Check-in: Excess Baggage

Getting charged extra for being obese!

Obese passengers who are unable to squeeze into a single seat on an airliner are to be charged double to fly, like excess baggage.

From next month seriously overweight flyers will be asked to pay for two seats, or not be allowed on board for “safety reasons”, the airline announced yesterday.

“People who arrive at the check-in desk and are deemed too large to fit into a single seat will be asked to pay for and use a second seat,” said an airline spokesman.

“They will be charged 75% of the cost of the second seat, which is the full price excluding tax and surcharges, on top of the full price for the first.

“The decision has been made for safety reasons. We have to make sure that the backrest can move freely up and down and that all passengers are securely fastened with a seatbelt.”

Spokesman added: “People who cannot fit into a single seat will then be fastened by slotting the belt tip of one seat into the plug of the next, stretching over both seats.”

“However the charge will only apply on flights that are full booked. They will get their money back on flights where spaces are available.”

Two years ago Air France was ordered to pay $7,000 in damages to a 370lb passenger who had his stomach measured at an airport check-in desk before being told to buy two seats.

British Airways has no weight limits for passengers, but advises overweight people to buy a second seat for their own comfort and safety if necessary.

Last year a picture, posted the aviation news website reignited the debate about obese passengers on airplanes.