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Paying Extra For Being Fat
Paying Extra For Being Fat
As summer vacations begin, some passengers on Southwest Airlines will be pulled aside and, because of their weight, asked to buy a second ticket. This controversial policy pits the commercial interests of the airline against the dignity of overweight fliers and raises the issue of whether anti-discrimination laws should be applied to obese people. For Southwest, a plane ticket is like real estate: You get only the space you pay for. (Passengers must buy an extra ticket if their girth prevents them from lowering the armrest that divides the seats. If the flight is not full, they qualify for a refund.) Southwest representative Ashley Rogers says the airline instituted the policy because of complaints from adjoining passengers. “We want to give everybody the room they need,” she says. “People should be able to breathe a little without their neighbor encroaching.” But in Canada, a new government policy prevents airlines from charging extra for passengers who are considered disabled by their obesity. The policy will cost Air Canada $7.3 million a year. As our nation’s collective girth increases, the debate about the rights of overweight people is also playing out in the courts. A Michigan law protects overweight people from job discrimination; Massachusetts is considering similar legislation. And overweight people claim that a federal law preventing airlines from discriminating against people with disabilities should apply to them, too. So far, their lawsuits have been unsuccessful. —Lori Andrews http://www.parade.com/articles/editi...ligence_Report |
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