Originally Posted by
flyshooter
Just as all airlines have size charts for carry on luggage, so too should there be size charts for the passengers. I once complained to SWA about allowing an oversized passenger sit next to me. She was so fat that her fat roll was over the armrest and my shirt was soaked from her sweat. I sent them a note along with in flight pictures and they sent me a credit for my full fare. That, however, doesn’t fix the problem. A passenger size box will fit both comfort and weight/balance issues instantly.
There is already a passenger sizer - it's called the seat. If someone doesn't fit in it, they shouldn't be allowed to fly unless they purchase a second seat.
Your story illustrates the real problem - rules are not properly (or consistently) enforced by the flight and ground crews. The woman who crammed herself into the seat next to you and infringed upon your seat should have been deplaned rather than allowing her to steal space that you paid for. The problem in that situation was that A) the pax didn't care that she was stealing your seat, and B) the flight crew didn't care enough to follow their employer's rules and deplane the pax who was infringing on your seat.
Originally Posted by
jrpallante
I have long lobbied for passenger sizers. Simply place two poles 17 inches apart. If you cannot walk through without touching both sides, you need to buy a second seat. I also believe it would be totally reasonable to charge passengers by the pound (even though I would personally suffer from this pricing strategy). If you ship any item by any means, the price is always based on weight. This is completely logical, because it costs more to transport heavier items. We often hear stories about airlines that saved thousands of dollars by eliminating olives for martinis, double-side printing, and other minor weight reduction measures. Yet, they continue to charge the same fare for a 50-pound child and a 400-pound behemoth. The larger person should pay more, and she should also get a wider seat. Many international flights offer a true premium economy, which is a nice compromise between business class and sardine class. Why is this not offered on domestic flights?
As I said above, there are already passenger sizers, they're called the seats. Every pax sits in one on every flight, without exception. All that need be done is for the flight crew to properly enforce the rules.
Aircraft tickets are sold by volume, not weight. Selling tickets to passengers in advance whose weight is variable is an untenable position for the airlines - you'd either pay in advance and settle up if you weigh more or less at time of boarding, or you'd pay after weigh-in. Either way, you'd have so much trouble weighing pax and settling the bills that it makes a lot more sense to sell by volume, not weight.
Besides, the issue at hand is not weight, it's size. Someone who weighs 250lb could be taller than they are wide, and fit in the seat with the armrest down (their knees might be in their chin, though). Meanwhile, a shorter person who is 250lb might not be able to touch the floor with their feet but might spill into the seat next to them or need an extender.
Personally, I couldn't care less what someone weighs, as long as they don't infringe on someone else's seat.
Originally Posted by
pmiranda
I would not endorse a passenger sizing device since it seems like unnecessary humiliation.
Weighing somebody when you scan your ticket to board, on the other hand, could be done discreetly, and it would also be an incentive to not bring everything you own with you in your carryon, speeding up the boarding process.
To be fair it could be a discount applied for how far under a "standard" passenger+carryon weight, say 150 kg.
I seriously doubt that any kind of pax weigh-in could be done discretely. And the extra time it would take would more than wipe out any potential savings from people leaving heavy carry-ons at home, probably by a factor of five or more.
I'll repeat once again - every aircraft is already equipped with passenger sizers, in the form of the seats. If you don't fit, you buy a second seat, or you get deplaned.
All that is needed is proper, consistent enforcement of policy by airline employees. With respect and discretion, of course.
Originally Posted by
jrpallante
To avoid the humiliation, those who proactively purchase a larger or second seat would not need to go through the sizer.
Humiliation is in the eye of the beholder. I'm embarrassed that I've allowed myself to get so overweight, due to a sedentary lifestyle and an addiction to carbs and baked goods, but I don't find it humiliating to need two seats on a plane. It's not like people don't know that I'm fat just by looking at me - it's pretty obvious - so the only thing I really have to fear is humiliating myself by acting the fool and trying to squeeze into a single seat, or infringing on someone else's seat, or causing anyone else discomfort or annoyance with my actions.
I just wish people would stop behaving so childishly when it comes to this issue. If you're fat, you know it, and everyone who sees you knows it, so own up to it and deal with the consequences. If you see someone who is fat, don't shame, mock, taunt, or belittle them; let them live their lives and you live yours, in peace.