A photograph posted on a travel blog showing an obese man spilling out of his airplane seat and blocking the aisle has reignited the debate over whether extremely overweight passengers should be allowed to fly if they don't pay for a second seat. Federal aviation authorities investigated and said the man in the photo was allowed to fly after American Airlines gave him an entire row, with three seats. Should morbidly obese travelers be treated differently by airlines? (Watch a report about the picture of an obese man aboard a flight)
Fat people should buy two seats: "THIS is why people are anti-fat people," says conservative commentator Debbie Schlussel in her blog. "It’s also why humane airlines force fat people to buy two tickets." When obese passengers can't fit in a single seat, they ruin the flight for the poor, squeezed passengers around them -- and keep people from safely getting off the plane in an emergency.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Today's political cartoons - May 10, 2024Cartoons Friday's cartoons - worm food, crossing the line, and more
-
'No war is good'Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
-
The Week Unwrapped: will the US end child marriage?Podcast Why some states have no lower limit on marriage age, plus Black maternal health and the price of olive oil
