obese gain seating room in Canada

On Fri, 28 Nov 2008 10:58:14 -0600, "George Leppla"
wrote:

Back in the day when I was much larger, I either bought two seats, chose
flights with many empty seats so I could be reasonably sure of sitting next
to an empty seat or I upgraded to first class for the extra room. It was a
happy day when I found that I could fit in one seat without using a seat
belt extender.

As someone who has been on both sides of this coin, I believe that if you
need to ask for a seat belt extender, you should buy an extra seat. I don't
feel that the airlines should have to give you twice as much space as
everyone else for the same amouont of money.

I agree that they *shouldn't* have to, but in practical terms I think
it's the best solution.

I don't think many people will voluntarily pay extra in order to
ensure the comfort of a stranger. One way to encourage people who
need two seats to actually book two seats is to give them the second
seat free.

On Fri, 28 Nov 2008 10:58:14 -0600, "George Leppla"
wrote:


As someone who has been on both sides of this coin, I believe that if you
need to ask for a seat belt extender, you should buy an extra seat.

It seemed odd to me but the only times I ever needed a seat belt
extender was in business or first. I can only assume that the seat
belts are the same size no matter what the width of the seat. The seat
belt would be tight in business or first but I'd like a little
looseness during the flight. In coach there would always be a couple
of inches of slack.

And I never needed to have the seat rest up. I prefer it not be.

On Fri, 28 Nov 2008 10:58:14 -0600, "George Leppla"
wrote:


That said...... Once upon a time I was flying and the plane was full, no
empty seats or upgrades available. A young man in an Army uniform drew the
seat next to me and before he sat, he pulled up the armrest saying "Would
you mind if I raise this up... I hate feeling confined." This kid couldn't
fill that seat if he sat in it twice. We got to talking and I thanked him
and he told me that both his parents were big people and he was used to
sharing. Nice guy... good parents.

Normally I fly with my daughter next to me or my wife if our daughter
isn't with us. One flight though I was sitting next to a very small
Asian woman who pulled the arm rest up because she was trying to be
helpful. I never told her it wasn't necessary and I would have
preferred the arm rest.

In article ,
Jack Hamilton wrote:


I don't think many people will voluntarily pay extra in order to
ensure the comfort of a stranger. One way to encourage people who
need two seats to actually book two seats is to give them the second
seat free.

I really wonder how many people would signup anyway. Studies show
that many of even the super obese (~100% overweight) don't view
themselves as THAT fat. In real life, that is likely to be a
gate-decision. I like Southwest's outlook. Pay for two seats, if not
full you get the second one back.

On Sat, 29 Nov 2008 07:31:25 -0500, Kurt Ullman
wrote:

In article ,
Jack Hamilton wrote:


I don't think many people will voluntarily pay extra in order to
ensure the comfort of a stranger. One way to encourage people who
need two seats to actually book two seats is to give them the second
seat free.

I really wonder how many people would signup anyway. Studies show
that many of even the super obese (~100% overweight) don't view
themselves as THAT fat. In real life, that is likely to be a
gate-decision.

You might be correct.

I like Southwest's outlook. Pay for two seats, if not
full you get the second one back.

I like Southwest's policy as well. The problem is that it's most
needed on a full flight, and that's when it doesn't work as a gate
decision.

I hadn't flown on Southwest for a few years, but ended up taking 5
flights between mid-October and early November. The seats seem
slightly larger than on United, and the new queuing system works well
- instead of the old "first come first served" system, passengers are
now divided into groups of 10 according to when they got their
boarding passes, with more expensive ticket holders and really
frequent flyers getting to jump the queue.

On 11/28/2008 10:36 PM Jack Hamilton did a "happy dance", then made
these writings:
On Fri, 28 Nov 2008 10:58:14 -0600, "George Leppla"
wrote:


Back in the day when I was much larger, I either bought two seats, chose
flights with many empty seats so I could be reasonably sure of sitting next
to an empty seat or I upgraded to first class for the extra room. It was a
happy day when I found that I could fit in one seat without using a seat
belt extender.

As someone who has been on both sides of this coin, I believe that if you
need to ask for a seat belt extender, you should buy an extra seat. I don't
feel that the airlines should have to give you twice as much space as
everyone else for the same amouont of money.


I agree that they *shouldn't* have to, but in practical terms I think
it's the best solution.

I don't think many people will voluntarily pay extra in order to
ensure the comfort of a stranger. One way to encourage people who
need two seats to actually book two seats is to give them the second
seat free.


That would set a precedent, logically if you pay for one seat you can
have two. Or, put another way, if one passenger can have two seats
because they are fat - then it would be a class discrimination NOT to
give two seats for the price of one to everybody else.

--
________
To email me, Edit "blog" from my email address.
Brian M. Kochera
"The poor dog is the firmest friend, the first to welcome the foremost to defend" - Lord Byron
View My Web Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~brian1951

On 11/28/2008 8:06 PM Nonnymus did a "happy dance", then made these
writings:
Rosalie B. wrote:

My mother had a mirror tag because she didn't want a handicapped
plate. But I think most older people are not still driving at the age
my mom was, and so are pax in other people's cars. After my mom died,
I turned in all the handicapped tags in to the DMV.

That's a good thing to do. In some "cultures," Grandma's Handicapped
mirror tag is more fought over when she dies than her collection of
teaspoons or doilies. One group of "youth" at a car wash would check
over sun visors to locate any handicapped tags and then steal them.
Fortunately, Mrs. Nonny's needed to be used at the next stop after our
van was washed, and the absence was immediately noted. I returned and
the car wash manager located the missing tag in the locker of one of
these employees. It seems that there's even a secondary market in
them for some folk.
My mom is 90 and still a good driver. To meet her you wouldn't know
she's 90 unless she told you. She's mentally sharp and youthful in
outlook and style. She has a disability mirror tag. She has a
degenerative disease of her spine and hip. On bad days she uses the
tag. On good days her attitude is "Let someone who really needs it have
the space, today I can walk and I will."

--
________
To email me, Edit "blog" from my email address.
Brian M. Kochera
"The poor dog is the firmest friend, the first to welcome the foremost to defend" - Lord Byron
View My Web Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~brian1951

Brian K wrote:
My mom is 90 and still a good driver. To meet her you wouldn't know
she's 90 unless she told you. She's mentally sharp and youthful in
outlook and style. She has a disability mirror tag. She has a
degenerative disease of her spine and hip. On bad days she uses the
tag. On good days her attitude is "Let someone who really needs it
have the space, today I can walk and I will."


Brian, your Mom has a good attitude. I hope it is contagious.


Becca