Last summer I heard that here in Canada, one of our carriers were going to be made to provide MO people with a second seat for free. It is a human rights issue here.  It is also a discrimination issue .

Why should 150 pound Joe Blow pay 200 dollars to go from point A to point B while they want to charge Jane Doe who weighs 400 pounds 400 dollars for the same trip. Screams discrimination i you were to ask me.

The basis for this decision in Canada was one person, one destination, one fare. The onus is on the airline to get people from point A to point B as comfortably as is possible. 

I have not heard about this since  and not planning any travel this year I have not checked on it but it sounds like a fantastic idea to me.

 
I totally agree. I'll have to do some research on that, it sounds like it would make a great article for OH Magazine! Thanks!

The carrier was Air Canada. I don't know if West Jet was ging to be a part of it or not. I just remember hearing that and thought "it's about time".

While I think that's a great idea, it's not something that will ever happen here in the U.S. Airlines are businesses and businesses are all about making money. If they start giving people extra seats for free, they'll be out that $200 you're talking about because there's no customer in that seat. They'd much rather get that $200 by charging one person for two seats or by filling up that seat with another person.

It's all about money and making a profit here in the U.S.

I'm not convinced it's a fake.  You mentioned that he looks quite a lot taller than others around him.  This is true, but we also need to remember that he is sitting on basically a very well padded cushion, bringing him up higher on the seat.  I think of this because my hairdresser once mentioned that I must be taller than she thought, because I sit up taller in the chair than she expected.  I knew it was because I was sitting on my very large rear end, but I saved her the embarassment of letting her know why I sit so high.

My DH and I are planning an Alaskan Cruise.  We won't be going until after I have had surgery and lose a considerable amount of weight.  1)  I don't want the embarrassment of having to pay for 2 seats on an airplane, or the seatbelts not fitting  2) I want to be able to walk comfortably on the sightseeing day tours and have the energy to enjoy myself.

 

I agree with what you're saying.

My friend Dave is 6'2" and well over 400 lbs. From the back, when he's riding shotgun in my car and sitting in front of me, he looks as big as the guy in the photo. It has a lot to do with what you're sitting on, really.

I'm 5'3" and when I was 365 and sitting down, I towered over everyone - including my husband who is 6'2". I always felt like I was sitting higher than him on the couch, at a table in a restaurant, at the movie theater, etc. Now I'd say we're about even.

About the photo:  He does look tilted to me a little.  His right shoulder is definitely angled down from his left.  But I can't fathom that anyone COULD sit in that position...one butt cheek on a narrow, hard, metal armrest and the other down in the seat?

About charging for another seat or not: I've never had my seatbelt not fit, but I've come close.  Coming back from Las Vegas once, I was seated right next to another lady of my same size, and we spent about 20 minutes sucking our guts and indeed our whole bodies in, in an attempt not to splush up against each other.  I know I was SO uncomfortable, so I finally turned to her and whispered, "I don't mind if you're leaning against me at all, if you don't mind that I do."  We both breathed a huge sigh of relief and WHUSH, snuggled our sides comfortably together.  It helped, a lot, but if I was seated next to a smaller person, I adopted and kept that crazy body posture for the entire flight so as not to inconvenience and anger the other person.

I actually looked online at airline seat configurations.  The average airline coach seat is only 17 inches wide.  That's SMALL!  And it's not just obese people who sometimes have to buy extra seats...how many football players do you know who could fit in that seat?  The average First Class seat is only 23 inches wide.

The problem of airlines NOT charging for another seat is this.  Say a plane holds 60 people.  60 people call up and purchase 60 seats.  The morbidly obese person fails to mention that he's REALLY large.  On the day of the flight, all 60 people show up and file on the plane.  What happens to the poor guy who purchased the seat right next to the MO guy?  He's basically going to spend his entire trip with this guy's bulk overlapping onto his lap, his arm, etc.  It's too late at that point to even ASK the MO to pay for an extra seat.  There IS no extra seat.  Because I've spent a large part of my life MO, I would be way more sympathetic to the MO guy's plight, and would try my best to make him feel comfortable and okay, but would most people?  Should most people? 

I think that it's a SMO passenger's responsibility to at least mention when buying the ticket that they are too large for 1 seat.  Maybe the airline won't charge for an extra seat, but maybe they will.  Honestly, I'm torn as to my feelings on this.  It's a tough one.