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I'm all for having a seat hanging on the wall (attached to the studs obviously) before you hand you boarding pass over. Each person whom the staff feels may spill into the next seat have to sit in the seat to see if they need to purchase another seat. If no seats available then well I dunno...
Even though more people than ever travel now there are still a good number of people who have never left their state especially here in the south.
This would be a luxury. Commercial air travel now is worse than taking the bus. In many cases, it is filthy and disgusting. Staying home is the better option.
The real problem is being forced against our will to share our airplane seat for any reason with two strangers.
No, the real problem is that the traveling public as a whole isn't willing to spend a bit more on tickets to ensure that the space in an Economy seat will be adequate for nearly everyone. The want Cheap Uber Alles; well this is the result of that decision. It's the inevitable results of seating space getting smaller while the public gets larger.
If you want to be comfortable, buy a First class ticket. Pretty much everyone fits in those seats, and you won't risk being uncomfortably squashed by your seatmate. But stop expecting to get something you didn't pay for.
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Occupation of that aisle seat by the obese should be considered a threat to our lives. Planes crash. They catch on fire. Quick and unimpeded escape is paramount. If hefty man becomes incapable of moving out of his seat during a fire, middle and window seat are mostly likely gonna die. How's that for rude?
The obese are no more a threat than the elderly, the physically handicapped, those who don't speak English, those traveling with small kids, and (worst of all) those who will stop to get their carryon out of the overhead bin before exiting the plane. You are on public transportation when you take a commercial flight, and that means you are going to be sharing it with the public.
In theory, all of the airlines require it. In practice, almost none of them enforce their rule (including Southwest). And all but Southwest make actually buying extra space difficult. For instance, some people in this thread have suggested the two fat ladies should have bought the seat in between them and shared it. Well, the airline computer systems have no way to link three seats to two people.
One of them could have purchased the extra seat and had it linked to her name, but if an equipment change or other unexpected event caused the seating on the flight to be reassigned, there's no guarantee the two ladies would still be sitting together in the same row.
So one of them ends up short on space, despite their planning ahead. There's also no way for two strangers to be paired up to share half an empty seat (even though half a seat is all that most larger people actually need). It's double the price, or nothing.
And as I said in an earlier post, all the airlines reserve the right to decide you're actually not bulky enough to honor the second seat purchase, which makes traveling hell if you're right on the border between fitting and not fitting in Economy. Do you buy the second seat and risk having a standby passenger put into it over your objections, or do you take the chance you'll fit and make your hapless seatmate pay the price if you don't?
Southwest is the only airline that has a procedure that generally works and is reasonably customer-friendly. On all the other carriers, it's a complete mess.
I actually thought about it, reading this thread: the airlines might not even have to make it mandatory (thus avoiding bad PR and all the stink!), BUT they should definitely update software so it's easier to buy extra seats for those who are WILLING!
Because, even if you book the second seat to your own name (with and without middle name, for example), once you actually check in, the system might count you as one person taking one seat, and sell the "extra" seats (since now pretty much every flight is oversold!)
Maybe incidents like this will make airlines look into developing software specially designed for that purpose!!
I actually thought about it, reading this thread: the airlines might not even have to make it mandatory (thus avoiding bad PR and all the stink!), BUT they should definitely update software so it's easier to buy extra seats for those who are WILLING!
Because, even if you book the second seat to your own name (with and without middle name, for example), once you actually check in, the system might count you as one person taking one seat, and sell the "extra" seats (since now pretty much every flight is oversold!)
Maybe incidents like this will make airlines look into developing software specially designed for that purpose!!
I really, really wish they would! Purchasing a second seat for yourself shouldn't be any harder than purchasing just one. You should be able to do it online using either an OTA like Expedia or the airline's own website. You should be able to check in on your smartphone using the airline app, and have both boarding passes sent to your phone. If you qualify for TSA Pre-Check, that should automatically be associated with both tickets. And ANYONE, regardless of their size, should expect a second seat purchase to be honored!
This is where regulations come in. When you allow a free for all this is what you get. I have no problem with airlines being regulated to some level of sanity and at least, safety. I don't believe a situation like this, where people cannot fit into their seats, is safe. There are better safety rules for amusement park rides.
This is where regulations come in. When you allow a free for all this is what you get. I have no problem with airlines being regulated to some level of sanity and at least, safety. I don't believe a situation like this, where people cannot fit into their seats, is safe. There are better safety rules for amusement park rides.
Yep. At amusement parks, if you can't fit in the seat, you cannot ride. Only a matter of time until they start to call that prejudice, fat-shaming, and a result of MAGA or some BS.
This is where regulations come in. When you allow a free for all this is what you get. I have no problem with airlines being regulated to some level of sanity and at least, safety.
You nailed it! The big advantage of regulation is that it forces all the airlines to compete equally. They are all equally (dis)advantaged. If the regulation (such as requiring a greater minimum seat pitch) causes ticket prices to rise, it will cause them to rise equally on all airlines, so one doesn't get a competitive advantage over the others. Goodbye, race to the bottom!
Oh, and on the matter of safety, here's a real scary one: many of the seats on modern aircraft were designed assuming significantly lighter passengers than the average passenger today, and they may pull loose from their anchoring rail in a crash. Even if you fit the seat in terms of overall dimensions, you may weigh too much for it to protect you properly in a crash. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/08/b...assengers.html
When I have chosen a seat in the past, I did so with the reasonable expectation I would have the whole seat to myself. This is one situation I don't believe in sharing.
This. If I have to share a seat, I should get a discount. I'm small and short and should not have to be sharing with a stranger on an already cramped plane. On my last flight, I was sitting next to an extremely tall, overweight man who kept impeding my seat (I had a window.) That was quite a feat, since I'm only 5'2". I finally got tired of it, took over the armrest, and dug my elbow in when he tried to crowd me. The behavior stopped.
No, the real problem is that the traveling public as a whole isn't willing to spend a bit more on tickets to ensure that the space in an Economy seat will be adequate for nearly everyone. The want Cheap Uber Alles; well this is the result of that decision. It's the inevitable results of seating space getting smaller while the public gets larger.
If you want to be comfortable, buy a First class ticket. Pretty much everyone fits in those seats, and you won't risk being uncomfortably squashed by your seatmate. But stop expecting to get something you didn't pay for.
The obese are no more a threat than the elderly, the physically handicapped, those who don't speak English, those traveling with small kids, and (worst of all) those who will stop to get their carryon out of the overhead bin before exiting the plane. You are on public transportation when you take a commercial flight, and that means you are going to be sharing it with the public.
And this ignorance, my friends, is why we have these problems.
"If you want comfort, fly First Class." "People want cheap plane tickets." "Stop expecting to get what you don't pay for."
.... which ignorantly equates to "it's your fault if you're squished on an airplane."
Yes, there's First Class, but most people can't afford it. Do you have any idea what that really costs?
And excuse me, but airline seats are fine for the average person... those of us who know when to put down the knife and fork. We sit comfortably in those airline seats, but only when we don't have to share them.
"The obese are no more a threat than the elderly". That's a nice try, but all of us will become elderly at some point. That's just life. We won't become obese unless we invite that into our lives and decide to ...ahem... throw our weight around and put others in jeopardy.
Anyone over 300 pounds should take the train... take a car... or better yet, walk.
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