Discomfiture, as airline seats shrink
By Wole Shadare
FOR business travellers, the size of the seats is one of the factors in the mood of the passenger on an aeroplane. For a six feet tall passenger, the knees could discomfiture and touch the seat in front of the passenger.
Recently, the airlines appear to have heard passengers' cry for some personal space, and as such, airlines are launching programmes to increase seat pitch, defined as the distance from one row of seats to the next, in the first several rows of coach.
Meanwhile, several airlines are weighing their options, or merely insisting they already offer more legroom.
Although the "standard" seat pitch has decreased almost industry-wide from 33-34 inches to more like 31 inches, airlines maintain that legroom has not actually diminished.
Instead, the adoption of a higher density seat back that at 0.5 to 1" thick, was three to four inches thinner than the older padded seat backs afforded the airlines some extra room. They filled the space with more seats (or in some cases moved the space up a class or two), but without taking away any actual leg room.
It is not only in seat pitch that the airlines are working on, they are equally working on seat width to accommodate fat people. All these come with additional costs.
Earlier this year, United Airlines formalised a policy that charges some larger passengers for a second seat.
A growing number of airlines are forcing bigger passengers to pay more as they cope with the costly and uncomfortable quandary that arises when obese passengers cannot squeeze into a single coach seat.
United States obesity rates have mushroomed during the last 25 years, but the width of a coach aeroplane seat has changed little, remaining between 17 and 18 inches in most commercial planes.
More than one-third of Americans fall into the obese category, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. This makes travelling in tight spaces vexing for airlines trying to bolster profits by selling the maximum number of seats.
The Federal Aviation Administration does not regulate seat width, but it does require passengers be able to sit belted and with both armrests down to comply with safety standards.
United Airlines formalised a policy that says passengers who are unable to safely fit into one seat must pay full price for a second seat. They may receive it free if the plane has vacant seats.
Flight attendants on the airlines are responsible for making sure passengers are fitting in their seats and may ask a heavier passenger requiring two seats to pay extra.
Most U.S. airlines have a policy or plan for dealing with heavier passengers, though some are not formalised like United's. Officials worry heavier passengers squished into one seat may pose a safety hazard when a plane must be evacuated during an emergency.
Southwest Airlines has had a "customer of size policy" for more than 20 years, requiring passengers to buy a second seat on a full plane if their body crosses the armrest boundary.
The company will issue refunds if unoccupied seats are available, which they say is the case 97 per cent of the time.
Airlines with open seating policies such as Southwest find it easier to relocate passengers in need of an extra seat. On all airlines, passengers can buy first-class or business-class seats, which are wider. But those tickets cost more than a coach seat.
Experts at Boeing Company, an aircraft manufacturer, say 17-inch seats can accommodate 95 per cent of the travelling public. They say studies have found most seat space invasions happen because of wider shoulders and not derrieres.
Still, some larger passengers who need more than one seat believe being charged extra is discriminatory and the airlines are not accommodating the growing American waistline.
In 2004, a scientist studied the effects of obesity on the airline industry. The scientist calculated his findings based on data revealing the average weight of an American had increased by 10 pounds in the 1990s.
He estimated the extra weight cost airlines $275 million extra for fuel in 2000. The figures are likely higher today, with fuel costs rising.
An airline worker who simply gave his name as Adetoun said that average-sized passengers should not have to incur the higher fuel cost caused by the airline's heavier customers.
"A small child needs to pay for a flight, so why wouldn't an obese person?" said Adetoun, who flies several times a year, mostly in coach, for personal trips. "I'm not a discriminatory person, but we have to look at the reality of the situation. It's getting crowded in here."
Some larger passengers don't mind paying for the second seat. Other heavier fliers argue while tall passengers pay a fee for legroom; the fees are only a fraction of the price of an entire seat.
Air France offers obese passengers booking a second seat up to 33 per cent off the ticket price, depending on the type of seat and availability.
Another business traveller, Tope Thompson said that even some normal-sized people could not fly comfortably when they were packed in the cabin like sardines.
Thompson, who considers himself a hefty guy at 300 pounds and over six feet tall, usually pays for two seats.
According to him, "I would rather be comfortable first," he said, "and worry about discrimination later."
