http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/tra...on-the-obese-say-airlines-20100731-110ji.html
VIRGIN BLUE calls it an ''impairment''. Tiger Airways prefers ''comfort or medical'' issue. But none of the major carriers in Australia has a defined policy to deal with obese or overweight passengers.
''Obesity is not a disability,'' a Jetstar spokesman said. ''There's no rules around what requirements we should do for somebody if they're above a certain height or weight.''
A proposal by European budget carrier Ryanair to impose a ''fat tax'' was scuppered last year despite widespread support for the scheme in the company's online polling.
Ryanair had considered various schemes - including charging per kilogram over 130 kilograms, per inch of waist or for each BMI (body mass index) point past 40 - but ultimately decided the plan could not be implemented without extending its 25-minute check-in times.
A study by airline booking company travel.com.au showed there was majority support for a formal system to deal with obese passengers in Australia. The survey of customers who used the website showed 70 per cent thought ''obese or largely overweight people should have to purchase two economy-class seat tickets when travelling by plane''.
The figure, based on responses from 800 users, showed a surge in support for the idea. Two years earlier, a similar survey found only 53 felt obese people should be forced to buy additional seating.
''We don't actually have a policy,'' a Virgin Blue spokeswoman said.
''We're committed to accommodating all our guests regardless of any impairment. In our experience if a guest requires two seats to travel, that's what they do.'' Virgin Blue offered to move obese people between flights to find spare seats they could sit alongside, she said. But they did not force passengers to use this option.
Qantas admitted receiving complaints from people who had been seated next to obese passengers. But the company's stance left responsibility in the lap of overweight passengers. ''The only way for a customer to guarantee extra space is to purchase two economy tickets or fly business- or first-class,'' a spokeswoman said.
The same goes at Jetstar: ''We're straight up and down about it. We've always encouraged [people to buy additional seats]. One of our most frequent users is a large man and he always buys a second seat. He's quite happy to do that.''
And at Tiger: ''Anyone requiring an additional seat for comfort or medical reasons needs to pay if they require an additional seat.''
The latest figures from the Department of Health and Ageing show 41 per cent of men and 25 per cent of women in Australia are overweight. Almost 20 per cent of men and women are obese, double the figure of two decades ago.
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, people are considered overweight if their body mass index, measured by dividing a person's weight in kilograms by the square of their height in metres, exceeds 25. A person is consider obese if their BMI exceeds 30.
The Flight Attendants Association of Australia had no comment and consumer advocacy group Choice had no policy of its own.
Tell us what you think at
[email protected]
