Should a person's weight be factored into air fares?

Rabies

Gummy Panda wrote: »

Bit awkward telling the air hostess to move you in front of the obesity

Nope.
Get up once the seat belt signs go off, ask for a new seat. Come back, get your stuff and you'll never see her again
Wouldn't care what she thinks, she knows. Deep deep deep deep down she knows the reason

LordAlf

if they take up more than there share then yes. if they are say 20+ stone and squeeze into a ryanair seat then go for it. but if you need more than one seat than pay for it. and tbh, if thats the state of your health then airline fees arent your priority, your heart is.

hungrypig

why stop there, does this theory not include all modes of transport requiring fuel..........you could have a weighing scales upon entering a public bus which calculates your ticket prices, or a weighing scales at the top of the taxi rank to give you a fare grading............

you could make a tidy sum on pregnant women and people with disabilities who find it harder to maintain a healthy weight.

LordAlf

hungrypig wrote: »

why stop there, does this theory not include all modes of transport requiring fuel..........you could have a weighing scales upon entering a public bus which calculates your ticket prices, or a weighing scales at the top of the taxi rank to give you a fare grading............

you could make a tidy sum on pregnant women and people with disabilities who find it harder to maintain a healthy weight.

or you can embarrass oneself into being healthier. is there a problem with that sort of thinking?

irelandrover

hungrypig wrote: »

why stop there, does this theory not include all modes of transport requiring fuel..........you could have a weighing scales upon entering a public bus which calculates your ticket prices, or a weighing scales at the top of the taxi rank to give you a fare grading............

you could make a tidy sum on pregnant women and people with disabilities who find it harder to maintain a healthy weight.

This is fair in places where there are weight restrictions on luggage IMO.

I weigh 75kg and am allowed 20kg. I get fined if my luggage weighs 22kg. The person beside me has luggage of 20kg but weighs 100kg. they don't get any fine even tho they bring more weight onto the flight. How exactly is that fair?

Ellis Dee

Thrill wrote: »

Pay Per Pound. Surprised Ryanair haven't thought of this.

I bet they have, but it wouldn't be allowed under the regulations - yet!:):)

hungrypig

the question isn't regarding bmi or body fat it is just weight, therefor a 6ft3" man with a normal bmi would be paying far more than a 5ft7" man with a normal bmi. pregnant women would be penalised and those whose disability has contributed to their weight problem.
its nothing to do with health, its to do with money

ffs it would be healthier for everyone if no one flew given the air pollution etc

hungrypig

yes tall people should not be allowed carry on bags given they are using up their allowance on height
all this talk about fairness is juvenille

doomed

Princess Peach wrote: »

If you're going to charge by weight then those babies who fly for free on their parents' laps should be charged. This may discourage people from bringing noisy babies on board to disrupt my flight.

.

If there was less hand luggage there would be more room for small children in the overhead compartments. Its secure and cosy and the sound would be muffled.

Rabies

hungrypig wrote: »

you could make a tidy sum on pregnant women and people with disabilities who find it harder to maintain a healthy weight.

Don't be silly, we all know potatoes can't fly

CruelCoin

johnt91 wrote: »

This has bugged me for a while now. You're in the airport checking in at the ticket desk when you find out that your bag is over the allowed weight, so you get landed with an extra charge to actually get your bag on the plane, because apparently "The extra weight affects the fuel consumption of the plane", yet obese people weighing 10's of kilo's more than the average person pays nothing extra.

So my question is, do you think people's weight should be factored into their ticket prices?

I know some people will say it's discrimination but is it really? Prices are adjusted to things regarding Age (Student and OAP tickets to various things) and Sex (insurance prices, "Ladies Nights" at clubs), so why not weight??

I find it obscene that someone weighing 150kg with hand luggage pays less than someone who weighs 80kg with 20kg luggage.

It makes no logical sense, and the current system is just a sop to the pc brigade.

Also, i'm 110kg myself.

nibtrix

Princess Peach wrote: »

If you're going to charge by weight then those babies who fly for free on their parents' laps should be charged.

Both Ryanair and Aer Lingus charge for infants on laps - around €20-25 per flight.

mightdomighty

LaVail wrote: »

I think condoms should have been factored into your conception OP

The same way originality should have been factored into your post?

PandaX9

People in the states have to pay for a second seat if they cannot lower the armsets all the way down (they're 17 inches apart) or if they overflow onto the adjacent seat. There's a huge uproar about it but in fairness - how would you feel if you were trying to have a normal, comfortable flight and you couldn't because someone is intruding on your seat.


And bear in mind, most American airlines have larger seats and armset gaps than we do, Ryanair seats are pitifully small.

Madam

So, You'll be charging the Irish rugby team(or Sumo wrestlers) that little bit more?;) How on earth would this work - weigh everybody individually? It takes long enough to get onto a plane as it is, never mind making sure everyone's the exact weight some jobs worth thinks up!

ShadowHearth

What fecking next? Fat people pay more road tax, because they make more damage to Tarmac with their fat arses....

Don't they already charge fat people in US extra of they are too big for one seat? Which is fair play to be honest.

Gummy Panda

Wouldn't want to be Jay Cutler size then

IvySlayer

Posy wrote: »

No, I don't think so.

But the cabin crew should have to make sure all overweight people don't sit on the same side of the plane, or it could tilt.

'Could ALL the fat people PLEASE move to the BACK of the plane!'

You can't really be charging people like this though. Like it makes a difference to the plane, it's still gonna fly at 500mph. You pay for a seat.

This should never of happened though: http://www.nypost.com/rw/nypost/2009/12/04/news/photos_stories/cropped/obese_man--300x300.jpg

bnt

Ryanair is all about low-cost, and if they wanted to put a system in place to charge by weight, that would cost them money to administer. The cost of training Ryanair gate staff to operate a set of scales would be prohibitive. Then there's the problem of dealing with the overweight former rugby player with a hangover, after you ask him for more money. "You want ... what, darling?" :eek:

People respond better to positive incentives rather than negative demands, so instead of demanding more money from heavy people, why not reward people for being light? As the passengers are disembarking, hand the skinny ones vouchers for a free BK Double Whopper, and say "thank you for being underweight" ... :cool:

Greentopia

PandaX9 wrote: »

People in the states have to pay for a second seat if they cannot lower the armsets all the way down (they're 17 inches apart) or if they overflow onto the adjacent seat. There's a huge uproar about it but in fairness - how would you feel if you were trying to have a normal, comfortable flight and you couldn't because someone is intruding on your seat.

I think that's fair tbh. Why should my personal space and comfort be compromised for what could be many hours because someone who's very overweight is sitting beside me and their bulk encroaches onto me.

Anyone can be a few pounds overweight in fairness, and I think if you can fit comfortably in a seat-no overspill on the sides-then no excess charges or penalties, but if you do well cough up fattie
exceptions of course made for pregnant women or those with physical disabilities where weight gain is through no fault of their own. A doctors note should cover that.

I'd love to get a discount for being thin. If they're going to charge for luggage per weight then why should I have to pay the same for my luggage as another woman twice my weight who's carrying on the same weight luggage? if safety is airlines main concern with luggage allowances.

Paparazzo

Thrill wrote: »

Pay Per Pound. Surprised Ryanair haven't thought of this.

The reason they don't is because they would half their passenger numbers overnight.

Greentopia

Madam wrote: »

So, You'll be charging the Irish rugby team(or Sumo wrestlers) that little bit more?;) How on earth would this work - weigh everybody individually? It takes long enough to get onto a plane as it is, never mind making sure everyone's the exact weight some jobs worth thinks up!

The Irish rugby team are big but not fat as it's all muscle. Their bulk wouldn't spill over into the adjacent seat so why should they be charged more?
Sumo wrestles would likely but if they want to be sumo wrestlers then they'd just have to pay the extra cost of another seat. Occupational hazzard

It's simple enough-if you can't fit into your seat and lower the arm rest then you pay extra as in the U.S. The dimensions of the seats should be stated on the airlines website when you book your ticket so you can't plead ignorance of the rules.
Obviously if you can't fit into a seat that size or need to ask for a belt extender the extra charge comes into play.

2 stroke

A lady I know was told that she would have to pay for 2 seats, but found out after boarding that her 2 seats werent side by side. She was just scammed to sell an extra seat on an under booked flight. She is a BBW, but she has only once been asked to pay extra, due to her own personal weight, while flying.

Wouldn't charging fat people more be discrimination?

Try doing it to a black guy and see what happens.

Ridiculous suggestion

Greentopia

rarnes1 wrote: »

Wouldn't charging fat people more be discrimination?

Try doing it to a black guy and see what happens.

Ridiculous suggestion

Being of a different race has no impact on airline safety or of other passengers comfort. Being very overweight does.
According to scientists in the U.S., not only do obese passengers put themselves more at risk in the event of a crash, they put those seated close to them at risk too:

“If a heavier person completely fills a seat, the seat is not likely to behave as intended during a crash,” said Robert Salzar, the principal scientist at the Center for Applied Biomechanics at the University of Virginia. “The energy absorption that is built into the aircraft seat is likely to be overwhelmed and the occupants will not be protected optimally.”
Nor would the injury necessarily be confined to that passenger, Dr. Salzar said. If seats collapse or belts fail, he said, those seated nearby could be endangered from “the unrestrained motion of the passenger.”


"Dr. Jehle said obese air travelers may also be less likely to wear seat belts. Unbelted passengers are at risk of injury and can be a mechanism for injury to others, Dr. Jehle said. “Force is mass times acceleration, and when someone is heavier and unbelted, there’s that much force that is being applied.”


Apart from the issue of a grossly overweight passenger sitting beside me intruding into my space-

I'm a female weighing about 48kilos. If a 100kilo obese woman sitting beside me was thrown on top of me in the event of an crash because her belt was either not fastened or because it couldn't restrain her in her seat you can imagine what would happen to me (assuming we wouldn't all me killed on impact anyway of course).


So it's a safety issue also. I pay good money for my ticket to fly to my destination in as much safety and comfort as airline travel will allow in economy class. Why should I be put at increased risk and decreased level of comfort because an obese person is sitting beside me?
It's nothing to do with discrimination. If anything I'm the one being disadvantaged in that situation!

cloud493

Again, if a person needs two seats, they should pay for the two seats(think they already do)

hungrypig

the safety issue is ridiculous............seriously what are the chances of surviving a crash anyway. this thread is becoming ridiculous

irelandrover

hungrypig wrote: »

the safety issue is ridiculous............seriously what are the chances of surviving a crash anyway. this thread is becoming ridiculous

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTair_Flight_120
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caribbean_Airlines_Flight_523
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IrAero_Flight_103

So yeah, people survive plane crashes, there is an example in this thread where the weight of the passengers was attributed as a direct cause of teh plane crashing. Now please explain why safety factors are ridiculous.

RoundBox11

I think they definitely should have to pay more. Suggesting that it's discrimination is just rubbish.

I was flying to Berlin there recently with ryanair (so not much space as it is), and an american man who was easily 140kg sat beside me, taking up half of my seat. It was rediculous, the armrests had to be lifted for him to fit. If he's taking up some of my seat he should have to pay for some of my seat. I'm an average build man and those seats are cramped enough as it is without having someone on top of you.

Gannicus

desertcircus wrote: »

2. I'm not sure even Ryanair could manage to weather the reputational issues involved in telling customers they're too damn fat to fly without paying extra. That's going beyond the usual "we don't care about you" and crossing over into "we're actually going to bully you".

Correct me if I'm wrong but
AFAIK Ryanair did something like this before and got sued. even though they could prove that the claimant was spilling over into the next chair so they couldn't sell it.

irelandrover

RoundBox11 wrote: »

I think they definitely should have to pay more. Suggesting that it's discrimination is just rubbish.

I was flying to Berlin there recently with ryanair (so not much space as it is), and an american man who was easily 140kg sat beside me, taking up half of my seat. It was rediculous, the armrests had to be lifted for him to fit. If he's taking up some of my seat he should have to pay for some of my seat. I'm an average build man and those seats are cramped enough as it is without having someone on top of you.

Why did you allow the armrest to be raised? My armrest stays down no matter what.

hungrypig

why is air travel being singled out here. the same argument should apply to all modes of transport requiring fuel and no one has addressed the issuue of weight v bmi- there is a huge difference. very simplistic arguments here

hungrypig

irelandrover wrote: »

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTair_Flight_120
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caribbean_Airlines_Flight_523
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IrAero_Flight_103

So yeah, people survive plane crashes, there is an example in this thread where the weight of the passengers was attributed as a direct cause of teh plane crashing. Now please explain why safety factors are ridiculous.

the chances of being in a plane crash and not surviving because there is an obese person sitting beside you is so unlikely that making it a reason to add to the cost of a flight is just stupid. seriously, what are the odds.

hungrypig

its not just fat people who are annoying to sit beside, what about people with bo, people with screaming babies, people who talk constant ****e ( plenty on this thread ). maybe they shoul all be penalised by an increase in fair or maybe we should just be a bit more tollerant as a society

mikemac1

Inverin airfield in Galway has a scales and passengers stand on it in front of everyone.
It's to balance the weight on the plane.

irelandrover

hungrypig wrote: »

the chances of being in a plane crash and not surviving because there is an obese person sitting beside you is so unlikely that making it a reason to add to the cost of a flight is just stupid. seriously, what are the odds.

odds of surviving a plane crash are 7:1.
odd of surviving a plane crash with fat person beside you is 150:1.

granted i just made up these figures but you seem to be paying no attention to facts anyway so what was the point in actually looking for something.

Cassidy28

mikemac1 wrote: »

Inverin airfield in Galway has a scales and passengers stand on it in front of everyone.
It's to balance the weight on the plane.

Seems the only way to go alright

mightdomighty

The no count is rising....just as sugar induced comas wear off perhaps?

hungrypig

irelandrover wrote: »

odds of surviving a plane crash are 7:1.
odd of surviving a plane crash with fat person beside you is 150:1.

granted i just made up these figures but you seem to be paying no attention to facts anyway so what was the point in actually looking for something.

if you provide me with actual stats of people who have died in a plane crash because they were sitting beside a fat person i will certainly consider your argument, otherwise its just bs

Greentopia

hungrypig wrote: »

its not just fat people who are annoying to sit beside, what about people with bo,

Why should I be tolerant of someone who can't be bothered to keep themselves clean? they show how little they care for the comfort of others by stinking up the air around them. Let's see how tolerant you would be if your nose was assaulted by someone sitting beside you with BO for several hours on a plane.

hungrypig wrote: »

people with screaming babies,

Depends what the parent is doing to try to address the reason why the baby is screaming. If they have a couldn't-care-less attitude about it and how it affects other passengers then again-why should I be tolerant of that?? if it's obvious that the parent is doing what they can to pacify and comfort the child then of course you can't blame the parent or baby if it continues to scream, however much it might be uncomfortable to listen to.
You just have to put up with it if the plane is full and the parent can't move away with the baby from other passengers. Or wear ear plugs if you have them.

hungrypig wrote: »

people who talk constant ****e ( plenty on this thread ).

If they're loud enough that it causes discomfort to me and they have no thought or consideration to other passengers comfort and relaxation on the plane-same thing-ZERO tolerance. Nor should I be expected to have.
Tolerance is fine as long as people have consideration and think of how their attitude and behaviour affects others.
Expecting people to treat you with tolerance if you're behaving like an asshole with no respect for others in society in any situation is unjustifiable and undeserved.

grindle

They should pay more, but I don't think people realise what a minimal difference this would make to the fares, as the cost of the weight of the plane (over half the weight) and the allowed baggage should be averaged evenly across all passengers.
Unless somebody brought this up... In which case, ignore.

Rabies

rarnes1 wrote: »

Wouldn't charging fat people more be discrimination?

Try doing it to a black guy and see what happens.

Ridiculous suggestion

Race doesn't come in to it.

To the person that mentioned rugby players, they don't over flow in to the next seat. But they are heavier, it's the space occupied is the problem.

Rabies

Really I think it comes down to we are all entitled to a comfortable flight, especially if you've spent a few $k.

Our comfort shouldn't be put out because an over weight person is falling over on to our seat and arm rest.

As for BO, crying babies, or overly talkative people, that isn't the issue here. It's personal space that is allotted to us. Sit beside someone big and you loose and they gain.

Sea Filly

Crooked Jack wrote: »

Maybe dont charge heavier people extra, just charge thinner people less. then it's a positive plus an incentive to lose weight

Social engineering. Nice.

codrulz

Thrill wrote: »

Pay Per Pound. Surprised Ryanair haven't thought of this.

so, ryanair would be like the butchers and us the steak? .... mmm steak!

Sea Filly

Stinicker wrote: »

I always fly Aer Lingus as they are cheaper

No, they're not. Even when you factor in the extra charges, Ryanair ALWAYS works out way cheaper.

mikemac1

If you ever crash into the mountains and need to turn to cannibalism then you'll be glad the fat people were on your plane

Stinicker

Sea Filly wrote: »

No, they're not. Even when you factor in the extra charges, Ryanair ALWAYS works out way cheaper.

Aer Lingus are often cheaper both on the direct journey cost and on the total trip cost as you get more sociable flight times to centrally located airports allowing you to save transportation costs. Also Aer Lingus gives you 20Kgs compared to Ryanair's differing price structures. As a rule unless totally unavoidable I will always fly with a different Airline to Ryanair and other low cost carriers.

kirving

It's not just about weight equating to fuel used, becasue the weight difference between a normal person and a fat person accounts for relatively nothing overall.

The reason that the airlines are so picky over a kilogram or two is that they may have to get a second person to lift the bag, or the overhead locker is not specced to carry anything over 10kg. Now, we all know that it's a bit stupid, but you have to draw the line somewhere, and you can't be having 50kg bags.

hungrypig

mikemac i'm glad you're making light of this ****e:D

for those who are so protective of their personal space would you object to sitting beside a pregnant woman or an overweight person with a disability..............