Originally Posted by
Allvest
No joke. By the way I realize there are Federal and Provincial regulations. My question applies to all.
I think that reducing seat sizes in an era of growing body masses is a health hazard. I don't want to be sued, to be sure. So I am throwing this out there. Certainly the plane manufacturers don't recommend the tightening seats.
If one is 5'2" 110 lbs then the seats are perfect. But how does that apply to a 6'5" 260lbs traveller? Personally i spent 7 hours as a pretzel on ANA recently and I can tell you if I had a boss he or she would not be putting me in such a situation again. As it is, this was a self imposed attempt at misplaced frugality.
I think it is an interesting and legitimate question. I suspect that there is some validity to this. I have seen some employees with blood conditions receive corporate policy exemptions--basically their risk of clotting was too great in an economy seat for long haul (6-8+ trips), and they had a "doctor's note" (not sure the actual format or content of this) so that they would only fly business class. In one particular case I have in mind, there was very clear evidence that the condition was a real and very significant health hazard. I obviously can't provide any specific guidance or experience on the height component, but I certainly believe the question is real and deserves real consideration. I would also guess that certain conditions (severe back pain, for example) might be a prerequisite of getting a policy exemption or some such--an employee in perfect health, or generally good health, would not be eligible. Wish I know who to point you to--not very many HR departments are going to be inclined to explore this with an open mind for obvious reasons.