http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2008/11/21/two_for_the_price_of_one Comments On: Two for the Price of One by Charles Mudede en-us Copyright 2009 The Stranger. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, The Stranger readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact The Stranger. webmaster@thestranger.com (The Stranger Webmaster) Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:01 -0800 Mon, 23 Nov 2009 04:30:00 -0800 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Posted by Penny]]> Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:21:45 -0700 The Stranger Posted by kristinbell]]> Sun, 23 Nov 2008 21:52:28 -0800 The Stranger
But I do think that people with B.O. or perfume should have to buy out half the airplane.
Posted by ams]]> Sat, 22 Nov 2008 12:56:09 -0800 The Stranger
Posted by Lawrence]]> Sat, 22 Nov 2008 10:25:16 -0800 The Stranger Posted by rob]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:55:40 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Banna]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:27:19 -0800 The Stranger Posted by smoker]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:13:02 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Rhiannon]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:46:45 -0800 The Stranger
Posted by SnarkyOne]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:19:54 -0800 The Stranger
I rechecked my boarding pass and said, "You've got to be fucking kidding." One of them gave me a big Texas smile and said, "Suck it up!" My armrests were their fat rolls. They didn't seem to mind.

Maybe the airlines could save money by pairing up the too fat ones and giving them three seats.
Posted by Free Lunch]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:00:24 -0800 The Stranger
My point was that society might wish to distinguish between at fault and not at fault cases. Then again, it might not.

So let's assume I'm a stranger from another country and I don't know anything about the ADA. Explain to me why, on a full flight (that is, on a flight where, to give the obese/handicapped individual an extra seat, the airline must give up revenue), the airline should be forced to do so?

If the government wishes to use tax dollars to subsidize this, then it would seem reasonable: if society wishes to require the airline to treat all passengers equally, it must also bear the cost.

What makes no sense to me is the notion that society can require the airline to accommodate all passengers and require the airline to pay for it. A passengers who requires two seats on a full flight is costing the airline twice a regular passenger. Yet society is saying, "This is the cost of doing business in such a market" and, indirectly, saying to the other passengers, "this is the cost of consuming something that costs more to serve to handicapped people."

Why should the airline--and the other passengers--bear the cost of this? If society wants to require this, society can pay for it. What part of my choosing to fly on a plane can be interpreted as my taking responsibility for the cost of others choosing to fly on a plane?

Sorry if that's a bit incoherent. It's late and I had that drink on an empty stomach.
Posted by Dan]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:11:37 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Geni]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:49:41 -0800 The Stranger
But they don't, as a rule, CHARGE YOU EXTRA for the accommodations. As someone who traveled extensively with a wheelchair-bound traveler I can tell you this. We were often upgraded to first class free because it meant less stress for the chair user. But had they required us to pay more, we would have (he wasn't obese, just disabled)

Again...you take two seats, you pay for two seats. What's not clear here?
Posted by frequent traveler]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:27:59 -0800 The Stranger Posted by knobtheunicorn]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:14:24 -0800 The Stranger
Except for a small number of people who disagree, our society has the very clear opinion that fat people are fat by choice.
Posted by keshmeshi]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:04:45 -0800 The Stranger
Who cares? If you think that obese people are getting treated too nicely, just continue to Slog away.

Dan I don't know why you bother, it obvious you have some kind of hatred for fat people and your mind won't be changed, just like the Mormon’s who don't want you to get married.

Posted by who cares?]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:47:33 -0800 The Stranger
The difference with food in a restaurant is that being obese doesn't mean you have to eat twice the dinner at a restaurant. If you fly on a commercial airplane or sit in a movie theater without other accommodations, you have to use two seats. Companies need to make "reasonable accommodations." Extra-obese people can't use go-karts even with accommodations, so go-kart tracks are exempt. It's easy for airlines, so they're not exempt.
Posted by jrrrl]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:46:46 -0800 The Stranger
We live in a twisted society.
Posted by Non]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:44:30 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Gilford]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:44:16 -0800 The Stranger
If you want a wider seat, you can pay more for one. The option is there.

Me, I'd rather save my money and sit still for a couple of hours. It's not that hard. The notion that society should compel airlines to force their customers to pay for first class tickets is idiotic and would make the airlines even less profitable than they already are.

@40:

One problem with this equivalence is that, with respect to obesity, there is potentially some fault associated. We assume everyone does due diligance in trying to avoid being weelchair bound (though perhaps this assumption is a bad one--think of bungee jumpers)--but are overeaters responsible for their weights.

Another problem is that it seems not to cast doubt on the notion that customers should pay for what they use so much as it does upon the ADA. If theater seats are an expensive and limited resource, should, say, someone with a broken leg pay for two?

Alternately: should obese people receive more food for the same amount of money at a restaurant? What's the difference between that example and the theater one?
Posted by Dan]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:38:08 -0800 The Stranger "if you buy tickets in advance, then gain wait [sic]" then you pay the difference at ticketing check-in. Same thing if you weigh less, you get a proportional refund.

Re: "Or if you wear an extra 10lbs of clothing? Or if the person's in a heavy wheelchair, or pregnant?" Easy: you pay for the more weight you bring onto the plane. Don't wear heavy clothes. Pay the fair share for your cargo (wheelchair) and all parasites you bring on board.

Airlines already have two seats per section: it's called business class and you PAY MORE FOR IT!!!


Posted by Simple]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:37:12 -0800 The Stranger Posted by jrrrl]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:32:27 -0800 The Stranger
You take to seats, you pay for two seats.

Seems simple enough. And not discriminatory towards anybody. You PAY for what you GET.
Posted by Frequent Flyer]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:30:28 -0800 The Stranger How do you go about booking a flight online in this case? And if you buy tickets in advance, then gain wait, what happens? Or if you wear an extra 10lbs of clothing? Or if the person's in a heavy wheelchair, or pregnant?

People aren't cargo... They should expand the seats to two seats per section, instead of three. Making the general public more comfortable, and eliminating the dreaded middle seat, as well as allowing fat people a little more room. Isn't this the obvious answer?

Either that, or they should just acknowledge what they've actually been doing and go for the slave ship model... lying us down end-to-end in hundreds of rows, and jettisoning the sick or disruptive.
Posted by Gilford]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:27:31 -0800 The Stranger
1. How wide do you need to be to justify having a double seat? I can see a lot of people that *want* an extra seat suddenly saying that they "need" one.

2. Would people get booted off the plane? If there is a full flight, and a bunch of people suddenly need to have two... who gets booked for the next flight?

which leads to:

3. When you book your reservation, are they going to ask the width of your ass?



Posted by two for the price of one usually has some fine print]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:24:14 -0800 The Stranger