat?
June 29th, 2004 at 11:10 pm
I don’t think the issue is as simple as you are trying to make it. I understand the whole comfort issues. I am a big guy, but I am not anywhere close to this category of people. I myself have had to sit next to some HUGE people, you can imagine how funny that looks!
But… there really are some people out there that have an obesity disease, or have a genetic problem that makes themselves become severely obese. For some people… it is a disability. If an airline charged more money for someone with another disability, you can imagine the public outrage.
I think there should be some sort of accomodation, such as several seats that are bigger than normal. Sort of like a first class seat. I also think that in order to qualify for said seat, you have to have some sort of medical clearance from a doctor. That way, the paying customer is accomodated, there are no discrimination issues, and the other passengers can have a comfortable flight.
Just a thought - it may be far-fetched.
PS - If you only take up half a seat, you only get to pay half-price… but the rest of the plane gets to choose who you share a seat with!!!
June 29th, 2004 at 11:14 pm
Also - this would only seem to be a problem on full flights. Otherwise, just move the passengers around to make everything ok!
But if it is a full flight… how can purchase additional seats??? There are no seats to be had!
June 29th, 2004 at 11:44 pm
Kelly… if you and I ever fly anywhere together, I’d be happy to split a seat with you.
Bobby… it really IS as simple as I’m “making” it. Flying in an airplane is not a right, it’s a privilege afforded by the airlines and the FAA. They don’t HAVE TO let anyone on the flight. Furthermore, I’ve never seen obesity classified as a “disability” — disease, yes, but not “disability.”
On top of all that, people who are morbidly obese pay more for clothing. Why? Because they use more fabric (and probably because fewer things are made that size, etc) is THAT “discrimination?”
What it comes right down to is that there ARE bigger seats on planes… they’re in first class. Want one? Buy one. Or take the bus. Or don’t fly on full flights.
June 30th, 2004 at 3:01 am
Southwest Policy on “persons of size” can be found here:
http://www.southwest.com/about....._seat.html
For the record… SW does not have first class.
You are 90 percent right in your post. You should not have to be uncomfortable because you had the misfortune to sit next to an obese person. You deserve to enjoy the use of the entire seat that you purchased.
But… I don’t think there is any implication that skinny people should suck it up or whatever. And the whole “take the bus” argument just does not make any sense.
There is talk of amending the Americans With Disabilities Act to include morbid obesity. Luckily for the airlines, they are exempt from the ADA.
By the way… the lawsuit SHOULD be thrown out. My only real problem is Southwest’s improper handling of the particular situation, in that it basically left them stranded.
June 30th, 2004 at 8:32 am
SW could’ve done a better job for sure, but I doubt we’re seeing all of the facts, either. Moreover, it didn’t leave them stranded — they took the bus and got home just fine.
June 30th, 2004 at 6:06 pm
You know Frankly I am sick of the airlines screwing over the big people. The trend is that people are getting taller and wider. Adapt fuckers.