Do you think that it is rude if a overweight person wants to fly they have to purchase 2 seats?

You use it, you pay for it.

Not really, if that's how much room they take up.

However, I do believe the skinnier amongst us should only have to pay for half a seat. Now THAT would inspire me to lose weight! ;-)

If a person is so severely overweight that they don't come close to fitting into a normal seat (and the person next to them isn't willing to share) then no, I don't think it's unreasonable.

They aren't talking about a person who is slightly heavy. They are referring to extremely over weight people who need more than one seat. It may not seem fair, but it is a reality. I am sure you don't want to give up your $300 seat b/c Mr. Smith's buttocks need his seat and yours.

You pay for what you use so NO! :=)

If a person can't fit into one seat then logically they must buy two. If they use two seats and only pay for one then the airline loses money. Is that fair to the airline? It also costs a certain amount of money per pound to operate a jet. So, past a certain weight you should pay more to fly.

No.

I think that a person should pay for what they use, but I also think it might be helpfull for airlines to have three sizes of seats ... normal, extra large, and extra small ... with price differences to match ... if a minivan can have seats that pop out and back in with a simple flick & click, then planes should be able to swap out seats too.

No, I think that you should pay for what you use. If you use two seats, you need to pay for the use of two seats. I've been on flights next to extremely obese people who took up half of my seat. I was extremely uncomfortable the entire flight, and had paid for my whole seat. I really did feel that if the person was going to use the space I'd paid for, he/she should reimburse me.

No, if you need two seats you should pay for two seats. What I think is rude is when I have to sit next to someone who really needs two seats and they are spilling over onto me and squashing me in a corner. If I pay for a seat, I shouldnt have to put up with just being able to sit in half of it. I once sat next to a woman who couldn't get the armrest down between us and had to get an extension belt - she was literally sitting on me. When I tried to put the arm rest down so she wasn't sitting on me she got really nasty!

I have seen this happen and at the end of the flight they aplogised to the person.
The person was so large they WERE taking up two seats and airlines are not charity institutions.

It is embarressing and sad but those are the economic facts.

Try sitting next to one of those very large people even squeezed into two seats.

No, but they should at least pay for the extra seat. That is fair. The overweight person has some weight issues, so let him/her deal with them. It would be kind of mean if you got mad at them for one of their physical characteristics.

If they weigh enough no. If they are 5lbs overweight and they fit in the seat fine. But when you start being a pillow for your neighbor you better beieve you should be paying for 2 seats.

No it is just practical - if they are too big to fit in one seat then they need to pay for two. You are basically paying for space on the plane.

well it costs the airline more to give up a seat to a passenger and also very much increases the amount of fuel required to lift that weight to 35000 feet. On the other hand it is very uncomfortable for them and for you if you are seated beside them...When I was working we always tried to give them an empty seat beside them if we could --for everyone's benefit..but on full flights you just couldn't do it.

Nope. If that same person were to ship themselves via UPS, for example, they'd find that bulk and mass DO play a part in the overall costs involved.
Edit: If any carrier for that matter be it surface sea or air need to expend extra costs to get something or someone somewhere, it ought to be on a per mass unit , volume or combination of both scale. I get hit with baggage charges all the time because I take my dive gear with me on top of whatever my personal gear is. I pay for that. I often pay the equivalent of another person's fare by that amount. It's my choice that I take that with me and my responsibility for what's owed. People do not HAVE to carry more than an average BMI. They choose not to do something about it or can't. Not my problem. People are essentially baggage as well, just talking ones., why should I also have to pony up the gas for that? It is after all....their baggage as cruel sounding as it is...not mine. Nobody has ever picked up my tab of an extra 75 pounds of gear on a light flight but me. I wouldn't expect it nor would I accept it.

The "use it and pay for it" theory works here and it works both ways.

A morbidly obese person should not have to try to wedge themselves into one seat for a flight. It is both unsafe and unhealthy for them.

Also, the passengers in the same row should not have to relinquish their purchased space for someone else.

Many airlines will try to accomodate people that require 2 seats on flights where there are empty seats however, if you have flown recently in the USA, you probably have not had the luxury too often of having an empty seat next to you.

No if they are too large for one seat then tey should pay foe the extra room needed.

No it is not rude.. think about the guy whose sitting next to that person.

No. Just the opposite. I think it's one of the nicest things they can do. Have you ever sat between two of them? I have.

No. I think it is rude that some of these people expect everyone else to pay for their poor choices.

There are a few medical issues that can cause obesity, but even those can be helped most of the time.

The majority of the people that need two seats need it because they continuosly make poor choices, it is for them to pay the consequenses of that, not everyone else.

No, I don't think it's rude. That person is taking up two seats. So it should be paid for. If they don't like it, then lose weight.

I'm a little torn on this one. I think with obesity becoming more and more common, there should definitely be an option to buy a large seat at an extra cost (but not twice as much). If they were paying what average sized people were paying, then airlines would probably go out of their way to discourage them from flying since the fact of the matter is they just take up more room on a plane that could be filled with a larger number of slim people. Unfortunately there's no solution I can see that doesn't involve SOME discrimination.

I have an obese friend who just flies first class. Ample seats, cheaper than two seats in coach, and she has a blast getting spoiled. Good ol' "Big Dorothy"! :)

no - if you are too large for one seat then you should pay for two. Why should the airline be out of pocket for the partially unused seat next to you?

No, it's nothing personal, it just has to do with economics. No more than it being rude for an extra hungry person to pay if they purchase two meals.

I feel that it wrong to charge someone who is overweight 2 airfare tickets. It is downright discriminating.

It's ruder if they don't charge. Every time I sit next to an obese person, i make sure to pull down the seat rest separating the two seats. It may be more uncomfortable for them, but I want to stress the point that I will not tolerate my space being infringed.

well for the person involved i can imagine it would be quite embarrassing but i've been sat next to a morbidly obese person who didn't have 2 seats and it was one of the worst flights of my life. mostly because that person took up half my space as well as all of theirs! i'm very tall so it's not as if i really had any space either!!!

No it defently is not. It is rude when i have paid for 1 seat and the overweight person next to me has paid for 1 seat yet i only get half a seat while they get the ither half that i paid for.

No not at all. They are making you pay for extra bags and for extra weight if your bag(s) are too heavy. That isn't considered rude. Paying extra for your personal weight over a top limit of maybe 250 pounds would be no difference.
Not discrimination and it would be absolutely fair.

I don't care if they are fat but I can't stand them if they smell of sweat and sit there burping. I feel bad saying it because some of them don't even know they stink. Charging for an extra seat doesn't stop the smell but at least I don't have to sleep in a fat mans armpit.

Do you think it's rude to tell an airline company that they have to give up a free seat because someone wants two?

airlines base their rates on how many seats the feel can be filled per flight. if someone needs two seats then they need to pay for two seats. if they stop doing that then those of the customers only taking one seat will pay a higher fare so the airlines can make up the loss.

No i dont think it's rude. I work hard to stay in shape and watch my diet. Why should i subsidise someone who just wont put the fried chicken down ?
My friend is 6 foot 4 and is constantly cramped into an airline seat. Should others be made pay for him to fly Business class where he will have more room? I dont think so. It's time people took responsability for thier own problems and actions.
Sadly there are a few cases where it is medical and I do feel for these people.
peace

Yes, I do. Airlines need to stop trying to shoehorn more passengers into ever smaller seats and start catering to the people who do fly.

And to everyone who disagrees, you're all bigots!

It's only fair, why should I pay the same price for one seat as someone else who has two. It is also not fair to pay for the price of a seat and not be able to sit in it comfortably because the person next to you SHOULD have two seats.

Its only fair.

If they don't want to pay then they don't have to fly.

Not if they pay for it.

No

It is not nearly as rude as on overweight person spilling over into my seat while I fly. I am a big person, but still fit in my own seat area. If you have to take up two seats, then you need to pay for two seats, the same way if you want to pay for an extra seat just to have room for your stuff, etc.

I don't know if rude is the correct word but if the airlines are going to do it, they should do so in a way that is consistent. They should also let the person know BEFORE they get to the airport and are humiliated in public by the way the airline attendant treats them in front of everyone. I used to watch that show on A & E about SW Airlines. They charged a man who was large but didn't appear huge to me for 2 seats even though he was a frequent flyer, they'd never done that to him before and the person who was going to sit next to him said he wasn't bothered by his size. It seemed that the attendant just had a stick up their a$$ and I thought it was ridiculous.

They paid for the seat, so they get what they pay for. Not rude at all.

I'm not sure that "rude" is the correct word in this situation. The emotional side of me finds it sad and I can only imagine how they, personally, feel knowing that it's imperative for them to purchase 2 seats so that they're comfortable during their flight. The logical side of me could see why it'd be a little selfish, for lack of a better word, but at the same time I find no fault in anyone realizing their needs and having their planning reflect that.

If he/she is too big for one seat, it is not rude because if he/she take one seat, it will cause difficulty/cramp to person sitting next to him/her.

It's not rude... It's business.

If a person takes up more than one seat, the airlines have lost a ticket, and want the person who caused it to make it up. (Much like they want the same thing from those who NEED a 2nd seat for a child, for a pet, for...)

Now, if the plane is not full, they should give the person the second seat cost (or most of it) back. I know THAT's unlikely, but it WOULD make a good advertising ploy.

NOTE: I'm overweight, but have never had to pay for 2 tickets. I still fit in the single seats. If I had to buy two, I'd probably not fly that airline.

no - i don't want them lapping into my seat

Not at all. If they take up enough space to where no one could comfortably sit next to them without being crammed, then they should have to pay for the extra seat. It is not the fault of the other passengers that someone is overweight, so why make them suffer because of it?

No, how could that possibly be rude? Requiring them to pay for the space they will use, is what everyone else is charged, so why no overweight people, too? I think NOT requiring it is rude, to other travelers who are then squished by someone being in their space.

No, have you ever sat next to one or between two of them? Very unpleasant. And airlines like to fill up flights. And with fuel costs escalating, they don't want to make bigger and less seats for bigger people.

I do not think that it is rude.

Imagine s/he bought one ticket and you're the person stuck next to him/her?
It's better for them and everyone else that they buy two seats!

no it's not rude. if someone sits in 2 seats they should pay