On various forums, I've heard about problems when a "person of size" buys a single seat and overflows onto their neighbours. Also, excess baggage fees are going through the roof. Recently (I believe it was on Consumerist), I saw an item about weighing passengers - with privacy concerns about their weight being seen by others.
Why not weigh the passenger COMPLETE WITH THEIR LUGGAGE? Each ticket allows you one checked bag up to X pounds, one carry-on that must fit the "sizer" at the gate, and a total (passenger and luggage) of Y pounds? Excess weight gets billed per pound at a rate where a 50% overage would equal the price of a full-fare economy ticket. If someone happens to see the scale readout, it's not revealing YOUR weight - for all they know, you could have a suitcase full of bricks.
If someone buys 2 tickets because they've got a lot of overage, the system "links" them, and the passenger gets put in a row where the armrests can be folded up (leaving a double-width seat). They also get a second checked bag, and a second carry-on (since each seat is allocated space for a carry-on).
This would take away passenger "leverage" that it's discrimination against the obese, since overweight fees would be based on the TOTAL of passenger and luggage - after all, it doesn't matter in terms of fuel consumption whether your excess weight is in the cargo hold or around your waist.
Why not weigh the passenger COMPLETE WITH THEIR LUGGAGE? Each ticket allows you one checked bag up to X pounds, one carry-on that must fit the "sizer" at the gate, and a total (passenger and luggage) of Y pounds? Excess weight gets billed per pound at a rate where a 50% overage would equal the price of a full-fare economy ticket. If someone happens to see the scale readout, it's not revealing YOUR weight - for all they know, you could have a suitcase full of bricks.
If someone buys 2 tickets because they've got a lot of overage, the system "links" them, and the passenger gets put in a row where the armrests can be folded up (leaving a double-width seat). They also get a second checked bag, and a second carry-on (since each seat is allocated space for a carry-on).
This would take away passenger "leverage" that it's discrimination against the obese, since overweight fees would be based on the TOTAL of passenger and luggage - after all, it doesn't matter in terms of fuel consumption whether your excess weight is in the cargo hold or around your waist.
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