I completely disagree with this. A 400 lb person who knows they'll spill over into somebody else's seat should not be accomodated on their own damned terms.

Airlines *do* need to increase seat size--they're simply terribly uncomfortable (they were uncomfortable when I weighed 160 lbs!). But, the argument that Americans are getting fatter doesn't fly for me. Nor is the idea that a person with a 45+ inch waist entitled to fly on a plane on their own defined terms.

This woman has just given even more reason to get back in to the gym and work my ass off.

lawd

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2011/05/18/nr.too.fat.to.fly.tiggeman.cnn?hpt=C2

http://www.cnn.com/video/....cnn?hpt=C2

Anything I say will get me in trouble, so I'm just going to waddle away from this thread.

I say make her walk to her destination. She'll be in shape by the time she gets there. Problem solved.

So heres just my take on this situation..

Say the airlines do make wider seats, that makes LESS seating which will raise the price of a ticket even MORE... Why should I pay more money because you cant fit in a seat... I am not unsympathetic to her problem, BUT where does it end..

Lat time I flew a couple months ago we had the most irratating mother and her child WHO NEVER SHUT HER MOUTH for the entire flight.. Talking is one thing, but if this girl had nothing to say, shed make shit up... even the mom said "i cant believe you have been up sinc 6 and havent stopped talking the whole time... not to mention the girl always kicking the backs of our seats, and their baby who loved to throw things and scream every 5 minutes when it didnt get his way.. I paid alot of money for those tickets, and it was the worst flight EVER!

So maybe i should contact CNN to push for airlines to have children only flights because I should not have to put up with someone elses unruly children..

imago said:

Airlines *do* need to increase seat size--they're simply terribly uncomfortable (they were uncomfortable when I weighed 160 lbs!).

That's all she's saying. Two thirds of americans are overweight or obese. We are the majority. It doesn't make sense for a business not to recognize that and make accomodations.

I have no problem with her approach. She's very reasonable about it. She's not acting "entitled".

i don't want to live in a world where we can no longer make fat people hate themselves.

that's all we have left, dammit!

CarrieMpls said:

imago said:

Airlines *do* need to increase seat size--they're simply terribly uncomfortable (they were uncomfortable when I weighed 160 lbs!).

That's all she's saying. Two thirds of americans are overweight or obese. We are the majority. It doesn't make sense for a business not to recognize that and make accomodations.

I have no problem with her approach. She's very reasonable about it. She's not acting "entitled".

Agree that she isnt acting entitled, but then restaurants need to make their booths bigger, toilets should be made bigger, etc etc etc... and thats going to end up costing us more money in the end just because some people are so large they cant "fit" into society... Im not talking overweight... I dont consider her overweight, she is morbidly obese... And she is not the majority

[Edited 5/19/11 6:18am]

tinaz said:

CarrieMpls said:

That's all she's saying. Two thirds of americans are overweight or obese. We are the majority. It doesn't make sense for a business not to recognize that and make accomodations.

I have no problem with her approach. She's very reasonable about it. She's not acting "entitled".

Agree that she isnt acting entitled, but then restaurants need to make their booths bigger, toilets should be made bigger, etc etc etc... and thats going to end up costing us more money in the end just because some people are so large they cant "fit" into society... Im not talking overweight... I dont consider her overweight, she is morbidly obese... And she is not the majority

[Edited 5/19/11 6:18am]

Frankly, I don’t care about the “who’s going to pay for it?” argument. None of us lives in a vacuum. We are all better off as a people if we take care of each other. That costs us, whether it’s in time and work we give or money we spend. If I am accommodating to others, if I have compassion for them, they will be accommodating back to me when I need it. That’s how it’s supposed to work.

We can talk all day long about personal responsibility and how best to address the obesity epidemic, but we also have to deal with the reality of where we are today.

CarrieMpls said:

tinaz said:

Agree that she isnt acting entitled, but then restaurants need to make their booths bigger, toilets should be made bigger, etc etc etc... and thats going to end up costing us more money in the end just because some people are so large they cant "fit" into society... Im not talking overweight... I dont consider her overweight, she is morbidly obese... And she is not the majority

[Edited 5/19/11 6:18am]

Frankly, I don’t care about the “who’s going to pay for it?” argument. None of us lives in a vacuum. We are all better off as a people if we take care of each other. That costs us, whether it’s in time and work we give or money we spend. If I am accommodating to others, if I have compassion for them, they will be accommodating back to me when I need it. That’s how it’s supposed to work.

We can talk all day long about personal responsibility and how best to address the obesity epidemic, but we also have to deal with the reality of where we are today.

And this i agree with 100% but sometimes its called being an enabler... Someone doesnt get to be 400 lbs by accident... And while I really dont care how large someone wants to be, when it becomes something that starts to affect my bottom line im gonna say enough is enough... I will help you become a healthier person and support you mentally, but I for one will not be an enabler... Its not a handicap... they choose that hard road...

tinaz said:

And this i agree with 100% but sometimes its called being an enabler... Someone doesnt get to be 400 lbs by accident... And while I really dont care how large someone wants to be, when it becomes something that starts to affect my bottom line im gonna say enough is enough... I will help you become a healthier person and support you mentally, but I for one will not be an enabler... Its not a handicap... they choose that hard road...

tinaz said:

CarrieMpls said:

Frankly, I don’t care about the “who’s going to pay for it?” argument. None of us lives in a vacuum. We are all better off as a people if we take care of each other. That costs us, whether it’s in time and work we give or money we spend. If I am accommodating to others, if I have compassion for them, they will be accommodating back to me when I need it. That’s how it’s supposed to work.

We can talk all day long about personal responsibility and how best to address the obesity epidemic, but we also have to deal with the reality of where we are today.

And this i agree with 100% but sometimes its called being an enabler... Someone doesnt get to be 400 lbs by accident... And while I really dont care how large someone wants to be, when it becomes something that starts to affect my bottom line im gonna say enough is enough... I will help you become a healthier person and support you mentally, but I for one will not be an enabler... Its not a handicap... they choose that hard road...

I guess I don’t agree that allowing someone to simply be a member of society, to be accommodated for a service like transportation or a table to sit at in a restaurant is “enabling”.

i dont feel sorry for her

she is 400 freaking pounds its not like shes 270 or even 300 that is a fair weight to accommodate to

this big bitch has some nerve shes sitting up hear eating cakes and junk food and or not exercising

if they made special room and seats for fat folks in cargo planes some fat people will still complain about being discriminated against for being fat and having to ride with cargo

so NOOOO get your big ass in the gym and/or stop overeating

[Edited 5/19/11 7:30am]

CarrieMpls said:

tinaz said:

And this i agree with 100% but sometimes its called being an enabler... Someone doesnt get to be 400 lbs by accident... And while I really dont care how large someone wants to be, when it becomes something that starts to affect my bottom line im gonna say enough is enough... I will help you become a healthier person and support you mentally, but I for one will not be an enabler... Its not a handicap... they choose that hard road...

I guess I don’t agree that allowing someone to simply be a member of society, to be accommodated for a service like transportation or a table to sit at in a restaurant is “enabling”.

its enabling when your 400+

CarrieMpls said:

tinaz said:

Agree that she isnt acting entitled, but then restaurants need to make their booths bigger, toilets should be made bigger, etc etc etc... and thats going to end up costing us more money in the end just because some people are so large they cant "fit" into society... Im not talking overweight... I dont consider her overweight, she is morbidly obese... And she is not the majority

[Edited 5/19/11 6:18am]

Frankly, I don’t care about the “who’s going to pay for it?” argument. None of us lives in a vacuum. We are all better off as a people if we take care of each other. That costs us, whether it’s in time and work we give or money we spend. If I am accommodating to others, if I have compassion for them, they will be accommodating back to me when I need it. That’s how it’s supposed to work.

We can talk all day long about personal responsibility and how best to address the obesity epidemic, but we also have to deal with the reality of where we are today.

my cousin had thyroid problem that made her gain weight so i understand sometimes its uncontrollable but 400+ seems like it was there fault ..im sorry no drug or health problem in the world is gonna make you get that big for no good reason.

Oh Lord, here we go with this shit again. You would think the damn airlines would have solved that problem by now.

I've never been on a plane but from what I've heard, the seats are uncomfortable for "normal" size people, let alone somebody big. This is greed on the airlines part but since it involves obese people, a group that people openly love to hate, people overlook the greed of the airlines.

They should have made bigger seats to begin with instead of being so damn greedy that they stuff as many people into a sardine can as possible so they can make as much money as possible. Yes, they should make the seats bigger and as far as raising the prices for the customers, the damn airline should be forced to eat that loss for not making the seats big enough to begin with.

As for the extremely obese people, don't airlines have a handicapped section for wheelchairs? If they don't they should. It takes space to park a wheelchair somewhere. There could be two or three seats for extremely obese people in the handicapped section because yes, being extremely obese is a handicap. I mean, it's not like there's going to be a plane full of extremely obese people unless they are flying to a Weight Watchers Convention or something.

But as for "they need to lose some damn weight", I've been big and I've been small. I've been up and down so many times you would think I was Luther or Oprah. I've never been too big to fit in a chair but I definately know what hell it is sticking to a diet and it is pure hell. Everybody can't do it and stick to it because it takes extreme determination. My mother was always a big girl and in the last few years of her life, she became one of those extremely obese people and she ate very little. She just had extreme arthritis in her knees and it was very painful for her to even walk, let alone exercise. It was kinda like a no win situation. So you never really know what someone's situation is and why they are the way that they are. But even if it is someone that just sits up and eats cakes and cookies constantly, that's their business, not yours. If that's how they cope with their problems, the only person it is hurting is themselves. They aren't out drunk running over someone in a car. If they want to eat themselves to death, that's their business and we all have some sort of vice of our own even if it's not food. But whether you agree with that or not, the simple answer is, if you don't like the way an obese person looks, then shut your damn eyes.

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[Edited 5/19/11 7:49am]

CarrieMpls said:

Frankly, I don’t care about the “who’s going to pay for it?” argument.

It's very simple who should have to pay for it. The airlines should have to pay for it because they should have made seats bigger to begin with and they should have had at least one or two accommodations for someone who is extremely large. No one expects them to provide for a plane full of extremely obese people because that would be unreasonable.

And if the airlines raise the rates because of it, then their customers should boycott the airlines because it is discrimination. Don't let folks fool you with the "caring" act about someone's health because the truth is, they enjoy hating the obese person. Just listen to how folks will react with "lose some weight off your fat ass". That's not "caring", that's getting entertainment out of it. I enjoy a good fat joke as much as the next guy but when it comes to someone actually getting discriminated against because of their weight, then I'm dead serious.

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[Edited 5/19/11 8:04am]

CarrieMpls said:

imago said:

Airlines *do* need to increase seat size--they're simply terribly uncomfortable (they were uncomfortable when I weighed 160 lbs!).

That's all she's saying. Two thirds of americans are overweight or obese. We are the majority. It doesn't make sense for a business not to recognize that and make accomodations.

I have no problem with her approach. She's very reasonable about it. She's not acting "entitled".

While on one hand it sounds like biz-sense, on the other that sounds a bit like putting elastic waist line on the nation.

[Edited 5/19/11 8:05am]

vainandy said: But even if it is someone that just sits up and eats cakes and cookies constantly, that's their business, not yours. If that's how they cope with their problems, the only person it is hurting is themselves.

unless you're the airline company, apparently...

CarrieMpls said:

tinaz said:

And this i agree with 100% but sometimes its called being an enabler... Someone doesnt get to be 400 lbs by accident... And while I really dont care how large someone wants to be, when it becomes something that starts to affect my bottom line im gonna say enough is enough... I will help you become a healthier person and support you mentally, but I for one will not be an enabler... Its not a handicap... they choose that hard road...

I guess I don’t agree that allowing someone to simply be a member of society, to be accommodated for a service like transportation or a table to sit at in a restaurant is “enabling”.

I agree with everything CarrieMpls has said in this thread so far, except I think that making seats bigger to accommodate people of a variety of proportions IS enabling AND enabling an increasing number of people is an EXCELLENT SOCIAL GOAL. At one time, workplaces only had washrooms for men, and in some places, only white men. This meant that only men, or white men, could work in those places. The list of examples like this is endless. The issue of seating on airlines is included on that list.

whistle said:

vainandy said: But even if it is someone that just sits up and eats cakes and cookies constantly, that's their business, not yours. If that's how they cope with their problems, the only person it is hurting is themselves.

unless you're the airline company, apparently...

If they keep being so greedy, their asses are going to spread so wide they'll need bigger seats themselves.

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[Edited 5/19/11 8:27am]

Here is a short version of how I would like to see it handled.

We know that for some people they can not fit in a single seat. For one the seats are pretty small as it is. So I recommended a few rows of seats that can be easily widened as needed. When a person is booking their flight they would need to request special seating. (I do not see this any differently that special meal requests) if they are OUT of that special seat then they can book 2 seats side by side (assuming said seats are available)

Now this could be done at a small additional charge if necessary. Perhaps $10 to $20 (which is cheaper that the average taxes for a ticket anyway). If the plane ends up not being fully booked then that additional amount is refunded.

Shawnt27 said:

Just as long as I don't have to face higher ticket prices, I wish the airlines would accommodate a woman of her size. That just means a roomier seat for me.

making all the seats or even 10% of them wider WOULD raise the cost of the tickets.

I would prefer a row of seats with a bench seat and slots across it what would allow the arm rests to be moved around. That would allow that row to be arranged in such a manner as to be significantly wider if needed or standard width if not needed.

tinaz said:

CarrieMpls said:

Frankly, I don’t care about the “who’s going to pay for it?” argument. None of us lives in a vacuum. We are all better off as a people if we take care of each other. That costs us, whether it’s in time and work we give or money we spend. If I am accommodating to others, if I have compassion for them, they will be accommodating back to me when I need it. That’s how it’s supposed to work.

We can talk all day long about personal responsibility and how best to address the obesity epidemic, but we also have to deal with the reality of where we are today.

And this i agree with 100% but sometimes its called being an enabler... Someone doesnt get to be 400 lbs by accident... And while I really dont care how large someone wants to be, when it becomes something that starts to affect my bottom line im gonna say enough is enough... I will help you become a healthier person and support you mentally, but I for one will not be an enabler... Its not a handicap... they choose that hard road...

i agree. the obesity epidemic isn't something that will go away overnight. we need to be sensitive. yet, it is something that needs to be addressed. as a nation, we do not need to underwrite long term health care for preventable conditions like this.

imo the airlines should offer large seats for large people. something must be done to stop obese people from overflowing into the laps of other people on the plane. it is not fair to ask other passengers to somehow make up for the lack of space needed by these folks

uPtoWnNY said:

I say make her walk to her destination. She'll be in shape by the time she gets there. Problem solved.

I don't feel sorry for her either. I do think the airline staff should've been more discreet, but if you way 400 lbs, you have to realize that you are the one with the problem and should do something about it for many obvious reasons.

OnlyNDaUsa said:

Here is a short version of how I would like to see it handled.

We know that for some people they can not fit in a single seat. For one the seats are pretty small as it is. So I recommended a few rows of seats that can be easily widened as needed. When a person is booking their flight they would need to request special seating. (I do not see this any differently that special meal requests) if they are OUT of that special seat then they can book 2 seats side by side (assuming said seats are available)

Now this could be done at a small additional charge if necessary. Perhaps $10 to $20 (which is cheaper that the average taxes for a ticket anyway). If the plane ends up not being fully booked then that additional amount is refunded.

That's what I was thinking. If you are very large and need two seats there's no way you should be charged a full ticket price for the 2nd seat, but, the airline is a business and is losing a passenger behind one person needing two seats, so an additional charge is fair.

They weigh our bags, why not us?

I think we should all get on scales with our luggage to determine our ticket prices. It's all about space, weight, and fuel on planes.

Light packers and small people should not have to subsidize everyone else's fuel consumption. I am for treating us all equally like chattle

Perhaps as an addendum, there should be a variety of seat sizes. I have considered buying an extra seat just for comfort. Maybe there should be more than just first class & coach, but wider seats, taller seats, etc, and charge accordingly. The seats are big enough for kids, but they are not comfortable for me. I cannot imagine what it is like for someone taller than me, and I am only 6'0