The Student Room Group

Fat People on Plane

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Original post by Wilfred Little
I don't get it?

The obese passenger informs them upon buying the ticket by supplying the doctor's note.


What about the people who aren't eligable for a doctors note?
Original post by Sternumator
What about the people who aren't eligable for a doctors note?


As far as I can tell from what the other poster is saying:
If you have a medical condition causing obesity you get a doctors note and the NHS (or your insurance) pays for the second seat.
If you don't, and therefore you're fat from your own fault, you have to pay for both seats.
The other posters opinion, not mine, just trying to clear up what I understood by it.
Original post by Sternumator
What about the people who aren't eligable for a doctors note?


Original post by minimarshmallow
As far as I can tell from what the other poster is saying:
If you have a medical condition causing obesity you get a doctors note and the NHS (or your insurance) pays for the second seat.
If you don't, and therefore you're fat from your own fault, you have to pay for both seats.
The other posters opinion, not mine, just trying to clear up what I understood by it.


What minimarshmallow said is what I meant. Sorry if my post was confusing. People who are overweight because of poor diet have to pay for their own 2nd seat.
Original post by minimarshmallow
If you have a medical condition causing obesity you get a doctors note and the NHS (or your insurance) pays for the second seat.


Why should the NHS pay for someone's extra plane seat? People don't HAVE to fly, its not like its a necessity. I think a lot of people would be unhappy if their taxes were spent subbing someone's leisure time. If there's a genuine medical issue behind someone's obesity then the airline should be expected to be lenient, but if they're not, tough. There's a lot of things people with illnesses can't do.
Original post by IlliteratePedant
Why should the NHS pay for someone's extra plane seat? People don't HAVE to fly, its not like its a necessity. I think a lot of people would be unhappy if their taxes were spent subbing someone's leisure time. If there's a genuine medical issue behind someone's obesity then the airline should be expected to be lenient, but if they're not, tough. There's a lot of things people with illnesses can't do.


:confused:

And where does it stop? Why should the NHS have to pay for wheelchairs? It's not like wheelchair users have to leave the house, is it :rolleyes:? People who are overweight due to illness have just as much right to go on holiday as the rest of us.

If someone isn't allowed on a flight due to illness when it could easily be solved by allowing them a 2nd seat, you think that's fine? That's discrimination. If it's a safety hazard then it's different, the issue here is whether they should have to buy another ticket. But you're condoning discrimination based on whether the airline feel like being lenient or not.
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by IlliteratePedant
Why should the NHS pay for someone's extra plane seat? People don't HAVE to fly, its not like its a necessity. I think a lot of people would be unhappy if their taxes were spent subbing someone's leisure time. If there's a genuine medical issue behind someone's obesity then the airline should be expected to be lenient, but if they're not, tough. There's a lot of things people with illnesses can't do.


I clearly stated at the bottom of that post that it wasn't my opinion and I was simply clarifying what another poster said. They have responded to you above this post.
Original post by Wilfred Little
What minimarshmallow said is what I meant. Sorry if my post was confusing. People who are overweight because of poor diet have to pay for their own 2nd seat.


No I understand your posts but you haven't said how you would make sure people too fat did buy two seats and not turn up having brought one.
Reply 27
Yes.
It might even be an incentive for obese people to lose weight if the outcome is half price on all plane journeys.
The same should be applied to long distance coach & train journeys too.
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by Wilfred Little
:confused:

And where does it stop? Why should the NHS have to pay for wheelchairs? It's not like wheelchair users have to leave the house, is it :rolleyes:? People who are overweight due to illness have just as much right to go on holiday as the rest of us.

If someone isn't allowed on a flight due to illness when it could easily be solved by allowing them a 2nd seat, you think that's fine? That's discrimination. If it's a safety hazard then it's different, the issue here is whether they should have to buy another ticket. But you're condoning discrimination based on whether the airline feel like being lenient or not.


Nobody has the "right" to go on holiday. If I can't afford a flight then my rights aren't being violated; it should be the same for overweight people, if they can't afford two seats. Wheelchairs and other aids like that are completely different since people actually do need to get around.

Its not discrimination, its common sense. And its a safety hazard if they're blocking the aisle like the guy in the video was, or if they're blocking access to another passenger. If there'd been an emergency situation, would it be O.K for him to be blocking people's passage to the exits? If the passenger next to him developed breathing difficulties for example, would it be O.K for the obese man to block access to him? In all this I'm assuming the overweight man isn't a spry as your average person, and can't remove himself in the same amount of time.

If the airline feel generous enough to provide special seating, or grant an extra seat to an overweight person then fine, but its unfair to expect someone else to subsidize their travel, something which is essentially a luxury experience.
Original post by Sternumator
No I understand your posts but you haven't said how you would make sure people too fat did buy two seats and not turn up having brought one.


You wouldn't need to "make sure", once the procedure is in place they'd already know what's required of them to get on the flight, imagine flight companies having this in place, it'd be big news, everyone would know about it and it'd be controversial, you'd have to be really, really unaware to turn up having paid for 1 seat and turning up having paid for one when they need two means they might miss the flight. Think of it like turning up without your passport.

Original post by IlliteratePedant
Nobody has the "right" to go on holiday. If I can't afford a flight then my rights aren't being violated; it should be the same for overweight people, if they can't afford two seats. Wheelchairs and other aids like that are completely different since people actually do need to get around.


You're seriously missing the point. If you have 10k in your pocket and you want to go on holiday, you have the right to, whatever your health. If they can't afford it, that's different, but they shouldn't not be able to or be made to pay more if they are overweight due to a health problem and not gluttony.

Original post by IlliteratePedant
Its not discrimination, its common sense. And its a safety hazard if they're blocking the aisle like the guy in the video was, or if they're blocking access to another passenger. If there'd been an emergency situation, would it be O.K for him to be blocking people's passage to the exits? If the passenger next to him developed breathing difficulties for example, would it be O.K for the obese man to block access to him? In all this I'm assuming the overweight man isn't a spry as your average person, and can't remove himself in the same amount of time.


We're not discussing whether it's a safety hazard though, are we? This is about whether they should be made to pay for 2 seats or not. Anything that is a potential danger to other passengers should be dealt with accordingly. Plus, the hypothetical obese person managed to climb the flight of stairs to get on the aircraft so I can't imagine them needing a crane to get them off if another passenger develops breathing difficulties.

Original post by IlliteratePedant
If the airline feel generous enough to provide special seating, or grant an extra seat to an overweight person then fine, but its unfair to expect someone else to subsidize their travel, something which is essentially a luxury experience.


It's not though, should agoraphobics receive only the bare minimum in benefits to buy bread, milk and water? People shouldn't have to suffer because of their health.
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by Wilfred Little
You wouldn't need to "make sure", once the procedure is in place they'd already know what's required of them to get on the flight, imagine flight companies having this in place, it'd be big news, everyone would know about it and it'd be controversial, you'd have to be really, really unaware to turn up having paid for 1 seat and turning up having paid for one when they need two means they might miss the flight. Think of it like turning up without your passport.


You would have to weigh people who look fat in that case which would cause offense.
Original post by Sternumator
You would have to weigh people who look fat in that case which would cause offense.


But surely you wouldn't take that risk if you already know you're overweight and could risk being weighed in the airport?

It wouldn't happen.
Original post by Wilfred Little
But surely you wouldn't take that risk if you already know you're overweight and could risk being weighed in the airport?

It wouldn't happen.


Of course it would. If people weigh themselves and they are a few kilos over the weight limit and they can pay say £300 for one seat or £600 for two seats and they know people rarely get weighed then everyone will just pay for one. If you make people pay for two you need a way of enforcing it or people won't buy two.

Imagine if they rarely weighed people's bags, loads of people would turn up over the weight limit. Enough people do it even though they weigh bags.
(edited 11 years ago)
If you need to, then buy two seats.

Although there was a story of a really fat teenage girl a few months (maybe a year?) ago who needed two seats and had only bought one, and they decided to bump another passenger off the flight without any compensation because she was supposed to be sitting beside the girl.
Reply 34
Original post by Wilfred Little
People who are overweight due to illness


Don't exist, fat people are fat cause they have a crap diet, no one gets fat cause they're ill.
Original post by almasy
Don't exist, fat people are fat cause they have a crap diet, no one gets fat cause they're ill.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prader%E2%80%93Willi_syndrome

Prader–Willi syndrome (play /ˈprɑːdər ˈvɪli/; abbreviated PWS) is a rare genetic disorder in which seven genes (or some subset thereof) on chromosome 15 (q 11–13) are deleted or unexpressed (chromosome 15q partial deletion) on the paternal chromosome.


Clinical features and signs

Adolescence

Delayed puberty
Short stature
Obesity
Extreme flexibility


:smile:
Original post by almasy
Don't exist, fat people are fat cause they have a crap diet, no one gets fat cause they're ill.


My best friend's sister has a brain tumour that causes her body store her carbs and fat too quickly, before they've had a chance to be used up (supposed to be similar to what happens in pregnancy where energy is stored for the baby, but in overdrive). I think we can say she's overweight because of her brain tumour.
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 37
Original post by minimarshmallow
My best friend's sister has a brain tumour that causes her body store her carbs and fat too quickly, before they've had a chance to be used up (supposed to be similar to what happens in pregnancy where energy is stored for the baby, but in overdrive). I think we can say she's overweight because of her brain tumour.


and considering cancer is caused by a crap diet, shes fat due to a crap diet.
Original post by almasy
and considering cancer is caused by a crap diet, shes fat due to a crap diet.


You need to go back to trolling school and add some finesse to your trolling.
Original post by almasy
and considering cancer is caused by a crap diet, shes fat due to a crap diet.


First of all, not true. Cancer is caused by mutations. Where are you getting your information from? The Daily Mail? Or The Daily Troll?
Also, she doesn't have cancer. It's a benign tumour, but it presses on her brain (pituitary and hypothalamus I think) and causes her hormones to go haywire.
(edited 11 years ago)

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