hold a key in your hand and if the guy slants over.....

 

I believe that seat bases were about 24" in the 70s. With the most recent downsizing (over the last three years) they went from 18.5" to 16". That's a 33% loss from a reasonably sized seat. It doesn't only affect distance between abdomens. The decreasing size of seats means big strong shoulders will also intrude on neighboring passengers.

Don't even get me talking about legroom...

 

And what about seat back height, my head is above the headrest and I am only 6'1". I thought the definition of a headrest is something to rest your head on. I was on an Airbus and could not see the seat numbers unless I bent down. This world is designed for little people.

Could I sue because I am too tall? In America, I might have a good case.

 

Where have you been Dr. Jekyll?

 

I think these fatties should have to pay for two seats. I hope the guy wins also. And no, I don't think it's the airlines' fault, if you are too fat to fit into one seat and don't have the means to pay for two, then don't fly. If we start regulating wider seats to accomodate these fat asses then you and I who are of normal width will have to flip the bill. No, I say, if you want to stuff your face and not take any care of your weight, then YOU YOURSELF should have to pay the consequences. You're a danger to other passengers anyways. Stay home and lose some weight before you go out in public and burden us with your extra baggage.

 

There seems to be a lot of blame here against airlines reducing the seat size. Have any of you also noticed the reduction in the cost of your airfare (think in relative terms here folks).

My point here is that if you want cheaper flights then the airline will achieve this by ftting more of you on board. The only way they get more on board is to reduce the seat size and increase the # of seats.

If you want bigger seats then I suggest you pay the extra and sit up in Business Class - otherwise stop your complaining.

In case you hadn't noticed, no airlines are making mega buck profits and the cost for us to fly has reduced 10-20 fold per passenger mile in the last 40 years.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by 2kturkey
[B]There seems to be a lot of blame here against airlines reducing the seat size. Have any of you also noticed the reduction in the cost of your airfare (think in relative terms here folks).

My point here is that if you want cheaper flights then the airline will achieve this by ftting more of you on board. The only way they get more on board is to reduce the seat size and increase the # of seats.

 

JSchmidt, my complaint is not against larger pasengers but at those who are complaining about sitting next to larger pasengers.

I am in 100% agreement with you re not discrimating against individuals for any reason whatsoever - sorry if I came across as suggesting otherwise.

My point is simply this - if you want a cheaper seat then you pay the price (ie. reduced seat room) that goes with that saving. If you want the extra space (because you don't want to get squashed up against other passengers) then you pay the premium for a bigger (i.e business class) seat. Even a business class seat is a huge bargain today compared with what it used to be.

As far as elimination of 1st/business class seats go, no I wasn't aware of that. It's not obvious where I live and travel most.

To my knowledge, the single biggest impact on the cost of travel (certainly for Australia) was the invention of wide-bodied aircraft.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by 2kturkey
[B]JSchmidt, my complaint is not against larger pasengers but at those who are complaining about sitting next to larger pasengers.

I am in 100% agreement with you re not discrimating against individuals for any reason whatsoever - sorry if I came across as suggesting otherwise...

 

Jim,

You seem to think everyone else is making this simplistic, but I think you are. Your points seem to be:

1) "Fat people are genetically predisposed to be fat." This isn't always the case, as you've seemed to admit but I guess you believe the majority of them are. I disagree. Obesity has been rising in this country for decades, thanks to our go go go lifestyle, the proliferation of fast food, and the decline of the family unit which doesn't place importance on the "family dinner" as it used to. People who choose to eat crap and get fat are not fat because of a genetic predisposition and I would contend that the majority of obese people are obese due to their own laziness and eating habits.

2) "We can't discriminate." You liken those of us who would ask fat people to either have two seats or sit in a class with bigger seats to people who would advocate having blacks "swim in their own pool" and I find that to be offensive. There a big difference. I would liken our stance to that of smokers - we don't let smokers smoke in restaurants but that's not considered discrimination. My stance on many things, from smoking to obesity (that is controllable by the individual) is hey if you want to do something bad for you that's fine as long as it doesn't affect me. You may consider that to be selfish but I don't. I don't infringe on anyone else's rights/quality of life and I don't want them infringing on mine. Here's a thought. Should Honda redesign the S2K with bigger seats and to eliminate the weight limit that it has? This sounds stupid but isn't Honda discriminating against obese people's right to own a reasonably priced high performance sports car?

3) "The airlines have shrunken the seats so they're to blame." Someone has already mentioned that prices have come down. Your response is that there are other factors at work and smaller seats don't make much difference. Unless you've got some hard numbers to back that up I'd disagree. I think putting a bunch of more people on a plane would make a significant difference in the cost of the ticket. The seats that the airline supplies are big enough for me. Would I like them bigger? Sure, but for a lower fare the size is adequate as long as I don't have an obese person taking up part of my seat. I don't feel I should have to subsidize someone else's airfare in addition to being completely uncomfortable.

4) You try to make this into a big civil rights issue with the classic "you could be next" mantra. I'll use the smoker analogy again. Noone (except smokers) is complaining about all the restrictions we place on where they can smoke. That's because most people don't want to be subjected to their second hand smoke, and this is a legitimate standpoint, as is not wanting people infringing on my space in an airplane.

In the end, to me, it comes down to balance. We balance the price of the ticket with the size of the seat. If someone can't fit in the industry standard size seat then that person should fly another class or get two seats. It's unfortunate and uncomfortable to have to say to a group of people "sorry you're fat, you'll have to get two tickets" but, in the majority of cases, those people are in control of whether or not they're obese. If they don't want to get singled out they can lose some weight.
Lastly, I would agree with you if there weren't alternatives but there are. Obese people can fly first class, business class, or purchase two seats. This may cost more, but not as much as all of the extra health care obese people are going to require during their lifetime but that's another issue altogether