Have you been a little indulgent at the buffet table? Well you may want to hold back primarily for health reasons, but here’s another reason why. United Airlines will require obese passengers to buy a second ticket. You read it right…
iVillage and LA Times reports that United Airlines will implement this policy by Wednesday. The carrier, whose parent company is Chicago-based UAL Corp., said it decided to adopt the tougher policy after receiving more than 700 complaints last year from passengers “who did not have a comfortable flight because the person next to them infringed on their seat,” spokeswoman Robin Urbanski said.
Whether it is a probable ground for discrimination is another story. But United Airlines said it would waive fees normally charged for changing travel plans. If seating is not available and a passenger decides not to travel, the ticket will be refunded without any penalty, even if it is a nonrefundable ticket.
My personal take on this is just “ok”. I seldom sit uncomfortably anyway, even on coach… and I wouldn’t mind moving to a better seat (an upgrade perhaps) or a refund. I’d say, let’s see how this cookie crumble and adjust as appropriate… whenever.