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Hey Fattie
Err Travel · March 21, 2000

Hey, lighten up! It was no surprise to me that my column on tying the price of an airline ticket to the weight of the passenger brought a lot of mail.

A sampler:

Bravo! Bet this column gets you some interesting mail.

- Bill G

Bill, definitely "interesting" - and then some.

I don't find your proposal discriminatory. Indeed, offering different sized seats at different prices is great. However, I do find your use of alliteration (flying fatties, corpulent companion, plight of the pudgy, portly passenger, etc.), and the association of heavy people with pigs ("it hit me like a side of pork") disrespectful. The perky prose poked fun at heavy peoples' plight. [Hey, who's alliterating now? - TR] While I am not heavy, I am sensitive to many societal stigmas that continue to exclude or separate some people from others. The article's flip attitude toward heavy people clouded the merits of your intriguing idea and perpetuated the stigma.

- Ted B OK, Ted. Point made and taken.

I have to say I did chuckle even though I am overweight. I think we need several different categories not just pudgy passengers. On a recent red-eye flight I had children a few rows ahead of me playing with a winding toy (crank, crank, crank) and a man who fell asleep within 5 minutes of take-off and snored LOUDLY for most of the 4-hour trip. There was also a lady next to me who was apparently light-sensitive because she was sitting straight up with a blanket over her face. I couldn't help see her out of the corner of my eye and feel as if I were on a Seinfeld episode. I really don't like to fly (because) of the loons that are out there.

- Gabryelle L

Gabryelle, I look at it this way: without the loons, I'd be out of business in the travel safety, the travel column-writing, and the psychology arenas. They are my bread and butter.

Larger seats may be a quick fix, but as you point out, total take-off load is a critical factor in determining flight safety. Your typical aircraft seat is designed to fit the average frame. Wider seats mean fewer total seats to fit in the fuselage, which equates to less revenue unless the overweight are penalized. Whilst some obese individuals may be genetically predisposed to uncontrollable weight gain, there are some who can, but have chosen NOT to, control their weight.

Whichever way you cut it, aircraft weight is a critical load factor, and I think obese passengers should at the time of booking make it clear they need two seats and pay accordingly. It is not just their comfort that is at issue but that of passengers on either side. Airlines should be entitled to charge for excess weight based upon a predetermined maximum to be specified in all travel literature. I see no other reasonable alternative solution to this controversial issue.

- Jeff B

Jeff, naturally I concur. Now, how 'bout for those kids, snorers, and other "loons" that bug Gabryelle and the rest of us?

Finally, I must mention a letter I got from an apoplectic reader who called my idea "asinine," my column "astonishingly stupid and ill-conceived," and me "a mean man." Then she threatened to sue me and Ticked.com if her letter were published.

Well, don't sue. I'm delighted to omit it.

Dr. Terry Riley is a psychologist and travel security authority. His column appears on Wednesdays. He is author of the popular book Travel Can Be Murder. Visit his site at http://www.appliedpsychology.com or e-mail him at terry@ticked.com.