Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Beware You "Healthy" Folks!

Below is one major reason why some of us may not be able to attend the 2010 Batch Reunion.

Fat flyers should buy two seats: Aussie survey
Tue Dec 11, 12:49 AM ET
SYDNEY (AFP) -
Most Australians believe obese airline passengers should pay for two seats so they don't take up space from the people sitting next to them, according to a survey released Tuesday.

Sixty-three percent of the 2,810 respondents wanted "excessively overweight" people to be charged for an extra seat, according to the survey for travel company,
totaltravel.com.

"This is a sensitive issue for all involved and forcing obese people to pay for two tickets raises a lot of ethical and legal dilemmas," said totaltravel.com global marketing manager Paul Fisher.

The issue resonated strongly with travellers, especially because seat space was at a premium since the launch of low-cost carriers, he said.

"Airlines should be working out a solution to the problem, whether it is discounted second seats or specially-designed chairs for larger people."

2 comments:

Pilar Villegas Cuevas said...

You keep on saying that you are big since before our last grand reunion but in fact you are not. I know you will be coming in 2010 because no Pilipinos are two seaters big. ha ha ha.

ErnestoDR said...

It makes sense for airlines to address this issue of obese passengers. It is indeed very disturbing and very uncomfortable for someone seated next to such person encroaching into his territory, nothwithstanding the fact that it provides the same discomfort to him.
In an aircraft, added weight does not only require added space but added engine power to create added lift, and so added fuel and mechanical force which translate to added cost on the aircraft operator.
The ethical and legal issues can be addressed if and when stakeholders are well-informed on the technical and financial aspects of admitting obese passengers.
What I see is charging passengers by their weight range and seating them in designated seats.
What d'ya think?