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Obese Have Right To Two Airline Seats
The Supreme Court of Canada decided to not hear an appeal from Canadian airlines on Thursday, effectively ruling obese people have the right to two seats for the price of one. The Canadian Transportation Agency had made a decision earlier that people who are "functionally disabled by obesity" deserve to have two seats for one fare. The appeal had been launched by Air Canada, Air Canada Jazz and WestJet. Now they just have to work on more leg room for tall, fat people and complimentary pie.
You know, on some flights these don't flip up. So if you get on a aeroplane, and the arm-rest is a bit warm and musty...
You know, I never thought I would comment on an idle story but this just pisses me off. I'm 6'5", does this mean that I'm entitled to always sit in the emergency exit row where there is more leg room, or 2 seats so I can stretch out? Does this mean I'm functionally disabled by my height? Not only that, I was born with this 'affliction', and as much as people may say the are pre-disposed to obesity, If you ass is too big to fit in a single seat it is your own damned fault. I would guarantee my metabolism is slower than most (I can easily put on 10lbs of real weight in a week), which is why I eat healthy and exercise 3-4 times a week.
/flame
Don't give me this functionally disabled by obesity bullshit. Put down the god damned jelly doughnut and the cheetos and go for a walk for fucks sake.
I am Jack's complete lack of surprise.
I'm sorry, but lifting a 400 pound fatass into the sky takes twice as much fuel as lifting a 200 pound fatass into the sky. Just like freight shipping is based on weight. That 400 pound tub of lard is not only getting their healthcare subsidized by people who are healthy, but they are also getting their airfare subsidized. Maybe they should just be banned from airlines altogether - they could use the exercise walking to their destination.
Defining obesity as a disability nowadays is really sickening.
I understand the sentiment and to large extend agree with it but then a thought crossed my mind. Supposing someone maimed themselves i.e. cut off a limb deliberately. Wouldn't we regard them as disabled even though the wound was self-inflicted? Arguably this might be because they are clearly mentally disturbed...but couldn't the same be said of someone who is so obese they cannot function properly (I mean we are not talking slightly overweight here).
So not only will be have to deal with the 'spill over' into our seat space from our obese friends - we also effectively have to pay extra because they're on the flight? There's only one place the airline will recoup the loss of the extra seat, and that's on everyones fare price. I wonder if this will hit american airlines harder than others *giggle* One might even say it's a heavy burden...
Speaking as a large man, I say fuck you all, seriously, fuck you. I consume no more calories per day than many of you do (under 2k on most days), but I do not loose weight.
That having been said. I have very little problem with the way Southwest Airlines does this, and has been doing it for quite a while. If I book a flight, I tell them I need 2 seats due to size. If I neglect to tell them, someone at the terminal will pull me aside and discreetly "remind" me that I need to buy a second seat if I have not already done so. Once I do this, its all cool. I even get priority boarding so that I can make sure that I can get 2 seats together (a second seat would not help if one is up front, the other in back). When the plane takes off, if there are no empty seats, I pay for both of the seats I used. If there is even one empty seat on the plane, then the plane is not booked, and the airline views it as I was just using what would have been an empty seat, and they refund the cost of the second seat. (I have to contact them and they send a refund that takes 2-3 weeks, but I get a refund.) If there are empty seats on a plane and the tall guys wants to stretch out a bit, I have no problem with that. If the big guy wants to spread out a bit, no one should have any trouble with that either, so if there are any empty seats, they treat it that way. I have been on flights where I have paid for my second seat, and I have been on flights when I got a refund. They take the money for the second seat even if they know the flight is underbooked. I usually try to book flights off hours just so that I can be pretty sure that there will be empty seats.
It's not that you're disabled, it's that things weren't built with you in mind, so now what they are saying is an accommodation has to be made by default.
Shutup, fatass.
Having said that, obesity is being treated way too nicely indeed. It's some people's problem alright, but the second law of thermodynamics is the second law of thermodynamics.
If we keep tip-toeing around the question, and we're gonna be all politically correct about it, we're never gonna get anywhere.
Why is it that a homosexual who attracts the AIDS virus can get condemned in many countries, but a fat man / woman can't be chastised for not taking care of themselves?
Why can a smoker be told to quit smoking or else, while fat people get treated with velvet gloves, as we say?
Having said all that: Obesity, in some cases cannot be helped. But in other cases it can be. I would argue that the great majority of obese people I've known simply lacked the knowledge or self-discipline to do something about it.
If I see the mother of a fat kid in the UK looking at a leaf of Basil and exclaiming "But who on earth could eat that? It's GREEN!", you have the cause for the kid's obesity nailed down right there.
Eat in moderate amounts. Fresh stuff. Mostly plants. Move your ass regularly.
There.
And no, I don't particularly feel like paying through the nose for other people's problems either. Just like my mother raised me not to become a burden to others.
It's not intolerance. It may be hard for someone to hear and it may not be sensitive but it costs more to ship your ass around the world if you are heavier and consume more space. That is why it costs more to Fedex a 500lb shipment than a 20 lb package. The only difference is that reminding someone that they are larger hurts peoples feelings and their wallets.
agreed
Eat in moderate amounts. Fresh stuff. Mostly plants. Move your ass regularly.
Michael is that you??
/.er ...
I didn't know Michael Pollan was a
You really dont have much of a clue do you?
The cost of flying people around is almost exactly proportional to the weight carried, with a slight modifier of the number of people you get the the aircraft.
I would propose the simple solution in this case is to set an average person weight, and charge people the same for extra weight regardless of it being baggage or their own body.
I weight very light (60kg, over 6 foot..) as a man, due to a non-eating-related medical condition, which I have no choice over. Why should I be subsidising the costs of people larger than me? BTW I will also die approximately 15-20 year early from the same condition. I got my arse kicked when young for being 'scrawny', so dont try and pull the 'life is hard being large' card on me.
What is next? large people have the right to an extra course in restaurants for free because they 'need' it?
Oh, and as to your item 4, who the hell do you think ends up paying for these extra seats? the tooth fairy?
Also, I am sure there are exceptions, but every airline I deal with DOES give extra luggage if you busy an extra seat. I often have to carry delicate equipment around the world, and quite often book a second seat for that equipment (as it cannot be roughly handled). I explain everything to the airlist before booking and it is NEVER a problem, that ticket comes
with a full allocation of luggage allowance, etc even though there is no associated person.
Stop wanting special treatment, grow up, and deal with your situation instead of expecting others to deal with it.
I can't believe some of you. I have a non-functioning thyroid. I eat 1000 calories a day and walk 2 miles each day, yet I'm ~200lbs. There is absolutely nothing I can do about it, and yes I'm on a LOT of drugs for that and other health conditions. I couldn't help it that my thyroid cut out at 14 years old.
Dont say the word 'FAT!'
Just the thought of all you hippos crawling out of your polyester tarpolins is enough to make my oatmean hit the wall. <Beginning of rant> They need to make the doors on airplanes much smaller so that FAT people have to ride in the cargo bin, or better yet, load them in with the sissors jack they use for the food, and shove them in their own creche...right next to the food, so they dont have to get up to eat, or go to the bathroom. How do FAT people go to the can on a airplane, Im skinny, and I barely fit. If you need to take up two seats, you sould pay for two seats and the ARM REST. <end of rant>
Hey: "If there is even one empty seat on the plane, then the plane is not booked, and the airline views it as I was just using what would have been an empty seat, and they refund the cost of the second seat." Good idea, or rather GREAT IDEA! Mod +1 interesting!
Methinks you're thinking of the first law of thermodynamics. Don't really see any connection to entropy here.
Camping on quad since 1996.
I can't believe some of you. I have a non-functioning thyroid. I eat 1000 calories a day and walk 2 miles each day, yet I'm ~200lbs. There is absolutely nothing I can do about it, and yes I'm on a LOT of drugs for that and other health conditions. I couldn't help it that my thyroid cut out at 14 years old.
I believe you would fit into the 5% combined with the 95% to create the 100%. The outrage is directed at the 95% that does not include you. There is a basic reason for the outrage. Most of us are to a greater or lesser extent technically minded. Each of us recognizes a fundamental truth. That truth being that if there is an imbalance between fuel input and fuel expenditure then there will be a deficit or a surplus of fuel. Surplus fuel in the human body translates directly into surplus storage of that fuel in the form of fat.
Most people (even skinny people) have not a clue what their true caloric intake is. If asked almost without exception you will either receive a very low ball answer or an outright "I don't know." To further complicate things most people have not a clue how food works in the human body. Almost without exclusion people believe that if you are "hungry" you need food which of course cannot be further from the truth. People that consistently eat meals large enough cause a feeling of fullness end up stretching out their stomachs thus requiring yet more food to fill it up. Also, many assume that it the whole process can be summed up into a neat and tidy total calories for the day type deal rather than the slightly more complex reality. In reality, as caloric energy is made available for use in the body a decision is made. If there's no present need for that energy, the body elects to store it as fat. People that consume highly digestible foods (read low fiber/protein, reduced sugar, etc.) flood their body with large amounts of energy spread over very short time periods well in excess of what they require. As an added side effect since the food is highly digestible there stomach voids itself faster presenting them with a perceived need for additional food. Rinse, repeat...
Two of my imaginary friends reproduced once
Airlines book to maximum capacity. Sometimes, they even overbook slightly because a statistically small number of travelers do not show up. This normally works well, but occasionally 1 or 2 passengers get bumped to another flight. The bumped passengers are generally the ones with the cheapest economy ticket with direct domestic flights with no connections. Alternative flights may also play into this (but I'm not sure). Anyhow, the airline will not know which passenger is morbidly obese enough to require 2 seats, so the airline will still sell to full capacity. Now, my question is... who gets bumped? The obese passenger (who will likely decry discrimination) or the hapless passenger who happened to be given the adjacent seat? What if that passenger paid full rate? What if that passenger has 1 bazillion flier miles? What if that passenger has an international connection? OK, so now we have to shuffle around passengers AFTER check-in seat assignments have been made in order to bump an economy class domestic passenger. Wonderful. More delays.
I see this really increasing the number of bumped passengers because as the word gets out that obese passengers get 2 seats, they will fly more. Also, borderline obese passengers will begin demanding their right to a free 2nd seat. Airlines will likely yield and give them that seat, fearing bad press if they don't.. thus bumping more passengers. This is going to gum up even more an already bad flying experience.
Camping on quad since 1996.
The so called "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome" that you refer to is a set of symptoms associated with known causes, that being most commonly Myoencephalitis and is often accompanied with extreme pain (Fibromyalgia).
Most suffers have become afflicted by as a result of depressed immune system due to overwork.
Put another way, most sufferers get that way due to being workaholics.
It happened to a close friend of mine, and it nearly killed him, he was bed ridden for nearly a whole year. The guy is anything but lazy, runs his own IT consulting business full time, contributes to a number of open source projects, and is studying for his doctorate part-time, he also manages to squeeze in being a father somehow.
Andy Warhol got it right / Everybody gets the limelight
Andy Warhol got it wrong / Fifteen minutes is too long.
... this shit happens. i'm not the slimest guy in the world but i certainly fit in a normal airline seat, and fuck me if the day came that i couldn't i'd be getting OFF that plane and getting on a tread mill ASAP, not filing a lawsuit.
If you mod me down, I will become more powerful than you can imagine....
Well it's not a surprise that people react to this. Simple maths will tell you that because of people being obese, YOU have to pay for that extra seat with higher ticket prices. Airline business is very competative and as a side note, to those of you complaining for more space, you fly cheap, you sit cheap, simple as that. Now to my point. Truth is: given that obesity is now considered a handicap it is however not irreversable. Thus through whatever actions (walking, running, operation, what the fuck ever) there are solutions for reversing the damage. If your legs are fucked, I will step aside when you roll by to give you space, this is common sense (given that I may at any point loose the function of my legs as well). But if you're just plain fat and haven't solved this clearly irreversable issue as stated above, YOU will step aside for I will never be in that situation. It's an insurance. Everyone has a chance of loosing their legs in an accident, however not all of us are lazy, and yes, some of us have better metabolism but it DOES NOT give you the right to be passive and then claim that everybody else should adapt. Nobody wants to be fat, this is given, and of course I feel sorry for those that are in extreme situations as illustrated above. However it's a matter of giving up. If you give up on yourself, don't expect anyone to do anything different.
Human nature: don't spend energy unless necessary. Paradox: unless necessary, you will stay fat and miserable. Period.
I am the lawn!
bullshit,
low thyroid is treated easily with one pill a day,
like millions of hypothyroid people.
I agree. Although, I think they should have to get two seats; I just think they should have to pay for them both. It really sucks being stuck next to some fat guy whose thick layer of blubber can't be contained by his armrest and it starts pouring into your lap. And then you get to listen to them struggle to breath for two hours. And why are fat people so sweaty even when they're sitting down?
Rail Freight
In the not too distant future, next Sunday A.D.
I have what has been called chronic fatigue and I work 40 hours a week, barely. Weekends, off time, and vacations are all spent in bed. I am literaly killing myself to feed my family. My kids only see me in bed or know I am away working. I was once a fire lieutendant and paramedic on the upward career track, not anymore. I only keep my research job now because I have an understanding boss.
Over-eating is a behavior problem, but I don't believe it is selfish because it is not motivated by self-interest. It's an out of control biological urge, but the behavior is not beneficial to the self.
Over-eating isn't the only behavioral problem. There are millions of behavioral problems that all cost us money in one way or another, and it's selfish for each of us to go through the list and make a case for why the other behavioral problems should be charged extra for it. We could run through the entire APA Diagnostic and Statistical Manual and assess a societal cost for each condition. Obviously people who have conditions that are undiagnosed and thus untreated should be charged because their untreated behavioral issues are costing society.
When it comes to airfare, you're not just paying for an obese person's extra room, you're paying the customer service cost of the people who can't be satisfied and need $1000 worth of customer support for a $200 seat. Quiet, well-mannered people are still paying for the flight attendants even when we don't require their services. Orderly people still have to pay for the time and congestion caused by people who never have their their ID, wallet, credit card, and checkbook ready even though they're standing in a line and they know they're about to be asked for these things. We have to pay for the security cost of people who couldn't be bothered to read the regulations about what they're allowed to travel with.
Alternatively, we could just agree that we all have problems, and we're not going to play a game where we start assessing the costs of each individual.
This sounds like the rantings of a Communist. Are you a Communist, sir?
Forget arms and legs, the g-g-g-p could just cut off his head (in case he's wondering, it's that big, empty, pumpkin-shaped thing where that foul mouth is) and we'd ALL get to stop worrying about how tall he is.
You can hate whoever you want, but Jesus loves you.
Um, because queers and smokers CHOOSE to be so and (regardless how much your local swisher would argue otherwise) smoking (tobacco or bones) is NOT a biological necessity such as is eating.
There.
What else can fat people get away with? (yeah, fat, not obese, as that implies an actual affliction such as the mythical thyroid disorder)
"Hi I'm so fat my ass won't fit in 1 seat so kindly give me a 2nd seat at no extra cost to me."
will spiral into:
"Hi I'm so fat my stomach is 5x larger than the average person my height/age so kindly give me 5x the amount of food at no extra cost to me."
My dad told me that fat people could lose weight by repeating 1 exercise at every meal: place arms down at sides, raise hands to chest level with palms facing out, extend arms.
people who are "functionally disabled by obesity" deserve to have two seats for one fare.
Do people who are functionally disabled by alcoholism deserve two drinks for the price of one?
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