IF you’re obese, and you’re flying Air France, you can now book a second seat beside you so that you overflow your excess weight over to that. Funny right? but really this is how widespread obesity is.
BBC News – Air France offers free second seat to obese people.
In some airlines, if you can’t be secured in your seat with a seatbelt even if they use belt extenders, they won’t allow you to take the flight.
Sounds fair to me, since if you’re not securely seated you’d be thrown and shaken if the plane meets a lot of turbulence.
Is this discrimination against fat people? I don’t think so. It’s only logical since your safety is their primary concern (after their profits, of course). Having a huge seatmate who spills over your space can also be discomforting. Imagine a big chunk of flesh crushing you to the side of your seat. That’s how it’s like.
So if you’re obese, and you know in your heart that one seat won’t be enough for you, do the right and gracious thing: buy the seat next to you. Do not burden your seatmate with your excessive humanity. If you can’t afford to buy two seats, call the airlines and tell them of the situation. They’ll probably figure something out for you: you’re a potential customer to them anyway.
By the way, one of the main reason airlines impose bigger fees on the obese people is that they assume you would be an obstacle in case of emergencies, especially when you’re blocking the exits or your seated on aisle seats, or when you’re stuck in your seat and couldn’t stand up.
I just hope they don’t start weighing passengers now.
Source: BBC News and Crikey.com.au
