Should fat people pay for two airline seats?

Übergewicht oder Übergepäck — kann oder sollte man dicken Menschen zumuten, beim Fliegen für die zusätzlichen Pfunde zu zahlen? Talitha Linehan hörte Gegensätzliches zum Thema.

Yes!

Laila Yuile is a Canadian writer and author. She has been a business owner and financial investigator and covers many controversial topics on her blog: lailayuile.wordpress.com

Laila Yuile, Canadian writer and author

People must take responsibility for the choices they make in life. Overweight people tend to make excuses for being fat. They talk about hormone problems or medication they have to take that’s caused them to be fat. While these excuses are sometimes valid, most people make the choice to be fat. They choose to eat more calories than they need and not to do sports. Twenty years ago, we didn’t have all these plus-size stores because there weren’t as many fat people as there are now. By making allowances for fat people, we allow them to continue to be fat.

I know what it means to be fat. I once was really fat. I weighed 340 pounds (about 154 kg). Three years ago, someone close to me gave me a wake-up call, and I finally realized just how fat I was. I started doing sports, changed what I was eating, and lost 140 pounds.

My husband has a pilot’s license, and when he flies a small plane, he has to calculate the weight of his passengers and cargo to work out how much fuel he needs. If someone lies about their weight, this could cause the plane to crash. The same applies to commercial airplanes.We have to pay more for excess luggage, and I believe we should also be charged based on our weight. Is it fair, for example, that someone who weighs 130 pounds and has 10 pounds extra baggage is charged for that baggage, whereas someone who weighs 340 pounds is not charged extra at all? Paying more for an airline ticket because you are overweight is not only a fuel-related problem, but an equality issue, too.

Having said that, I know there is no easy solution to the problem. But it is an important debate, because it’s not only about people’s rights. It is also about people having to take responsibility for the decisions they make in life.