by Barbara FeliceHowarth

Created on: April 28, 2009

Obesity has become a wide spread problem in our country as well as others. I could stand to lose a few pounds myself but I'm far from obese. When it comes to travel this can be a sticky situation. While it seems unfair to walk on to an airplane for a ten hour flight just to find yourself in the middle of two obese people making your trip miserable, is it still fair to make those two people pay double for their fare?

The first problem to double charging obese travelers is to prove their weight. Most people make their travel arrangements either on line or over the phone. How many passengers do you think will volunteer this information while booking their flight? Is it up to the travel agent to ask "how much do you weigh" and after asking that question they would also need their height and body type. There are quite a few people including myself that weigh a lot more than they look because of working out and accumulating muscle. In reality the only way to tell if a person is truly obese is at the airport upon check in. Should there be scales and a doctor or nutritionist at each terminal? Getting weighed would be a very humiliating thing to do for anyone let alone someone who is overweight due to conditions beyond their control. There are those who are overweight due to their own neglect but there are also those who cannot help how much they weigh. Does this mean each overweight traveler need to bring a note from their doctor stating why they are overweight? Even if their weight is proven, it doesn't mean it's medically their fault.

Once we find out that the passenger is indeed obese, how is it fair to make an already purchased ticket cost more? Most if not all airlines guarantee their price once the ticket is paid for. In my opinion, there are very few wealthy obese americans based on the simple fact that wealthy people have the money to eat healthier and keep more fit. This leaves middle class and poor Americans paying double for a seat that most likely cost them more than they could afford for a ticket in the first place.

The solution for this problem could be solved by the airlines. I have flown several times in my lifetime and for most part have only seen one or two obese passengers on any given flight I have traveled. Airlines offer First class, Business Class and Coach class. Why not have the last section of the plane equiped with two rows of larger but less seats for the obese instead of charging them more. In leui of 3 seats in a row they could provide 2 but larger seats giving the obese comfort and the non obese peace of mind for the duration of their flight. After all, in reality the American Medical Association considers obesity a disability which means that making a disabled person pay more for a flight would mean discrimination.

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