In the news now, United Airlines has joined a number of other carriers in imposing extra fees for super-sized passengers - passengers so obese they have trouble putting the armrest down, say, or fastening their seat belts. Lots of angry passengers out there, including me, and I'm not obese. I'm angry because airlines in general have increased the seating density and reduced the comfort levels on most of their domestic aircraft over the last several years, exacerbating the problem of accommodating larger passengers.
But the issue is not simple. On one hand, it probably is good policy, in general, to charge a customer more if they cost you more to serve (or conversely, to give a discount to customers who cost you less to serve). Clearly, an obese passenger is more costly and difficult for an airline to serve than a thin passenger, especially if someone is so large that they require special service or even two seats. And, super-sized passengers infringe on the comfort of other passengers, as well.
On the other hand, airlines don't charge extra for a passenger who requires a wheelchair, and most airlines even provide an attendant to push the wheelchair without charge. Blindness, deafness, and other disabilities entitle customers to extra services for no extra fees. So will the outcry against "discrimination" against obese passengers mean that obesity will soon be the next "handicap" to be protected by various disabilities rules?
Sorry, I have to say I have some really ambivalent feelings about that idea...
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