One seat, or two?

I read a news story this weekend stating that United Airlines was planning to force obese passengers to pay for an extra seat, or wait for a later plane if there was no extra seat available.

It wasn’t the story itself that bothered me, as much as the responses. There were dozens of comments, and almost everyone thought this was a wonderful idea. Virtually without exception, they took the point of view of the person sitting next to the obese passenger, who prefers not to be made uncomfortable.

While I don’t fall in the two-seat category – I can put down the arm-rest and buckle my seatbelt, which are the tests – I am a larger person. Maybe that is why I see it from the other side as well.

Imagine you have a vacation planned. You and your partner have splurged and bought expensive tickets to somewhere exotic. You get to the airport, packed, excited and ready to go, only to be told you have to buy an additional ticket. You can’t afford another ticket. You are humiliated, and your vacation is ruined.

Or you have a business meeting. Your company buys you a plane ticket. You go to board, and discover that not only will you need an extra seat, which your company won’t pay for, but there is no extra seat available on this flight, so you will have to wait for one that has two free seats – and you will miss your meeting.

The cost, the humiliation, the lost time – how would you feel if it was you?

I know all of the arguments. “If my luggage is overweight, I have to pay more. It’s the same thing”. You can choose to pack less. You can’t just slice off a chunk of yourself in time for the flight.

“Why should I be uncomfortable?” Well, I like to be comfortable, too, but on public transportation it doesn’t always work out that way. Babies scream, seatmates won’t shut up, or drink too much. That’s life.

“They can lose weight if they want to”. Maybe they can, I don’t know. But not by the time the flight leaves, so it isn’t really relevant.

The Canadian Transport Agency ruled in 2008 that airline passengers here would pay one fair per person. Carriers are expected to accommodate all passengers. I consider that fair. In the United States and other countries, however, this is not the case. They can make extra money from someone’s problem, and many have chosen to do so.

It would certainly make me think twice before flying with them, even if I did get a comfortable seat.