Should the overweight pay more for airfare?
- Thread starter VivaciousDeimos
- Start date
Sure you can. Those discriminated against aren't going to be repeat customers, but beyond the pure economics of that, there's nothing stopping anyone from discriminating on whatever they want.hulksmashley said:
Beyond that, it's not so much discrimination as it is the simple fact that heavier people make the plane use more fuel to take off. Numbers don't lie, nor do they discriminate. I'd see nothing wrong with the price of a plane ticket being a function of your weight.
To make sure it's clear, I'd be on the higher end of ticket prices, seeing as I currently weigh in at around 315-320 lbs.
that's a very interesting idea. i understand the logistics behind it. if your total body+luggage weight really has a tangible effect on the fuel efficiency of the flight, then a system where your ticket price is based on the total travel weight makes a lot of sense.
I'd be willing to bet that poor weight distribution would cost more fuel than a few overweight passengers.
hulksmashley said:
Umm.. No?
Why do you think things like elevators, buses and even buildings have max capacities? As far as I know, there's no substance or design on earth that can "hold up however many people we want to regardless of weight".
Even less so for a plane.. you're suggesting that the designers should basically be able to create a plane that will stay in the air no matter what the weight fitted into it. Do you have any limits for this? Should every passenger and crew member be allowed to fill their pockets and luggage with the heaviest weights they can fit in?
Purely OT.
I have no problem with them charging more for people who physically take up more space.. yes, even disabled people... although I'd hope they would take into account emergency situations and the like... but regulation does need to be in place to ensure they are realistic and their seats and weights are at least reasonable for "average" people.. right now I can see airlines making both seats and weight limits so tight even smaller people struggle.
That's not how it works. Any given wingspan has a maximum amount of lift it can generate. If the plane and contents together weighs more than that maximum amount of lift, it will fall.hulksmashley said:
It's a simple fact of aerodynamics, you can't make a plane that can take any weight. All you can do is make a plane and make sure people know what the weight tolerance of it is.
Makes sense to me, however, people can't really control their weight as easy as their luggage. I think I weigh around 110 kilos(which is 220 lbs, I believe), but not because I'm fat. Raise the limit 50 kilos!
Sucks being tall and normally built. Gotta starve myself or chop off my legs to pass without paying extra.
Though plane tickets are already fucking expensive. It's not like they lose a lot of money.
Sucks being tall and normally built. Gotta starve myself or chop off my legs to pass without paying extra.
Though plane tickets are already fucking expensive. It's not like they lose a lot of money.
I think the problem we're running into is that what you are suggesting is already done. The problem is that pilots occasionally ignore such guidelines for whatever reason, pack way too much onto the plane and crash. This doesn't happen in large commercial airlines, but it's not too uncommon with smaller planes (Cesnas, etc). Usually the cause is someone with money pressuring the pilot to take the risk because they don't understand what it actually entails.hulksmashley said:
The point in this thread is not that being overweight poses a safety hazard. The problem is that the heavier you are, the more expensive it is for an airline to get the plane containing you off the ground. Thus, it's reasonable for you to be charged based on how much you weigh.
My main argument against this is that overweight people already generally have to buy two seats. That means one less person on the plane; in other words it balances out. Having the overweight people buy second seats already accomplishes what this guys is proposing. If airlines do what this guy is suggesting, then that means that overweight people don't have to buy second seats. That shouldn't be a problem, right?
Hell yeah they should, and here's why... I'm a pretty skinny girl, I also used to fly a hell of a lot (Sadly not so much over the last few years - I miss it). As a photographer I was quite often transporting a fair amount of equipment with me, nothing is more annoying that being 4kg over the 20kg allowance, and having to pay extra, when the person in front must be at least twice my weight. In total, me and my baggage weigh less than them, so why am I the one paying more?
I get that sometimes being fat is a medical condition, and I have sympathy for these people, I really do. But most of the time it's down to nothing except laziness, so why should I pay more for a few extra Kg, when they weight far more than me. It's their own fault, and they deserve to pay for it!
Furthermore sitting next to fat people on a plane is disgusting, the constant eating, the spilling food down their front (Why do so many fat people seem to be messy eaters?), the noises they make (What is it with fat people and those weird grunting noises), and while I was born without a sense of smell my partner informs me that they smell gross (I assume it's mostly sweat?). Sitting next to them on an 8 hour flight is horrible, so I get very angry when I've had to pay for than them.
Anyone coming close to spilling over the edge of their seat, should be forced to buy 2, and if they didn't sort that out before the flight, not my problem. Throw them off before take off, if they don't take other people in to account then that's their own problem. In the event that someone does buy 2 seats, I would of course allow them twice the baggage allowance, and twice the personal weight before I began to feel they should be paying more, it's only fair that if they've paid twice, then they can weight twice as much right?
There should be a total baggage and person weight, and anyone who exceeds it, should have to pay... personally I see this being good for fat people, gives them some motivation to sort themselves out. I have no more sympathy for fat people (Assuming it's not down to a medical condition) than I have for crack head, they get themselves in their own mess, they can get themselves out of it, until they do then can pay a little extra.
I get that sometimes being fat is a medical condition, and I have sympathy for these people, I really do. But most of the time it's down to nothing except laziness, so why should I pay more for a few extra Kg, when they weight far more than me. It's their own fault, and they deserve to pay for it!
Furthermore sitting next to fat people on a plane is disgusting, the constant eating, the spilling food down their front (Why do so many fat people seem to be messy eaters?), the noises they make (What is it with fat people and those weird grunting noises), and while I was born without a sense of smell my partner informs me that they smell gross (I assume it's mostly sweat?). Sitting next to them on an 8 hour flight is horrible, so I get very angry when I've had to pay for than them.
Anyone coming close to spilling over the edge of their seat, should be forced to buy 2, and if they didn't sort that out before the flight, not my problem. Throw them off before take off, if they don't take other people in to account then that's their own problem. In the event that someone does buy 2 seats, I would of course allow them twice the baggage allowance, and twice the personal weight before I began to feel they should be paying more, it's only fair that if they've paid twice, then they can weight twice as much right?
There should be a total baggage and person weight, and anyone who exceeds it, should have to pay... personally I see this being good for fat people, gives them some motivation to sort themselves out. I have no more sympathy for fat people (Assuming it's not down to a medical condition) than I have for crack head, they get themselves in their own mess, they can get themselves out of it, until they do then can pay a little extra.
While the argument could be made that the individual is more in control over his weight than his height, I would ask if a tall person should be made to purchase the seat in front of him as well. I have sat, a couple of times, in front of a tall person whose knees both prevented me from leaning my seat back the three inches it can move and jabbed in my back the entire way from the east coast to California.
Unless the plane is full of fat people, it doesn't make much of a difference to fuel, although that said, for the same reason they could easily recoup the cost of fuel from them and it would be peanuts compared to the rest.
As far as passenger comfort goes though, people who protrude outside of the space within the extremeties of their seat should pay a little extra, and seats next to them should be discounted. This would allow couples who presumably don't mind sitting next to each other to pay the standard price, but people stuck next to fatter people than they should be expected to get a small benefit.
As far as passenger comfort goes though, people who protrude outside of the space within the extremeties of their seat should pay a little extra, and seats next to them should be discounted. This would allow couples who presumably don't mind sitting next to each other to pay the standard price, but people stuck next to fatter people than they should be expected to get a small benefit.