Airline to Charge for Obesity

Off Topic
1

I posted the idea that airlines should consider charging passengers extra based on obesity on this forum awhile back, and it looks like one of them will start. I can only assume the CEO of the airline was combing the “Off-Topic” here and saw my idea :wink:

Keep in mind that this is Ryanair, the absolute lowest of the low when it comes to air travel. I haven’t flown with them, but I’ve heard the comfort level is somewhere between a Somali pirate ship and the freighter passage between Ceylon and Siam. Even the most basic of human amenities are charged for, including but not limited to washroom use, consumption of water and oxygen, and general civility from the stewardesses. So the fact that they have implemented the idea of charging for obesity does not necessarily make it a good one.

2

As a frequent flier…I wish the airlines would would stuff those fat fuckers in the back of the plane where they belong.

3

I’ve flown with Ryan Air before, and I found their airline hostess particularly civil. Ok, so I did spend the entire flight standing chatting to her because I couldn’t fit in the seats, and I ended up with her phone number, but that’s not the point.

I think this is a damn good idea, BUT I can see it going horribly wrong. Lets look at the proposals…

I don’t really see a problem with this, but then I’m a relatively skinny 100kg

I tend to think this is a fairly good option, but it raises the question of pregnant females

Since I’m only just overweight on the BMI, I’m not sure how many of us on here rank. I’d imagine that 40 is high even for bodybuilders (I’m not including pro body builders in that)

Possibly could work, but then I don’t remember them being that generous with their seating anyway.

The part of the article that jumped out at me was this bit

[quote]
…a ?fat tax? will only apply to those really large passengers who invade? the space of the passengers sitting beside them.[/quote]
I’m not particularly big, and yet even my shoulders tend to invade the space of those passengers sitting next to me. Although all of the above points revolve around waist size and obvious overweight markers, the invasion of other passengers space could easily be twisted to include the more muscular of us.

4

[quote]LIFTICVSMAXIMVS wrote:
As a frequent flier…I wish the airlines would would stuff those fat fuckers in the back of the plane where they belong.[/quote]

Actually, if they stuffed them all in the back of the plane and it stalled, with all the weight centered in the back, they probably wouldn’t be able to get it to start again and you’d all die in a firey explosion.

5

[quote]Squiggles wrote:
LIFTICVSMAXIMVS wrote:
As a frequent flier…I wish the airlines would would stuff those fat fuckers in the back of the plane where they belong.

Actually, if they stuffed them all in the back of the plane and it stalled, with all the weight centered in the back, they probably wouldn’t be able to get it to start again and you’d all die in a firey explosion. [/quote]

uhhh…why would the plane stall with all the fat people in the back (and still, why would an engine be incapable of starting up again)?

I would imagine the plane would still have to be load balanced before taking off. The point is I don’t want to have to touch or look at fatties while boarding or exiting.

And realistically, airline tickets should be priced in relation to the weight of the passenger including their luggage – just like UPS or FedEx charges to ship packages. The shipping rates would go up or down depending on the market but at least we could have some control over how much it costs us to travel.

6

This is a good thing, where someone who says they weigh 100kg is relatively skinny.

7

[quote]MaximusB wrote:
This is a good thing, where someone who says they weigh 100kg is relatively skinny. [/quote]

Hmm, I’m trying to work out if that’s sarcastic or not. I’m fairly tall, so even at 100kg, I do appear relatively skinny.

8

[quote]LIFTICVSMAXIMVS wrote:
Squiggles wrote:
LIFTICVSMAXIMVS wrote:
As a frequent flier…I wish the airlines would would stuff those fat fuckers in the back of the plane where they belong.

Actually, if they stuffed them all in the back of the plane and it stalled, with all the weight centered in the back, they probably wouldn’t be able to get it to start again and you’d all die in a firey explosion.

uhhh…why would the plane stall with all the fat people in the back (and still, why would an engine be incapable of starting up again)?

I would imagine the plane would still have to be load balanced before taking off. The point is I don’t want to have to touch or look at fatties while boarding or exiting.

And realistically, airline tickets should be priced in relation to the weight of the passenger including their luggage – just like UPS or FedEx charges to ship packages. The shipping rates would go up or down depending on the market but at least we could have some control over how much it costs us to travel.[/quote]

Having too much blubber in the back wouldn’t cause it to stall, it would increase the risk of not being able to pull out of it should that happen. Once the plane stalls, if the majority of weight is at the back of the plane, it is virtually impossible for the pilot to get it out of a stall because of the lower speed and angle of take off.

http://www.eng.fsu.edu/~dommelen/research/airfoil/airfoil.html

I was simply making a tongue-in-cheek point that they would go from being your eye-sore to a potential cause of your death. Besides, if you stuck them in the front of the plane, you’d have cushion to fall on in the event of a crash.

9

[quote]Roual wrote:
MaximusB wrote:
This is a good thing, where someone who says they weigh 100kg is relatively skinny.

Hmm, I’m trying to work out if that’s sarcastic or not. I’m fairly tall, so even at 100kg, I do appear relatively skinny.[/quote]

I meant it as a compliment, I know that it is hard to judge tone on here. It is a good thing when someone who weighs 100 kilos can be viewed as skinny. I am around 100 kilos myself, but I am 185.4 cm tall.

10

[quote]Squiggles wrote:
Once the plane stalls, if the majority of weight is at the back of the plane, it is virtually impossible for the pilot to get it out of a stall because of the lower speed and angle of take off.
[/quote]

Load balancers. These are professionals that are trained to load cargo planes so that weight is evenly distributed. There would be a very low probability of a problem if the weight is distributed properly.

11

[quote]LIFTICVSMAXIMVS wrote:
Squiggles wrote:
Once the plane stalls, if the majority of weight is at the back of the plane, it is virtually impossible for the pilot to get it out of a stall because of the lower speed and angle of take off.

Load balancers. These are professionals that are trained to load cargo planes so that weight is evenly distributed. There would be a very low probability of a problem if the weight is distributed properly.
[/quote]

exactly his point, their luggage forward may not be enough to counterbalance all that extra weight in the back

it’s a joke man

12

[quote]MaximusB wrote:
Roual wrote:
MaximusB wrote:
This is a good thing, where someone who says they weigh 100kg is relatively skinny.

Hmm, I’m trying to work out if that’s sarcastic or not. I’m fairly tall, so even at 100kg, I do appear relatively skinny.

I meant it as a compliment, I know that it is hard to judge tone on here. It is a good thing when someone who weighs 100 kilos can be viewed as skinny. I am around 100 kilos myself, but I am 185.4 cm tall.[/quote]

In that case, cheers man.

13

[quote]PimpBot5000 wrote:

Keep in mind that this is Ryanair, the absolute lowest of the low when it comes to air travel. I haven’t flown with them, but I’ve heard the comfort level is somewhere between a Somali pirate ship and the freighter passage between Ceylon and Siam. Even the most basic of human amenities are charged for, including but not limited to washroom use, consumption of water and oxygen, and general civility from the stewardesses. So the fact that they have implemented the idea of charging for obesity does not necessarily make it a good one. [/quote]

This is bullshit.

Ryanair do NOT charge for washroom use.
Every European airline charges for bottled water.
Oxygen is not charged for (WTF are you getting your info from??)
The cabin crew are no nicer or less nice than any European crew.

The important point to remember is that on average, most (probably nearly all) Ryanair flights are between 45mins and 3hours in length. It’s not like you’re flying across the continental United States. For trips of that length, comfort doesn’t really matter. Especially when you’re getting your flights for pretty much half what the other major carriers are charging,if not less.

Ryanair’s probably the most successful airline in Europe right now. Lowest break-even load factor, consistently beating most others when it comes to bums in seats and one of the few airlines now to see a decline in share price over the last 18 months.

Call a spade a spade, they’re low-frills. You pay the absolute minimum for your seat, and any other charges you incur are up to you to decide upon.

A quick example, flights from Dublin to Paris w/ Ryanair = approx ?80 for 2, return. Flights with Aer Lingus (“national” carrier) = ?180+ for 2, return.

Ryanair fly you into Beauvais, a hub airport about an hours coach ride from Paris CC, ?26 rtn for 2. Aer Lingus fly to Charles De Gaulle, which is still about 45 mins from the centre of the city when you consider the size and transfers you have to make. It’s a lot more troublesome flying into CDG tbh.

Ryanair are cheap, but that’s their USP. Don’t rag on something you don’t know about like!

EDIT: And all of this has come out of a poll they set up on their website asking THE PASSENGERS what discretional charge they would like to see implemented next. That is to say, the public wanted it.

Any by the by… they’re not even going to do it rolls eyes http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/news.php?yr=09&month=may&story=gen-en-080509

This, like pretty much everything else they do was a publicity stunt. The guys in marketing their are sheer genius.

14

[quote]Hanley wrote:

This is bullshit.

Ryanair do NOT charge for washroom use.
Every European airline charges for bottled water.
Oxygen is not charged for (WTF are you getting your info from??)
The cabin crew are no nicer or less nice than any European crew.

[/quote]

Like the previous posts about fatties disrupting the balance of the plane, I was joking. I guess it didn’t take off too well. I am aware that Ryanair does not charge for oxygen.

Are you “Ryan”, the guy who presumably started the airline? If so, sorry for ragging on your planes.

IMO, Ryanair ranks among the shittiest of carriers. I know their MO is to keep costs down, and I can respect that, but other bargain basement airlines at least offer a modicum of (free) comfort. Even the notorious “Westjet” which connects Canada to Mexico, has water and complementary nuts.

15

Speaking of sitting in the back, did you know that it is actually proven that sitting in seats toward the back of the plane equates to a higher chance of survival than in the seats toward the front of the plane in case of a crash landing?

16

[quote]GrayCrane wrote:
Speaking of sitting in the back, did you know that it is actually proven that sitting in seats toward the back of the plane equates to a higher chance of survival than in the seats toward the front of the plane in case of a crash landing?[/quote]

True.

Fornt is bad for the impact, and over wing is bad too. The wing is where it breaks up most often.

17

Base it on the physical space they take up. If they can’t put the armrests down because their legs don’t let them do so, then they pay for another seat. If they spill over onto the next persons seating area, then they pay for another seat.

18

Ryanair does what “it says on the tin”

It will get you from A to B for the cheapest price and will get you there on time.

THATS IT.

I mean really they dont do long haul, their longest flight would be 3 hours max, do you REALLY need free nuts for a 3 hr flight ?

When everyone else is STILL charging the Fuel Surcharge Ryanair NEVER intoduced it full stop… even now its prices are STILL dropping when all over the world airlines are going bust or raising prices… ya shit airline isnt it :stuck_out_tongue:

In another 4 years there will be 4 BIG airlines.

Air France who just bought KLM

British Airways who will buy Iberia

Lufthansa as the German Govt will prop it up

And the “shit” Ryanair

For a shit airline it has one the best stock prices, the cheapest flights, one of the biggest cash reserves of ALL Airlines (exceeds 2 billion) and is in talks with Airbus and Boeing to buy 300 more planes.