This is a paper I wrote for my English class. Your thoughts on this topic?
Commercial Air Travel for Larger Passengers: Should an obese person be required to purchase two seats on an airplane?
Obesity is becoming a growing worldwide epidemic. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States alone over the past 20 years (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as cited in Overweight and Obesity, 2010). “Similar increases in the prevalence of obesity have been reported in developed countries such as England and in countries where obesity was formerly rare” (U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services, 2010). People who are considered obese often face prejudice or discrimination in the job market, at school, and in social situations. They are most likely to have experienced feelings of rejection, shame, or depression on a regular basis (WIN, 2008). If they choose to travel by plane, they may require additional space. Therefore, companies should make reasonable accommodations to continuously meet the needs of their changing customer demographics, particularly airline companies.
An obese person should not be required to purchase two seats on an airplane. If they happen to fit in more than one seat it is considered discriminatory and unfair to make them purchase additional airplane tickets. Imagine how you would feel if someone demanded that you give up your paid airplane seat and go pay for an additional ticket for yourself. How would you feel if an airline attendant told you to catch the next flight that has empty seats? Would you agree that this brings up a number of human rights issues?
Discrimination is defined as treating or acting differently towards a person or group of people (Merriam-Webster, 2010). All airline passengers are basically treated the same except in instances when a customer needs more space. If an airline wants to impose a policy requiring only a select group of individuals to pay for additional tickets, is this not categorized as discrimination? If this same policy was required of all women, or all African Americans or all gay and lesbians then it still would be discrimination. In order to prevent any bias, discrimination, or unfair treatment, then all passengers must be treated equally. Agreed? This means one passenger pays one ticket in order to travel.
A growing number of airline companies are demanding that obese passengers pay for a second seat. However, with national records and trends reporting the increasing rate of obesity, this in effect should be a concern for any company as these are current or potential customers. In other words, has the airlines failed to keep up with the growing size of their fliers (CBS, 2009)? The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the governing agency that regulates and inspects aircraft manufacturing for civilian air travel. Since the FAA does not place restrictions on plane seat sizes, airline companies have collectively maintained basic seat sizes at 17 or 18 inches for years (Chen, 2009). The purpose of an airline company is to transport passengers safely from one destination to the next. This means making the necessary accommodations and adjustments to ensure passenger comfort.
These adjustments are needed immediately because it is a safety concern for everyone. Consider this event: “In 2003, the issue of passenger weight surfaced when a commuter plane crashed on takeoff from Charlotte, North Carolina, because of excess weight and a maintenance error” (Chen, 2009). In response to this incident, Les Dorr, a representative for aviation safety at FAA stated, "We realized after that accident that the weights we were using probably didn't reflect the current state of the American traveling public (Chen, 2009).”
Current airline policies are basically vague on the issue of transporting larger passengers. Southwest Airlines has a “customer of size” policy in which they ask people who cannot lower both armrests of seats to purchase additional seating (Southwest, 2010). United Airlines has a policy for passengers requiring extra space. If a customer cannot fit in a regular seat or use a seatbelt extender then they must upgrade their seat, pay for an additional one or catch another flight (United, 2010). Some airlines do not openly address this issue or do not allow their flight attendants to address a large person in fear of being sued for discrimination.
When airline staff or representatives improperly handle sensitive situations, it can present a negative image for the airline company. The staff and company representatives are suppose to maintain and provide good customer service at all times. When incidents or occurrences happen involving a specific company, it can greatly impact sales and decrease the number of fliers for that company. Poorly handled situations can also present an emotionally unpleasant experience for the customer. Consider this story: Jean-Jacques Jauffret, who travels often, is considered an overweight passenger weighing about 353 pounds. In 2005, Jauffret was at the New Delhi Airport when an Air France staff publicly measured his waist, decided he was too fat to fit in a regular seat and told him that he would have to pay for an additional seat in order to travel. Jauffret stated that he was shocked and publicly humiliated (AirWise, 2006).
From the perspective of larger customers, being singled out to pay for additional plane tickets feels unfair. It seems retaliatory because most airline policies are not enforced until the passenger physically arrives at the airport. Mary Wann, a frequent flier stated that “instead of us feeling welcome by this entire [airline] industry, we're made to feel very unwelcome; in fact, to the point where we're not supposed to participate in the kinds of activities that everyone else does by traveling (CBS, 2009). While it is uncomfortable to have someone encroach into your seat, it is most likely even more uncomfortable for the obese individual.
Yes, is the majority response to the question on whether an obese person should pay for an additional seat (CreateDebate, 2010). In a personal and informal Facebook poll, most people felt that if someone needs more seat space then logically they should pay for it (Waller, 2010). Larger passengers can potentially cause a safety hazard if the passengers around them cannot escape swiftly should an emergency occur during a flight. Encroaching on someone else’s seat also makes travel very uncomfortable for the passenger sitting in the adjacent seat. Consider this event: Marsha St. Clair and her husband, both of Los Angeles, sat next to a woman who "spilled over" into a third of St. Clair's center seat during a five hour flight (Hobica, 2010). St. Clair is justified in filing a complaint after having paid full price for her seat and only occupied half of it.
The question is: should an obese person be required to pay for two seats on an airplane? The answer is no. It is understood that needing additional space will require a charge but should they pay it at full price? The answer is no. Should an obese person be charged for additional space? Yes. It is just unfair for them to pay double the price of a regular seat. Charging overweight passengers at full price for additional seating is clearly discrimination. There are fees for checked luggage, extra leg room, priority seating, and services (CNN, 2010). Wouldn’t it be more reasonable to charge a fee for extra seat space than at full price? There are a number of solutions that airline companies can do to help resolve this issue.
First class can be offered to obese passengers since the seats are more spacious than coach. Some airline companies and airports offer VIP programs for frequent fliers. They could possibly include gym membership as part of their benefits package. Airlines could also provide healthy meals on international flights and healthy snack options on shorter flights. One major advantage that the airline industry can tap into is incentive travel for overweight passengers. They can create some type of weight loss or get fit program that allows a passenger to track pounds lost in exchange for sky miles, discount tickets or prizes such as vacation getaways.
In a release from the U. S. Office of the Surgeon General, Regina Benjamin stated that in order “to stop the obesity epidemic in this country, we must remember that Americans will be more likely to change their behavior if they have a meaningful reward--something more than just reaching a certain weight or BMI measurement. The real reward has to be something that people can feel and enjoy and celebrate” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2008).
The topic of whether an overweight person should pay for additional seating is a sensitive and highly debatable one. There are currently no new or updated policies with reference to the transportation of larger passengers. Ultimately, it is up to the airline industry to create some reasonable solution to this growing problem. It is the airlines mission and job to ensure that all passengers are safely transported and have an enjoyable experience on their flight.
References
AirWise News. Air France sued by 'fat' man over seat row. 2006 Dec 20. Retrieved on August 15, 2010 from http://news.airwise.com/story/view/1166648696.html.
CBS Interactive, Inc. Airlines put squeeze on fat fliers. CBS News/The Early Show. 2009 April 17. Retreived on August 15, 2010 from http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/04/17/earlyshow/living/travel/main4952134.shtml.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2010). Overweight and obesity. Retrieved July 2010 from http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html
Chen, S. Airline policies juggle larger passengers. CNN. 2009June 26. Retrieved on August 15, 2010 from http://www.cnn.com/2009/TRAVEL/06/26/obese.passengers.airlines/index.html.
CNN. Airline fees. Retrieved on August 15, 2010 from http://www.cnn.com/2009/TRAVEL/06/24/airline.fees/index.html.
CreateDebate, LLC. (2010). Retrieved on August 29, 2010 from http://www.createdebate.com/debate/show/Should_Obese_People_Pay_For_Two_Airline_Seats.
Hobica, G. How should airlines accommodate obese passengers? USA Today. 2010 June 15. Retrieved on August 15, 2010 from http://travel.usatoday.com/experts/hobica/2010-06-15-obese-airline-passengers_N.htm.
Merriam-Webster, Inc. (2010). Merriam-webster online search. Retrieved August 15, 2010 from http://www.merriam-webster.com.
Reimink, T. Kevin smith vs. southwest airlines: should overweight passengers pay for a second ticket?. The Grand Rapids Press. 2010 Feb 18. Retreived on August 15, 2010 from http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2010/02/kevin_smith_vs_southwest_airli.html.
Southwest Airlines Co. (2010). Retrieved on August 15, 2010 from http://www.southwest.com/travel_center/cos_guidelines.html.
United Air Lines, Inc. (2010). Retrieved on August 15, 2010 from http://www.united.com/page/article/0,6867,52985,00.html.
U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2010, January). The surgeon general’s vision for a healthy and fit nation. Retrieved August 29, 2010 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Surgeon General, website: http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/obesityvision/obesityvision2010.pdf.
Waller, T. Informal Facebook poll. Surveyed July 12, 2010. Research Paper Facebook Poll.docx.
Weight – control Information Network(WIN). 2008 November. Understanding adult obesity. Retrieved August 29, 2010 from http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/understanding.htm#cultural.
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