Should the overweight pay more for airfare?

[Magnicon]

Fatty here. 6'1 300lbs. I've never flown so I cant say for sure, but I don't think I would be in a fellow fliers way. If I was though, I'm fine with paying for a second seat.

Being weighed before I get on? Go !#$& yourself. Seriously.

The reason luggage costs more is because people have to move it around, its more work, and they deserve to be payed more, but I'm sure they don't actually get payed more if the luggage is heavier, so its really just the airport ripping you off.

As far as gas being more expensive, you're basically saying that fat people should be punished because society as a whole has failed to go green. That includes the airports by the way, we know that there is tech they could be using to lower costs across the board, just like in every other field of transportation.

 

[Asuka Soryu]

Maybe people should just stop flying unless it's necessary. That would save a lot on gas.

But of course, that's not gone to happen.

 

[Tipsy Giant]

Unless they have a note from their doctor proving that their weight is due to a MEDICAL condition, they should pay more in my opinion.
However, it should be based on height too, if you are tall you will weigh more, not your fault.
Also extra leg room should be given to the tall people, not the richer people, such bullshit, no no please let me try and squeeze my knees into this tiny gap. BULLSHIT!


ahh that was lethargic

 

[Ignatz_Zwakh]

Oh man, thread name made my day. As for whether or not they should: NO COMMENT.

 

[Tipsy Giant]

No way, Fat people have enough on there plates as it is.

Absolutely amazing!
Wi-Five

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

This may be an...interesting discussion, but here goes:

I stumbled across this article over at MSN, [a href=http://now.msn.com/living/0313-overweight-airline-passengers.aspx] the short version being that if you're charged more for heavy baggage, you should be charged more for being heavier[/a], after all the plane doesn't care where the extra weight is coming from, and fuel costs need to be made up somehow.

Stupid beyond belief.

If we're strictly talking weight, can I get money off for being skinny? Do we have to pay extra because we eat the in-flight meal? Do anorexics get a discount?

Or are we just hammering home that loathsome idea that people need to be super-skinny to be healthy?

Before we even touch on pregnancy.

 

[chadachada123]

This isn't about how "fair" it is to fat people or if they'll be inconvenienced by this.

This is about how unfair it is to be charged more for having more luggage, without charging for luggage that is attached to you.

If I bring no suitcase and weigh Y pounds, and cost X dollars in gas to take overseas, and someone at Y/2 pounds with a Y/2 pound suitcase costs X+35 dollars...to put it bluntly: it's bullshit to charge her more.

Similarly, why the fuck should I pay the same amount with my one light suitcase and one light body as a fat guy with the same size suitcase...but is going to cost nearly twice as much in gas? He's raising airline prices for EVERYONE. So, yes, absolutely.

 

[chadachada123]

This may be an...interesting discussion, but here goes:

I stumbled across this article over at MSN, [a href=http://now.msn.com/living/0313-overweight-airline-passengers.aspx] the short version being that if you're charged more for heavy baggage, you should be charged more for being heavier[/a], after all the plane doesn't care where the extra weight is coming from, and fuel costs need to be made up somehow.

Stupid beyond belief.

If we're strictly talking weight, can I get money off for being skinny? Do we have to pay extra because we eat the in-flight meal? Do anorexics get a discount?

Or are we just hammering home that loathsome idea that people need to be super-skinny to be healthy?

Before we even touch on pregnancy.

Yes, no, yes, and hell-fucking-no, respectively.

Just read my post right after yours. If you charge people for extra bags (ie: taking up space and weighing the plane down), then you should charge for physical weight too. That's it. Why should suitcases be treated differently than large people? If you can save money by not bringing luggage (costing the airline less), why shouldn't you be able to save money by losing some weight (also costing the airline less)?

Fatty here. 6'1 300lbs. I've never flown so I cant say for sure, but I don't think I would be in a fellow fliers way. If I was though, I'm fine with paying for a second seat.

Being weighed before I get on? Go !#$& yourself. Seriously.

The reason luggage costs more is because people have to move it around, its more work, and they deserve to be payed more, but I'm sure they don't actually get payed more if the luggage is heavier, so its really just the airport ripping you off.

As far as gas being more expensive, you're basically saying that fat people should be punished because society as a whole has failed to go green. That includes the airports by the way, we know that there is tech they could be using to lower costs across the board, just like in every other field of transportation.

I'm sorry, but you're wrong about luggage. Airlines charge more for heavier luggage in different ways. Some airlines, if your luggage is over some weight, will charge an "overweight" penalty.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Why should suitcases be treated differently than large people?

Because it's a lot easier to leave a shirt behind than leave a couple of meals behind.

Also it's racist: because you've just said that Oriental people should travel cheaper than Caucasians (Due to average weight), sexist: Because men will pay more than women (due to average weight), and are we weighed at the point of ticket purchase - or the point of getting onto the plane?

Do wheelchairs count? Do plastercasts count? Do I get a penny off if I don't wear a hat? What about a mankini?

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How about just do it by seat size?

Here is a baby seat, a medium seat and a large seat. Pay according to what you can fit your ass into.

I have enough bloody trouble getting my legs into most seats and I'm only 6'2".

 

[spartan231490]

Crap. The weight of the passengers is minimal when compared to the weight of the luggage and the plane itself. I mean, a passanger 747 takes 200,000 tons of fuel to get to altitude and back. That's half the fuel tank. A few hundred extra pounds will make such a small difference to that usage of fuel that any "surcharge" is just a crap excuse to charge more money without raising your ticket price.

200,000 TONS!!! Bloody hell thats what twice the displacement of a fully loaded Nimitz Class super carrier. You may want to check your maths a second there.......

Max takeoff weight of a 757 depending on Variants between about 330 tons and 450 tons....

sorry about that, it was something a prof once told me in aero engineering, and I couldn't remember if it was 200,000 pounds or 200,000 tons, or now that I think about it, it was gallons. Sorry, I've been pretty exhausted lately and wasn't thinking clearly.

 

[MuzzleFlash]

Being weighed before I get on? Go !#$& yourself. Seriously.

Though some people don't like being seen naked but still have to go through those machines which let people see them naked.

The reason luggage costs more is because people have to move it around, its more work, and they deserve to be payed more, but I'm sure they don't actually get payed more if the luggage is heavier, so its really just the airport ripping you off.

It's a deterrent. If everyone took an extra 10lb onto a 300 passenger flight, the aircraft is now a few tons heavier, which means more fuel, which is more weight, and on a hot day that might make the difference between it being able to get off the ground safely. At the least it's extra work for the pilot. As a rule of thumb a 10% increase in weight results in a 20% increase in ground roll.

As far as gas being more expensive, you're basically saying that fat people should be punished because society as a whole has failed to go green.

Cars might be able to make the transition to alternate methods of propulsion, but there's no such thing as an electric jet, we have to burn fuel to move. High bypass turbofans are already some of the most efficient devices we have, beaten only by ship engines and power stations (both of with have much more leeway in terms of weight and size).

 

[Wintermoot]

you can remove excess luggage directly you can,t do that with body fat.
although I do think that if you take up 2 seats you would have to pay for the second one.

 

[MrFalconfly]

Well if the weight of their fat arse means I can't bring all my luggage then yes they should pay extra.

 

[EternalFacepalm]

no you cant call it out for lacking content, and the reason i say it is because... why are fat people fat? because they are greedy lazy gluttonous people.

Good sir, let me introduce you to a new, interesting fact: Some people are obese due to a legitimate medical condition. No, really, it's true!

Also, you could've added why all fat people deserve it in your original post, because it's still lacking content.

 

[MrTub]

no you cant call it out for lacking content, and the reason i say it is because... why are fat people fat? because they are greedy lazy gluttonous people.

Good sir, let me introduce you to a new, interesting fact: Some people are obese due to a legitimate medical condition. No, really, it's true!

Also, you could've added why all fat people deserve it in your original post, because it's still lacking content.

Some people yes, but I very much doubt that its more then 0.7% of all fat people.

And if you have a medical condition then you should monitor your weight even more, I can understand people that always feel hungry..

 

[galdon2004]

220 pounds? You do realize the AVERAGE weight of an American male is 190ish right? You want to charge extra to every person who weighs roughly 15% higher than the statistical average?

Plus, why allow people another excuse to enforce their ridiculous notions of what a healthy weight is? BMI is entirely broken, as it fails to account for shoulder width and muscle mass when calculating your 'ideal weight' I am considered 'morbidly obese' which gives the visual idea of a blob hobbling around, if able to move at all, but in actuality, my body isn't the slightest bit deformed. I could lose a little weight off my stomach, but to get down to what is considered a healthy weight considering my being 6'6" with broad shoulders, I'd have to stop exercising entirely and starve myself until I'm nothing but skin tightly stretched against my bones.

 

[EternalFacepalm]

Some people yes, but I very much doubt that its more then 0.7% of all fat people.

And if you have a medical condition then you should monitor your weight even more, I can understand people that always feel hungry..

Well, yes, of course. I was simply stating that because he stated that every single fat person was a lazy bastard, which is both false and silly.

 

[Private Custard]

The reason luggage costs more is because people have to move it around, its more work, and they deserve to be payed more, but I'm sure they don't actually get payed more if the luggage is heavier, so its really just the airport ripping you off.

The reason luggage weight is restricted, and costs you more if you go overweight, is because if every idiot turned up at the airport and checked in everything they wanted to, the aircraft would stand a chance of never even getting off the ground.

People take flying for granted when, in reality, you're working with the laws of physics, many tonnes of combustable materials, massive jet engines that are at the cutting edge of civillian-accessible technology and a pressurised metal tube filled with luggage, food and vacant morons that are taking the whole thing for granted.

Aircraft too heavy, best case scenario = burns a shitload more fuel, costs the airline big bucks and risks leaving the aircraft with not enough reserves in case of emergency.

Aircraft too heavy, worst case scenario = Doesn't take off, end up in a smoking hole at the end of the runway.

Not everything is purely about money. Even big businesses, unscrupulous bastards that they are, would still like their 200 passengers to arrive at their destination. Insurance deals with things if their $85m airliner is wrecked.