"How should airlines treat larger passengers?"
The question is anything but simple. But The Economist, always seeking to entertain, decided to give it a try.
There is no one answer. In Canada, The Economist tells us, obese passengers can receive an extra seat for free if they bring a doctor's note, while in America humiliation and discomfort are to be expected (well, actually, that's for everyone).
How to reconcile competing interests?
For those seated next to someone too large to remain within the confines of his seat, the debate hits a nerve. Air travel is hard enough as it is! For a large person who needs to get somewhere, the tiny seats are a form of humiliating torture. For the airline, with its reliance on yield management to pack 'em in, the extra weight and bulk are costly inefficiencies.
The Economist poses the question, but it is the readers who supply the answers.
The most popular response, from Tobias G, is basically one long insult of fat people ("those massive land whales one sees often in the supermarket, riding in motorized chairs with baskets loaded with soda, candy and chips") - not really a solution (unless venting is considered a solution).
The second most popular response (by one vote) is simply silly. Malkavian suggests that having 20 obese people on the plane might save it in case of a terrorist attack - from 20 obese Al Qaida terrorists. ("Imagine the following plot - 20 Al Qaeda hijackers gorge themselves until they weigh 500 lbs each, and then board a plane. At a predetermined moment, they all get up from their seats and rush to one side of the plane, tipping it over and causing a crash. If there are 20 obese Americans on board however, they can rush to the other side and stabilize the plane.")
The third most highly rated response actually applies economic theory (and as such is my personal favorite): charge passengers like freight: by the pound. "Fuel costs are up to 40-50% of airline costs," Connect the Dots reasons. "And fuel expenditure is proportional to weight of passengers or cargo. Fat people are expensive to ship around, just like a refrigerator cost more to ship by parcel post than a down quilt. The Obese should simply be charged more for their added costly fuel expenditures--just like any other passenger who wants to ship extra, large luggage."
I already feel like freight when I board a plane - dangerous freight from the look of all those security guys e-raying me and making sure I take off my shoes. So why not go whole hog?
It's equitable - in that everyone is treated like extra baggage And it makes economic sense (fuel costs really are proportional to weight).
Anyone has a better idea out there?
