Charging Overweight Passengers for Two Seats

[Ed Wetschler]

"United Airlines announced this week that it will join Southwest and Delta in enforcing more strictly a policy of charging overweight passengers double if they can't comfortably fit into one seat." -eturbonews.com

Is this fair? 

[Anil]

I presume they are talking about Economy, whereby the pax gets to raise the handrest in the seat ? Certainly one is SOL if one cannot fit in a First Class Seat as there is no way one can raise the handrest.

[Ed Wetschler]

Anil, your comments about the mountain-man-in-Soho stores on another Tripatini group were, as always, smart and illuminating. As for this matter, yes, they are talking about Economy. Besides, if someone is too wide to get into a First Class seat, then aside from the armrest, I don't think that plane can get off the ground. Seriously, the opposite of that is the seat I had on Spirit Airlines recently. It was so narrow that anyone who weighted more than 170 suddenly felt obese.