Too Fat to Fly?
US airlines saw the heated “passengers of size” debate flare up again this week when filmmaker Kevin Smith was removed from a Southwest flight “for his comfort and those seated next to him.” The long standing rule on many airlines has been that passengers who cannot buckle their seat belt and/or lower both armrests are required to purchase two seats.
The irony in Smith’s case, is that although he can fit in one seat, he had purchased two for this particular flight because he prefers the comfort of an empty seat beside him. He simply forgot to print out both tickets so he was considered a “no show” for his second seat. The airline, faced with an overbooked flight, filled the seat. The airline has apologized, twice. I’m guessing they haven’t seen any of Mr. Smith’s movies.
For Smith, aside from the fallout from this incident, in the future he has an easy out if he wants it – he can afford to buy a second seat. But what happens to passengers who cannot afford it? An overweight passenger cannot quickly lose the weight before the flight, and yet another passenger who purchased a seat should reasonably expect to get that entire seat and not have part of the space taken up by the person beside them.
The question becomes, who’s issue is it? Should larger passengers be required to buy a second seat, effectively taxing them for their size? Should smaller passengers get a discount for taking up less space? Or should the airline itself change the size of the seats or possibly offer two seat sizes?
An article for CNN quoted Brandon Macsata, executive director of the Association for Airline Passenger Rights, as saying,
“It should not be about the size of the person’s butt sitting next to you, but rather the size of the seat that both of you are sitting in,” Macsata said. “We’re crammed in like sardines, you don’t have to be a fat person to be uncomfortable sitting in those seats.”
What do you think? If you ran the airline, how would you approach the problem? The larger issue of course is how stories like this impact how we as a society and we as individuals perceive our own bodies and self-images. Do you like your own body? Read how Stacy Carto learned to love hers.
