by Sezin Koehler

Created on: May 30, 2008

Now more than ever as the growing costs of fuel drastically change the nature of traveling, it is absolutely necessary that airlines charge extra for obese or overweight passengers. Travelers worldwide are being forced to bear the brunt of increases in not only flight prices due to the dropping dollar and depletion of fuel reserves, but they are also being forced to pay extra charges for checked baggage. Furthermore, in the past if you had baggage that was overweight, it was always a part of airline policy that there would be a specific dollar amount charge per overweight pound. Why should it not be the same for severely overweight and obese people?

Let's use an example. Say you have a woman of average height and weight who would like to check in a bag that weighs 10 pounds, and another woman of average height but is 100 pounds overweight who doesn't want to check in any baggage at all. The first woman will be overall taking up far less space and weight even though she will be forced to pay a surcharge for her extra bag, and thus will be using far less fuel in the process. The second woman is using up an extra 100 pounds worth of space and fuel even though she is not checking in a bag, and has to pay nothing.

How can it be acceptable that a person who is drastically over the average weight for their height and body type should not only get to take up someone else's personal space on already cramped flights but not be even remotely penalized for it? In spite of so-called scientific information that likes to peg obesity as a genetic trait, one begins to wonder why this magical gene only seems to express itself in Western nations and not in the villages of Africa and Asia. The logical presumption suggests that obesity is more a personal choice than it is a genetic predisposition, and one that the rest of us should not be forced to tolerate in small spaces like the coach cabins of airplanes.

Ultimately, the debate at the moment centers on the simple fact that airlines cannot afford to be as wanton with space and weight allowances as they used to be with rising fuel costs and the worldwide damage being done by the plummeting dollar. If people are to pay extra for checking in even one bag, then it can only follow suit that it should be obligatory for overweight and obese people to pay for two seats and/or also be charged an overweight fee.

If airlines are adding surcharges for checked baggage, then maybe they would be better off determining an average weight allowance for each passenger, including baggage. If a person is over, whether it is due to their personal weight or their baggage (or both), then they must pay extra; if they are within the limit then they should incur no extra costs. This seems the only fair way to deal with overweight and obese airline passengers, especially as the price of fuel climbs well past the highest it has ever been in history.

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