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Overweight people versun the airlines

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It seems that airlines are looking to charge overweight people more money to fly with them.
It now seems that everyone is out there to grab cash from their customers at every opportunity, but after I was charged extra baggage allowance money at Sharm's airport last September of £21 for being a couple of kilos over, why should someone weighing double what I weigh get their ticket for the same price as me?
It goes without saying that if you had four people in your car that each weighed 9 stone each that would equate to 36 stone. If you then replaced those people with four people weighing 18 stone each which would be 72 stones, surely fuel consumption would be much higher? So for an airline the more weight it carries the more fuel it must use as well?
So on that basis why should airlines charge the same amount of money for passengers regardless of their weight, and yet charge people for going over their baggage allowance by a kilo or two? I think a BMI test should be on the booking form so an airline can see how much someone is overweight and the excess needed for their ticket.
On this link there is a picture of an overweight man obviously taking up more than a single seat, is it fair to everyone that his ticket costs the same as another passenger weighing half his weight?
Is that a fair way of dealing with the airlines ongoing costs for fuel? Why should other passengers pay the extra on the airlines costs to fly?
Where does it stop ? ... would a person weighing 9st get their seat for less than someone weighing 12st? But equally why should someone who weighs 30st fly get thier seat for the same price as someone who weighs 1/3rd of thier weight
As always there is a balance to be struck here (gotta love the pun haven't you???)
Isn't the answer that the really large already pay more .... if you need to have two seats to be comfortable you pay twice as much as a person who occupies only one.
..simples! lol
When doing weight and balance calculations, airlines use standard different weights for males, females and children. It is not the case that each passenger is weighed.
sounds like an excuse to me for reason to hike up prices.
then you get the ' my price went up to pay for these fatties' at the check in from the arseholes.
Surely it's swings and roundabouts? Admittedly it would cost more in fuel getting up to cruising altitude, but the extra weight would mean gravity would bring the plane down easier.
bolt
Seriously though, surely it really is a matter of averages. Some people weigh less than the optimal, others weigh more. Perhaps a better place to start would be a person's overall allowance. i.e. charge a set price to cover the person and their baggage. If you weigh less you get more allowance, if you weigh more you get less. Well, if I ran the world it would work that way. ;)
Quote by Green_Fox_71
Isn't the answer that the really large already pay more .... if you need to have two seats to be comfortable you pay twice as much as a person who occupies only one.

I believe that is already the case, if you don't fit in the airlines standard seat width wise and you take up two you pay for two.
Quote by Cubes
Surely it's swings and roundabouts? Admittedly it would cost more in fuel getting up to cruising altitude, but the extra weight would mean gravity would bring the plane down easier.
bolt
Seriously though, surely it really is a matter of averages. Some people weigh less than the optimal, others weigh more. Perhaps a better place to start would be a person's overall allowance. i.e. charge a set price to cover the person and their baggage. If you weigh less you get more allowance, if you weigh more you get less. Well, if I ran the world it would work that way. ;)

Absolutely correct Cubeys.
The obverse of your theory on descent though is that you would need more fuel burn to maintain altitude in a powered descent wink
Spooling down jet engines in a glide descent might just cause a little more than a stir, blind panic even!
It already takes too long to get SLC through the departure gate. Having to weigh each one and make adjustments to their payment profile before departure would make the whole thing impractical.
My argument is that why should I be charged a baggage excess on 2 extra kilos, and a person weighing double what I do gets their ticket for the same price as me. Surely that cannot be fair.........can It ?
Charging by weight is wrong there are two many variables, I see the reasoning behind what the airlines are saying but as someone said it is swings and roundabouts, a plane half full of children and average sized adults compared with a plane full of all adults and half of them overweight.
But if someone occupies two seats then they should pay for two seats - simplez really
Quote by Cubes
Seriously though, surely it really is a matter of averages. Some people weigh less than the optimal, others weigh more. Perhaps a better place to start would be a person's overall allowance. i.e. charge a set price to cover the person and their baggage. If you weigh less you get more allowance, if you weigh more you get less. Well, if I ran the world it would work that way. ;)

This idea I like !! Surely an encouragement for people to slim down.
John
Quote by starlightcouple
My argument is that why should I be charged a baggage excess on 2 extra kilos, and a person weighing double what I do gets their ticket for the same price as me. Surely that cannot be fair.........can It ?

Since when has anything been fair where airlines are concerned?
Simply put it's just another method of a company making money from the public...
Car Insurance: I pay them silly amounts to insure a vehicle, if I change a vehicle mid-term they charge me again (premium) and then charge me an administration fee for the courtesy, lovely that.
Mortgage: Pay them the monthly fee but should they have to send you a computer generate letter regarding an issue on your account £35
Utility Companies: Pay them late they now include a 'late payment charge' but if you're on paperless billing all it means is they send you an a computer generated email saying 'you're late' and charge you for it.
Then there is the Direct Debit Scam, sign up for Direct Debit and you are fine, no Direct Debit and they add per month for using their automated service to pay them with a debit card...nice that.
Car Park Fees: They charge you by the hour, go over your stay you run the risk of a disproportionate fine for doing so but if you're under the time limit then they're happy. For me you're renting a spot to park, you should simply pay by the minute and when leaving pay for exactly how long you've stayed, not difficult to implement but the carpark owners would see a revenue decrease.
Ferry Bookings: It used to be (P&0 anyway) you booked your ferry, if you were early to the docks and the ferry before yours wasn't busy they'd stick you on it, likewise if you were late they'd do the same as long as you were less than two hours either side. Now it's called a 'flexi ticket' and there is a charge for it (approx £10 per crossing)
Then there is the booking fees, a rip off mostly and much lambasted but some have got cute and now charge you 'per ticket' ridiculous.
Charging people cos they're overweight has been on the cards for a long time, the Govt have been blathering on about obesity and how much it's costing the NHS for a while with one bozo MP recently harping on about taxing the sweeter breakfast cereal....taxing it? means money for the Govt and stuff the rotting teeth of the children eating the junk.
and so it goes on....hidden charges are no longer hidden but instead they're in your face right in front of you....all for the benefit of the greedy business/govt applying them.
Quote by Toots
lots of stuff about rip off Britain

I defeats me why so many people all but break their necks to live in such a place as Toots describes...
Quote by Toots
lots of stuff about rip off Britain

Quote by GnV
I defeats me why so many people all but break their necks to live in such a place as Toots describes...

GnV I have never made any secret of how much I love the UK. I have lived in London as well as the South East which is supposed to be the more affluent part of the UK over the years, but even I am starting to despair. This is certainly not the UK of 20 years ago let alone further back than that.
I do not want to go off the topic of how the UK has changed as that is not what this thread is all about, but I can understand Toots post completely.
Quote by MidsCouple24
Charging by weight is wrong there are two many variables, I see the reasoning behind what the airlines are saying but as someone said it is swings and roundabouts, a plane half full of children and average sized adults compared with a plane full of all adults and half of them overweight.
But if someone occupies two seats then they should pay for two seats - simplez really

absolutely ... which is what happens now!
Quote by GnV
lots of stuff about rip off Britain

I defeats me why so many people all but break their necks to live in such a place as Toots describes...
If you mean those trapping to the UK from foreign parts then it needs no answer other than to say we give too easily to those knocking to come in and are then beaten by our own rules/european laws when we seek to remove them. I don't see many coming from the more affluent nations so it must simply be about money/prospects/standard of living which in the case of all three seems to be rapidly diminishing in the UK to the point where it may not be for much longer an attractive prospect.
As for the UK and being British, I'm proud of my heritage and proud to be British but now I'm a mummy & have different goals, I no longer consider the UK as a place for my children to be brought up in, it doesn't feel safe n secure or home anymore. It is no longer a case of integrating but rather we're submersed in a sea of every other nation and her/his dog/goat/camel etc to the point where the UK no longer has it's own identity.
We have a place in France already and have been looking for another for the last couple of years but due to my mans health it's kind of been on hold for a time...but we will relocate to France in the next year or so and my children are already learning French through tutoring which should help them also.
Quote by Toots
We have a place in France already and have been looking for another for the last couple of years but due to my mans health it's kind of been on hold for a time...but we will relocate to France in the next year or so and my children are already learning French through tutoring which should help them also.

:thumbup:
Been here permanently 5+ years now and have never looked back.
We were chatting to a couple who are coming to live here full time with their 12 year old daughter later this year. The daughter is soo looking forward to it (as she is horse mad and there is good safe riding here) and has already chosen the school she is going to. She can't wait to make new friends.
The parents too. They say that their 'little girl' will grow up at a more stable pace given the less sexualisation/exploitation of youngsters here. Kids are much more polite and respectful.
Another friend has a 16/17 year old daughter who has been here since she was about 12. She is totally bilingual and can have at least two conversations running at the same time in different languages, switching from one to the other with absolute ease and not even having to think about it!
From a parental point of view, it can be a nightmare though as the kids learn how to swear in the local patois whilst the parents just say 'ah, bless' only later learning just what their kids have been saying to them.
Oh, to be young again... Kids soak it up like a sponge :lol2: nothing wrong with a bit of mischief!
Start getting your ducks lined up for the move Toots.
Quote by Toots
As for the UK and being British, I'm proud of my heritage and proud to be British but now I'm a mummy & have different goals, I no longer consider the UK as a place for my children to be brought up in, it doesn't feel safe n secure or home anymore. It is no longer a case of integrating but rather we're submersed in a sea of every other nation and her/his dog/goat/camel etc to the point where the UK no longer has it's own identity.

I lived as a youngster in Clapham and a few little stops down the Northern line is a little place called Mordon. I used to go there as a kid with friends and it used to be a rather nice area. But now it seems like so many places things have changed a bit. The picture in the link is of that same place, Mordon but certainly not as I remember it. I can only imagine what it is like on a Friday and how people can be intimidated by it all Toots.
If you think thinner people will be charged less than they are now - go for it. But you and I know that will not happen.
Personally, I am 16 stone. If they start charging by the pound to fly I have a simple solution. I won't fly if I am paying. Work can pay for me to travel. But there are thousands of places I can visit without flying. I will go there. Flying to go on holiday is not compulsory nor is it the only option.
its pointless most Brits going abroad anyway, they only moan about not getting a proper cup of tea, northerners always complain there's no bitter and no English food
and all this after spending a few thousand to get there rolleyes
Do you really think ?
Didn't that attitude disappear when they stopped making Carry On films and Ealing Comedies?
Quote by Green_Fox_71
Do you really think ?
Didn't that attitude disappear when they stopped making Carry On films and Ealing Comedies?

No, not all. It is alive and well!
You'd be amazed at the number of Brits that arrive here in France and complain that they can't get decent bacon and spend most of their time slagging the French off!
You think they'd stay at home if they hated the French that much loon
Last time we went sailing on the Med off the coast of Spain, most of the ports we visited had Brit run resto's offering all day greasy breakfasts :rude:
Quote by GnV
Do you really think ?
Didn't that attitude disappear when they stopped making Carry On films and Ealing Comedies?

No, not all. It is alive and well!
You'd be amazed at the number of Brits that arrive here in France and complain that they can't get decent bacon and spend most of their time slagging the French off!
You think they'd stay at home if they hated the French that much loon
Last time we went sailing on the Med off the coast of Spain, most of the ports we visited had Brit run resto's offering all day greasy breakfasts :rude:
Yummy smile
Oh another bitch about the British crept in quelle surprise.
Some French are fucking horrible about, and to, the British and like wise some British towards the French. I've seen and experienced enough to believe that's true.
Quote by Lost
Oh another bitch about the British crept in quelle surprise.
Some French are fucking horrible about, and to, the British and like wise some British towards the French. I've seen and experienced enough to believe that's true.

Yes there are certainly a few here that think the British are lazy good for nothing moaning scroungers.
There is good and bad in every Nationality, but the French are far worse at being horrid. Maybe that is why GnV finds it so lovely over there. lol
Quote by starlightcouple
Oh another bitch about the British crept in quelle surprise.
Some French are fucking horrible about, and to, the British and like wise some British towards the French. I've seen and experienced enough to believe that's true.

Yes there are certainly a few here that think the British are lazy good for nothing moaning scroungers.
There is good and bad in every Nationality, but the French are far worse at being horrid. Maybe that is why GnV finds it so lovely over there. lol[/quote
Nothing but complete fabrication Star and you know it. Please reference where you get your so-called facts from.
Quote by Rogue_Trader
Oh another bitch about the British crept in quelle surprise.
Some French are fucking horrible about, and to, the British and like wise some British towards the French. I've seen and experienced enough to believe that's true.

Yes there are certainly a few here that think the British are lazy good for nothing moaning scroungers.
There is good and bad in every Nationality, but the French are far worse at being horrid. Maybe that is why GnV finds it so lovely over there. lol
Want some help with your quoting Rogue? wink
Oh........
Quote by the writer in star's link
Before you flame me with nasty e-mails about how wonderful France is, let me say now that I completely agree. After all, I decided to move to France. With the good always comes the bad.

Do you actually read your links before you use them star?
Quote by the writer in star's link
Before you flame me with nasty e-mails about how wonderful France is, let me say now that I completely agree. After all, I decided to move to France. With the good always comes the bad.

Quote by GnV
Do you actually read your links before you use them star?

The point was GnV......IT STILL STINKS.
Quote by starlightcouple
Before you flame me with nasty e-mails about how wonderful France is, let me say now that I completely agree. After all, I decided to move to France. With the good always comes the bad.

Quote by GnV
Do you actually read your links before you use them star?

The point was GnV......IT STILL STINKS.
So does London as do some of your posts :haha:
Quote by GnV
Before you flame me with nasty e-mails about how wonderful France is, let me say now that I completely agree. After all, I decided to move to France. With the good always comes the bad.

Quote by GnV
Do you actually read your links before you use them star?

The point was GnV......IT STILL STINKS.
So does London as do some of your posts :haha:
Yes London does stink, but we were talking about France. Stick to the subject in hand eh? :rascal: