I am a fat guy.... and here is my take. I think both Southwest and Alaska have an entirely fair policy. If the obese person takes up too much room, you can book two seats. If the airline flies with another empty seat, the payment for the second seat is refunded. That is transparent and fair. It would be a good idea too for the airport to have a rack of three standard seats that people can try out, perhaps in a quiet area.
The issue here is how this is handled. More than 40% of the population in the US is now obese and Europe is rapidly catching up. The people we are talking about here are with the higher ends of that. It is not beyond the wit of airlines to have a standard approach. I suggest the following standard policy for all airlines:
1. The passenger can purchase two tickets at the time of booking. If the flight goes with any empty seats, the second seat is refunded.
2. If an obese passenger arrives as part of a party of travellers, seat them next to their own family members or other members of the same party. This increases the chance that they can work out between themselves who sits where. I generally sit next to my daughter, who is slim and 12 and so I pose no inconvenience next to her, or next to my partner.
3. If they are travelling alone and the flight is sold out, or close to selling out, the desk clerk should explain the situation to the passenger and offer to switch them to a later flight or book two seats if there are any available. This could be at the same price as the original fare. The passenger would not be issued with a boarding pass until the gate. If everyone turns up and two seats are not available, they should be refused boarding and placed on a later flight.
4. If the flight is not sold out and unlikely to do so, the check in clerk should block the seat next to the passenger.
This avoids the situation that this passenger was placed in. The airline is passing on the difficulty to the passenger, by placing them in the position of having to ask to be relocated. No sensitive passenger wants to go to a FA and ask to be reseated, because the person next to them is too fat. The fat person probably doesn't want it either. It is the fat person's responsibility to handle this, along with the airline.... not other passengers problem.
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