Airlines weigh in to obesity argument
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An obese man gets thrown off a plane taking up too many seats. “You’re fattist!” he complains to the steward. “Sorry sir,” the steward replies, “but you’re clearly fattest.”
Okay it’s an old joke, but it’s one we could be hearing a lot more of in coming years, as airlines start to take a tougher line toward obese passengers. Last week United Airlines announced that it would charge obese passengers double, if they are removed from a full flight. The move brings United’s policy into line with Continental, Delta, JetBlue and Southwest.
So should obese passengers be charged for two seats? Regular-sized passengers will say that they should be allowed to travel in comfort, without having a neighbour’s spare types rolling across the armrest. Roly-poly passengers on the other hand will claim discrimination; after all, so many cases of obesity are genetic, or caused by a medical condition.
While I realise I’m walking through a minefield of political correctness now, the old gene argument doesn’t seem to wash. While I’m clearly no scientist, it seems that the majority of obese people are from Western countries, where a junk food-based couch potato culture is increasingly becoming the norm. You don’t tend to see many obese people in Laos or Cambodia, for example.
But whatever the arguments, obese people clearly need to travel. So how about a compromise? Canada recently ruled that passengers “functionally disabled by obesity” would be entitled to a free second seat. Fine, so long as there is accompanying medical evidence. If not, sorry - fat fare for you.
But for the sake of passengers of all sizes, let’s get this resolved once and for all. Otherwise the jokes will just roll and roll
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