Fat Fliers and the new wider seats

[tassietiger]

I think that the skinny people and people with short legs should have to pay more as they have relatively more space and legroom than the larger person and fly in relative luxury

love it! - hey wait on I'm one of them:shock:

 

[Moopere]

Make people who need more space buy it!

Easy to say, and I don't disagree, but how would this work in real life? This is the problem that we always skirt around every time this type of thread appears. Aside from having some sort of measuring frame, similar in function to the one they have for bag size, I can't see how you'd discriminate. And talking of discrimination ... it sounds like a legal minefield ... possibly. You'd like to think that common sense and sanity would prevail if a customer who objected to being measured ever took it to court, but you just don't know.

Basically, as things are now, the onus is on the pax to have enough money and enough foresight to really have a serious think about whether they are likely to fit into the seat thats going to be provided. If they don't think ahead, don't care, or can't afford it, then sure, uncomfortable for them, but depending on the combination of height and width, maybe also uncomfortable for those around as well.

I have been on flight SYD-MEL and requested I be moved as much of my seat was being taken up by the person who was in the seat next to me and I was in a window seat, at least the pax in aisle seat had space to breath. I had a passenger of size on one side and a wall on the other!

And I'd do the same, but what if the flight is full? Would you disembark? Even if you do, and assuming the airline doesn't give you any grief about it, the problem is still yours and the perhaps the airlines ... the decision is not going to impede or inconvenience the cause of the issue even one little bit. Thus the proposal by a few in this thread to just get serious, make the damn seats bigger in the plane (overall, not just a few) and charge appropriately - either that or get global governments to tackle discrimination law head on and make blanket and unambiguous comment on the issue so that its clear and airlines could then be _compelled_ to measure/weigh (whatever) before embarking passengers.

 

[Moody]

Why should it be the airlines responsibility to do that for fat travellers when it could be much easier to simply make them pay for an extra seat. It would drive up prices whilst the reconfiguration happened, reduce space for other passengers and hike up prices in the long term because they couldn't fit in as many seats If your to big for a regular seats either buy two or buy a J ticket!!!It is so simple! If you can't fit in a seat without spillage you have to pay for the area that you are spilling into.

The point I am trying to make is that the airlines can't just make economy seats that fit baby-bear, so they can gouge mama and papa for business and first seats. There needs to be at least a nod at making cattle-class fit for purpose, otherwise it smacks of discrimination. Hence my proposal that the economy seats for the masses actually suit the masses (based around an mathematical concept familiar to all statisticians) and rather than make the next step up double or quadruple the price, provide a larger size seat in economy at a reasonable uplift.

Don't panic - the precious platinums will get them as Op-ups if not sold. Qantas can have that one for free.

 

[AVC]

You're going about this the wrong way. Simply configure the aircraft with varying seat pitches to correspond with the average height and weight of pax. Every pax will then be shoehorned in with a seat one inch wider than them, and one inch of space in front of their knees. Probably fit an extra bunch of paying passengers in.

Don't mention this to an airline, as some one in management will think it's an actual good idea.

 

[JohnK]

Not meaning to be inflammatory, but isn't it? I always thought the unwritten law was the poor sucker who got the middle got the armrests.

Not when the elbow goes beyond the armrest!

 

[zachary.august]

The point I am trying to make is that the airlines can't just make economy seats that fit baby-bear, so they can gouge mama and papa for business and first seats. There needs to be at least a nod at making cattle-class fit for purpose, otherwise it smacks of discrimination. Hence my proposal that the economy seats for the masses actually suit the masses (based around an mathematical concept familiar to all statisticians) and rather than make the next step up double or quadruple the price, provide a larger size seat in economy at a reasonable uplift.

Don't panic - the precious platinums will get them as Op-ups if not sold. Qantas can have that one for free.

Hahaha the fact that someone is a lardarse requires airlines to create larger seats is a testament to our society! Oh someone has sour grapes that he is not WP?

 

[opusman]

Easy to say, and I don't disagree, but how would this work in real life?

In the US SouthWest have quite a common sense policy that works in real life: Customer of Size

Basically, if you don't fit in a standard seat, you should pre-purchase another. If the plane's not full they'll refund the extra seat. If you don't prepurchase, and the plane IS full, tough luck fatty - out you go!

 

[k_sheep]

Not when the elbow goes beyond the armrest!

Very true. Chicken wings are not welcome anywhere! Keep them to yourself.

 

[Canny man]

Dont you just love the feeling of relief when you're in your seat, the one next to you is empty, the elephant starts to walk up the aisle towards you........and then walks on past.

 

[SeatBackForward]

In the US SouthWest have quite a common sense policy that works in real life: Customer of Size

Basically, if you don't fit in a standard seat, you should pre-purchase another. If the plane's not full they'll refund the extra seat. If you don't prepurchase, and the plane IS full, tough luck fatty - out you go!

LOL..only Americans would come up with such a term! Customer of size. I bet they can say it in perfect step with pearly white teeth and a gaping smile.

HOWEVER, I think its a great policy, and this is what the customer of size needs to place on their "extra" seat:

Where's the wording about boarding without purchasing in advance?

 

[samh004]

I think that airlines should be obliged to supply an economy product that is suitable for passenger size up to (say) 2 standard deviations from the mean, and an enhanced economy product up to 3 standard deviations. Something like the space of premium economy but without the other frills, so it should be possible to supply it for about a 50% uplift. If you are a basketballer or sumo-wrestler then there may be no other choice but to suck it up and pay for business class.

That would make sense if it was a government run airline, a public service as it were, but to tell a private company how to run it’s business, because there’s a few more 'bigger' individuals these days I don’t think would work.

The thing I take offence to in this thread is that every idea that isn’t that the bigger person pays more, means I’ll need to pay more. Bigger seats = less seats = higher prices… but I’m still the same size and can comfortably fit in my seat. So can a lot of other people. Whatever the solution is, I shouldn’t be inconvenienced and made to pay more because I’m not 'bigger'.

*I reserve the right to change my view when/if I’m old(er) and fat

 

[Moody]

That would make sense if it was a government run airline, a public service as it were, but to tell a private company how to run it’s business, because there’s a few more 'bigger' individuals these days I don’t think would work.

The thing I take offence to in this thread is that every idea that isn’t that the bigger person pays more, means I’ll need to pay more. Bigger seats = less seats = higher prices… but I’m still the same size and can comfortably fit in my seat. So can a lot of other people. Whatever the solution is, I shouldn’t be inconvenienced and made to pay more because I’m not 'bigger'.

*I reserve the right to change my view when/if I’m old(er) and fat

Governments tell private companies how to run their businesses all the time. This is (generally) a good thing. Under Australian consumer law a product must be fit for purpose. This is a somewhat vague requirement, but if the airline doesn't explicitly say that you need to be less than 190cm tall and 140cm circumference to fit their economy seats, then the law may come down on the side of the customer if there are problems.

That's why it is better for all airlines to follow some minimum implicit standard for seat size, or call out specifically where they have different requirements (i.e. - a LCC who wants to really pack them in). Including comfort economy seats at a reasonable uplift is a good compromise between maximising revenue and gouging larger pax who are otherwised forced to pay for a premium product they don't really want.

 

[Rebekkap]

- I have sat in aisle seat with a tiny female in middle seat who thought it was her God given right to both armrests

I always let the person in the middle have both armrests - it's cough being in the middle, and it gives them a tiny bit more room. If you're on the window or the aisle, you get another armrest anyway, so if you're not letting the person in the middle have both, aren't you saying *you* have a god-given right to both armrests??

 

[Kelstarama]

The problem with BMI is that it's not a good indicator of size; it doesn't descriminate between fat weight and muscle weight..

A little off topic but an interesting article about BMI here - Cookies must be enabled | Herald Sun

 

[Foreigner]

What would happen to middle seat pax?

 

[Deleted member]

So skinny fliers could choose to fly in skinny seats?

 

[Deleted member]

View attachment 8483

What would happen to middle seat pax?

I don't know how genuine this photo is, but surely this scenario would require two seats?

 

[Deleted member]

I always let the person in the middle have both armrests - it's cough being in the middle, and it gives them a tiny bit more room. If you're on the window or the aisle, you get another armrest anyway, so if you're not letting the person in the middle have both, aren't you saying *you* have a god-given right to both armrests??

Good for you, nice thought

 

[MikedOut]

You choice is to sit further forward at your own expense.

I'm not sure that's quite right. You aren't informed on booking that you are going to have a "large framed person" sitting next to you. If you did you could make that choice. Until then, we are subject to the seating lottery that you don't know who will be next to you until you actually get in the plane, so why should I have to buy a PE or J ticket on the chance that I'm going to be stuck next to someone. Fatty's know they are before they book.....

 

[Deleted member]

I'm not sure that's quite right. You aren't informed on booking that you are going to have a "large framed person" sitting next to you. If you did you could make that choice. Until then, we are subject to the seating lottery that you don't know who will be next to you until you actually get in the plane, so why should I have to buy a PE or J ticket on the chance that I'm going to be stuck next to someone. Fatty's know they are before they book.....

I think the reference was to the XXL pax not the standard issue pax