Why Airlines Can't Cut The Fat

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 26-10-02 AT 08:42 AM (GMT)]There are not many times when the airline industry deserves sympathy from the public, but the current argument over whether and how to deal with overweight passengers is a no-win situation.

The latest criticism of how airlines deal with overweight passengers involves a woman flying from London to Los Angeles on Virgin Atlantic in 2001,as mentioned on the forum. She apparently suffered leg injuries after being seated next to an obese woman who spilled over into her seat, reportedly squashing her. This week, Virgin paid the woman $20,000 in compensation, but the company is not changing its policy on overweight passengers. That is, Virgin is not planning to charge obese passengers for extra seats if they don’t fit.

The airlines are in an impossible situation here, and appear to be tunnelling into political correctness: catering to the complaints of a vocal minority while ignoring the comfort of the majority.

“Southwest got into trouble saying, if you are too big, you have to buy two tickets,” says Dr. Adam Pilarski, an airline consultant. “Various organisations that represent the calorically challenged had a freak attack over this, saying they’re discriminating against those that may have a medical condition.”

In June, Southwest Airlines began enforcing a longstanding rule of charging extra-large passengers for two seats. One month later, an obese brother and sister threatened to sue after they were denied boarding when they refused to buy extra seats. The airline later refunded the cost of the original flight and apologised, saying the siblings were not asked to pay for extra seats at the time of purchase.

Southwest spokesman Ed Stewart says the problem in that particular case was one of consistency. The siblings were not asked to purchase extra seats on the outbound flight because it was half-empty. The issue arose on the inbound, when the plane was filled to capacity.

“You must be consistent,” says Stewart. “We sell the second seat at a reduced rate, which the customer gets back immediately if the flight isn’t full.”

The issue is, of course, a delicate one for airline employees to approach with obese passengers. Should people be sized up by gate agents, or asked their weight as part of those pointless security questions?

The bottom line is there is no delicate way to handle the situation, no matter how comfortable someone feels with their weight. This puts airlines in an impossible spot.

It’s unlikely that this problem will be fixed. That’s because airlines will want to avoid the publicity and potential embarrassment of forcing passengers to pay for a second seat or even denying them boarding. It’s even less likely that cash-strapped airlines (several of which are fighting for their very survival) will retrofit their planes with wider seats to accommodate large customers.
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Opinions?
It is a very delicate issue and this problem is getting worse as lifestyle change and more people take advantage of cheap fares. Personally I agree with the policies of airlines that require obese people to buy an extra seat if you are unable to fit in a regular seat, because an airline is there to make money, not to be a charity.
But then again, with the media and people suing over discomfort and discrimination the airlines are in a no win situation,as the article suggests.