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The Supreme Court of Canada is requiring airlines to provide an extra seat--at no charge--to obese passengers and those with disabilities. Not providing extra space is now considered discriminatory.
CafeMom message boards were abuzz with this topic recently. If you
like to debate up-to-the-minute issues, check out the private group
Debate Kittens.
What do you think about the Canadian ruling? Is obesity a disability? So far, U.S. airlines have the legal okay to charge large passengers for two seats.
Do you think obese passengers should be charged more to ride comfortably?
Comments (10)
That is a really, really hard thing to decide. I think for the most part, there is a lot that most of us could do to be healthier. There are multiple factors to weight, including genetics and even some diseases have weight gain as a symptom. But, I think over all it is the pervasive life-style of excess in our country that causes obesity. We can acquire whatever we want, whenever we want. Even people with little or no money have a choice of what types of food they buy with the money they do have. I am about 60-70 lbs overweight myself and while I think it is partly genetic, I have been 40 lbs lighter than I am now- it IS possible when I change my eating and exercise habits. Where do you draw the line? Where do you start making people be responsible for their own situation? What about people with sensitive noses or allergies? Do they get an extra seat to separate them from everyone's cologne and perfumes? What about people who just dislike being near other people? Do they get a free extra seat? At some point, even people with disabilities they have 100% no control over (like my son who is missing a part of a chromosome and yet still manages to do his classwork and homework, have chores, etc) have to be responsible for themselves, so why not those of us (like me) who could weigh less if we made life-style changes?
most (not all) obese people CHOOSE to be that way for a variety of reasons.
i think it would be nice to have it offered coureously, like maybe you can choose that option when you order your ticket online. im not sure how i would feel being a 222lb (currently) woman and being asked to take an extra seat or sit in a certain spot just because im overweight. its not fair really for those passengers to be looked upon any differently in the eyes of others. But then again, if i had certain disabilities i would want the same thing.... offered maybe online but not where other people can "snicker" at me =(
If you are fat enough you need two seats, pay for them. Sorry. If you don't, it just raises prices for EVERYONE, because the airline then loses money.
I'm not a fan of this. I understand some people have medical conditions that caused them to be overweight, but most are obese and THEN develop the conditions!
No.... No, no, no, no, no!
Thanks for your thoughtful responses. It's such a delicate issue. I don't know what the right answer is.
As an Obese person myself, I actually think that this is just enabling people to gain more weight. Honestly, if my ass is too fat to fit in one seat then I would expect to pay for two seats. If we just give it to obese people, it is pretty much like handing them a Big Mac and saying "Here, gain some more weight. We will take care of you." No Thanks, I like to be my own responsibility and I want to be treated like everyone else.
i think this is a case by case basis, and being so you sorta have to err on the side of yes... in my opinion. 99% of the time i think it's is a lifestyle choice, not a disability, but because there is that 1% that it truly is part of a disability for them, or has gotten to the point where it is (as in they could not healthily loose the weight through normal means) I think for those this is wonderful. i don't think this ruling would have been an issue if our society wasn't so largely overweight/obese. because then those who needed it because it was a disability would be the ones usually using it. i think the reason this is so tough to decide is because of the situation we as a society are in right now with our weight.
I think that maybe they can make a certain percentage of bigger seats and then if those bigger seats are taken they then would either have to wait for another flight or just get two seats.