United Airlines Weighs In on 'Seat Infringement'

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A quick review of other online sentiment finds that Southwest and United are often singled out by many fliers as hostile to the overweight, while Delta Air Lines (DAL) is seen as accepting. Lara Frater, a blogger, activist, and author of the 2005 book, Fat Chicks Rule, has begun an online petition drive seeking at least 700 people to sign a protest against United's policy. As of Apr. 20, the petition had 311 signatures.

Coach, But Not Second Class

Not surprisingly, the petition has generated a lively debate. "I am a fat person who is tired of being blamed for airline woes. You should also know that I can fit into a coach seat, so this policy doesn't affect me," Frater wrote on her blog. "However I am writing this as a plea to not treat fat people as second class travelers."

"If you really want to address the actual problem, it's seat sizes overall," one signatory named Wendy wrote. "Not just fat folks but anyone who's bigger than a hummingbird has a problem fitting in the average coach airline seat. That's because in the interests of money, airlines have decided to ignore the real world and install seats that in no way reflect the average size of their actual customers."

Added another person named Arlene: "Who's next? Parents of small children? People who aren't attractive, and might 'visually offend' if they sit too close to the next passenger? Amputees who might need extra room to place their prosthetic leg if they have to remove it mid-flight? People with bad breath? I can just see it now: 'Ma'am, please step over here and blow into this tube. Oops! You'll have to buy two tickets so the person next to you won't complain!' Geez."

Frater and other activists advocate a "one-person, one-ticket" policy on the grounds that the Southwest and United policies discriminate against one group and curtail air travel availability for fat people.

The Air-Cargo Model

Ryanair, meanwhile, encouraged people to vote on its weight-based ticketing idea in a survey on its site last week. This proposal, which mirrors the way air-cargo carriers charge for freight, has generated positive reaction from some people who note the direct correlation between an aircraft's weight and its fuel consumption. The logical extension: Why not carry your own weight, so to speak, when it comes to the fare?

Zeke Adkins, co-founder of a Luggage Forward, a Boston-based baggage delivery service, predicts that airlines will eventually consider a traveler's total weight—checked and carry-ons, plus body weight—when it comes to assessing fees.

"It is the model used by virtually every company who profitably uses airplanes for transport—except airlines," Adkins says.

Bachman is deputy news director for BusinessWeek.com.

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