Airlines and "Customers of Size"!

When I posted about charging customers by weight the way many non-U.S. airlines do, I was joking.

Apparently, somebody read my post.

Here is the link to FrankII's One Bag, One World blog post and the comments from some of the blog's readers.

Customers of Size*Chart - OBOW Blog - One-bag, carry-on, light travel tips, techniques, and gear

And from that very informative blog post the link to airlines policies
Airline "Customer of Size" Policies - Airfarewatchdog


After reading the airlines policies, I needed a couple of hours to cool off, luckily PBS had a nice uplifting program for me to watch.

I am usually a calm person but those "policies" do not "sit well" with me.


Most of the policies state that "the passenger must fit between the arm rests".

This will not affect people with broad shoulders or big bellies, which many big men have, but will affect every person with wide hips and thighs, most of those persons are women.

Many airlines use the 17 or 17.8 inches rules for fit. Which seat does it refers to aisle, middle or window?

A average airline customer can plainly see that, in most airplanes, the aisle seat is the narrowest followed by the window seat while the middle seat is the widest.


Using that criteria alone, do the airlines want to keep us in the seat that:

Gets all the entertainment boxes so your feet barely have space and you can forget about keeping even the smallest of bag upright. Pets are, of course, not allowed in that tiniest of space as it is far too small to accommodate their carriers.

Is impossible to get out of if the aisle seat person with small hips has a huge belly, big legs and is fast asleep.

Or the aisle seat person has his/her big business laptop on and acts all inconsiderate if you ask them to move so you can use the facilities.
(I would personally not mind to be able to walk around my seat to stretch my legs or visit the galley or the bathroom but airliners are like buses not the Enterprise)


So after an attempt at putting us in binders, they now want to box us in a seat because of our "size"!

I don't know about you but I am not liking that, at all!


In order to finish on a postive note, I would like to thank Frank II for putting up the info on the OBOW Blog. :)

I'm glad I could be of help. As someone who is a victim of "middle aged creep," I was interested in this list as well.

I guess the FAA isn't making it any easier for those who want to sneak in under the radar:

No More Personal Seat Belt Extenders, Says FAA - ABC News

A personal seat belt extender is not, as I see it, a way to do things under the radar, but a way to feel comfortable without the added stress of having yet another thing to worry about.

I can clip my seatbelt but it is very uncomfortable as are car seatbelts, I don't know why we the public cannot be offered the seatbelt that car racing drivers and jet pilots are using.
Those seatbelts have many points of restrain and are fully adjustable unlike the ones in cars which are a guarantee of shoulder and plexus solar bruising and the ones in planes which bring nothing but discomfort.
I know why we have to put up with it, they are cheap to make.

I won't mind getting an extra seat and a belt extender from the airlines, especially if I can book the belt extender at the same time as my extra seat.

The airlines, retail industry and many other service oriented business are still not understanding that many would rather pay extra for a better made objects and a better experience, even if that means having less stuff and less frequent but more fulfilling experiences.

I think it's ridiculous that the FAA wants to ban personal seatbelt extenders. They should instead allow the certification of some models. You've never known humiliation like the kind you experience when you have to flag a flight attendant to ask for a piece of equipment because you're so large the seatbelt won't fit. It's embarrassing enough. If you can bring your own, you can take care of yourself and not face the embarassment. Sheesh.