Obese Airline Rights: Canada Court Rules The Obese Have Rights To Two Seats

Reuters:

OTTAWA (Reuters) -- Obese people have the right to two seats for the price of one on flights within Canada, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled on Thursday.

The high court declined to hear an appeal by Canadian airlines of a decision by the Canadian Transportation Agency that people who are "functionally disabled by obesity" deserve to have two seats for one fare.

The airlines had lost an appeal at the Federal Court of Appeal in May and had sought to launch a fresh appeal at the Supreme Court. The court's decision not to hear a new appeal means the one-person-one-fare policy stands.

Read the whole story: Reuters

Comments

[lisakaz2]

I disagree with this decision because everyone will see tix go up as a result. This is a giveaway to those with too much weight, which is probably a product of the food industry. Where were all these ppl 200 yrs ago? They didn't exist. Biology didn't suddenly change. Gimme a break.

[bobsmith]

200 years ago, stagecoaches didn't try to cram people in like sardines. Airline seats are designed for children - not adults. I'm not overweight at all, but I'm 6' 5" tall and air travel is torture. Airline seats should be designed to seat 99% of the range of human sizes. This is about poor design - not obesity.

[Deesel]

200 years ago a person worked manual labor in a field or a blacksmith or on the docks. There is evidence that an increasingly sedentary lifestyle the world over has led to the increase in obesity, not necessarily larger volumes of food being eaten.

[Leo12Pack]

Oh, it's only Canada...

phew...

[BlueAsh]

This is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard! What have we come to? A person has a problem--obesity, allergies, others must make accommodations.

What about work place? Do the obese take up extra office space as well? Must companies widen doors for those with super extra girths -- the same way we provide handicapped access on sidewalks? Who is going to pay for the extra seat the one with the big a$% takes up?

[jp5472]

We'll end up paying for the extra seat taken up through higher prices to recoup losses. Allergy sufferers and handicapped - people that need accommodations. Obese? I'm sorry, their inability to put the fork down or have the discipline to eat right is not my problem. Yes there is a small percentage of the obese that have a medical reason, but the obesity now seen in record amounts is a direct result of poor eating habits. As well, we all pay for the health crisis this is causing and continues to grow.

[GaBu]

So if you're scared to fly or scared of heights, do you have the right to a parachute?

[jdmba]

What about extremely tall people? They have just as much trouble fitting into those seats. Do they get bumped up to first class for the extra leg room?

[Hallucinocynic]

That's my question as well. The airlines are remarkably insensitive to tall people like me. Rarely have I been able to get an exit aisle seat when I show up at the counter. I realize that some people have glandular or medical conditions which make them obese, but people don't become tall through their own behavior and yet, here are some people who are being rewarded for their own lack of self control. So I have to pony up as much as double the airfare in order to avoid having my shins shoved into my chest.

Yeah, I know...bitch, bitch, bitch.

[gwhizz]

Valid issue. My son is 6'5". He has no control over that.
Someone who has a butt that can't fit into a chair--they pretty much chose that.

[Ramirez]

Quick anecdote.

I am flying from San Juan to Las Vegas. Airplane is fully boarded, ready to leave. Suddenly an obese woman stands and demands to get off plane. Turns out she didn't get her two seats because the plane was full. Okay, so get off the plane, whatever. Right?

Wrong. They hold the plane on the tarmac for 45 minutes so they can get her friggin luggage off the plane. Everyone misses their connections in Houston and pays for her obesity with extra hours of cross-country travel time. It was annoying.

[Pupadup4oBama]

She should have paid every single person who lost their flight connection.
So sorry she's such a lard a** that she can't get her two seats!

[gwhizz]

AND she knew she wouldn't get her 2 seats when she was at the gate an hour before boarding, right?

[BSERIUS]

so , if these calorie challenged individuals get bumped off flights will they then be reimbursed for two tickets and two hotel rooms and double meal stipends ( thought that would only exasperate the problem) . and what if their is only one seat left on the plane??????

[rigormrtis]

isn't it obvious?

A healthy person should give up their seat.

[Albertabunny]

To my American "friends" - Don't worry, "what happens in Canada, stays in Canada." I doubt that this would ever be legislated in the U.S. We actually take the "equality" thing from Americans and show them how its supposed to be done! Thankfully, we don't worship ONLY at the altar of "pick yourself up by your own bootstraps" and we don't have a bunch of m oron religious extremists inflicting their will on our majority. And don't come and tell us that your country is so much the better for treating visible minorities and gays and lesbians like c r a p. AND BY THE WAY, THANKS VERY MUCH FOR HANDING THE ENTIRE PLANET YOUR FINANCIAL MESS!. I guess you guys have nothing left but to make fun of Canadians who take care of their own - fat or otherwise.

[gwhizz]

Thanks for the reality check.
If only we'd given everyone free extra seats on airplanes, the world wouldn't be in the mess it is today!

[StefanyH]

Politeness is going out the window. Next time I'm seated near someone whose girth spills out into my space, I'm letting them know. Genetic disposition? My foot! I forget which airline I was on recently that had regs stating if the arm rest couldn't go completely down, then the person had to book (and pay for) a second seat. That's more like it.

[jojojo]

Of Course. How could it reasonably be otherwise?

[rigormrtis]

Okay - I was the fat kid growing up and am still a sizeable adult. 38 waistline, 235 pounds and 6'2" - I'd be a chiseled beefcake at 220. Was once 265 and got down to 205 (anorexic).

That being said, i don't have a lot of tolerance for people who make continual poor choices and expect me to foot the bill. I work hard to stay fit, and it takes time and money to do so.

Sure, there is that small segment of the population that has legitimate genetic issues that contribute to obesity, it is not a large percentage. Everything else is pretty much up the individual. Put the drumstick down, and put the gym shoes on.

My solution for this issue: put all of the obese people in the same row. Imagine how shocked they'll be when they find that they don't fit and how uncomfortable it is. Imagine how they'll complain when they don't get all of their assigned seat.

They'll argue that we should be more accepting about their status; should they be equally accepting of my needs? E.g., why do I lose part of my space? Does your comfort outweigh (pun intended) mine? If we are all for equality, they should be sensitive to my needs and rights as well.

What self-perceived victims do not realize is that equality goes both ways.

[gwhizz]

This!
It would be interesting to see the reaction when there's no "spare" seat next to them to spill into!

[kellygrrrl]

wonder why the ReligioFreaks haven't voted to eliminate the right of the obese to be seen in public ... lest our children be exposed to the Sin of Gluttony

[rigormrtis]

sometimes the best argument is a good example.

[jp5472]

Well, ole Jerry was rather portly himself...made me wonder if he ever studied that gluttony part at his Liberty University.

[AnnArky]

unless you're Obese, Gay and Married, then . . . no rights at all. Sorry folks, we gotta draw the line somewhere otherwise, before you know it, we'd have obese pedophiles and obese ax murderers and obese gay republicans all wanting two seats on a plane.

[JDJase]

lmao

[kellygrrrl]

obese gay rethugs only go to the airport to use the restroom

[futuresquid]

Looks like I should have a right to free first class upgrade because of my long legs.

[Aabby]

LOL I'll try that nexct time.

[ImForLogic]

I often wonder when I see stories like this, what is the reaction of the individual who recognizes the representational body in the accompanying photo as their own? Golly.....to be a fly on that wall!

[noamjunior]

why in our society are those with different biological sexual urges considered to be making a "lifestyle choice" while those that choose poor eating habits and a passive, sendentary lifestyle granted special priviliges?

[kellygrrrl]

yup! Why is the sin of homosexuality more threatening than the sin of gluttony?

for that matter, why aren't the wingnuts more worried about eliminating rights of Adulterers?
that seems more of a threat to "traditional marriage" than anything else.

[noamjunior]

or greed, or sloth, or violence

[LaurieLee]

Aaaaah! I just had a debate with a friend of mine about Prop 8 here in California. She was for it, to 'protect marriage'. When I pointed out that perhaps her marriage would be better protected if she did not pick up men at the Redwood Room bar she got a bit peevish. I even suggested that we put a proposition on next election's ballot to brand adulterers with a scarlet letter, to 'protect marriage'. She didn't find it funny.

[MsCanadian]

What about the rights of the holier-than-thou judgemental people?