Obesity on Planes

On 2006-03-24 07:26:54 -0500, "Beverly" said:

Are you living in a bubble????
Don't you have any friends or family members who deal with depression
or stress???
Comfort food is a catch phrase meaning food that makes a person feel good.
Some people eat under emotional times, some drink, smoke, exercise (the
best choice) etc, etc.
Some people can grow out of these emotional problems, and some can't.
If you don't have any compassion for people who have emotional problems
(maybe because you have never been close to someone like that) maybe
ask some friends if they know anyone that has, and listen to the sad
tale. It might give you some food for thought (not meant to be a pun).
And...I'll stay on my side of the armrest if you don't fall asleep and
plop your snoring head onto my shoulder

This has nothiing to do with "compassion for people who have emotional
problems". It has to do with demanding that people occupy ONLY the
seat(s) they bought, and not the seats someone else bought.

Do you totally fail to understand that? Please reply promptly with a
yes or no answer.

"Dave Smith" wrote ...

It's not that silly a comparison at all. I mentioned a case earlier where
I
got a price on a flight from Buffalo to Cleveland, arranged time off and
called back the next morning and the price had gone up $160.
Overnight!!!!
It was not a last minute booking. We were booking about 2 months in
advance.
So am I to believe that between 3 pm on afternoon and 10 the next morning
that
they
had sold so many seats on that flight that the price rose $160??

No, but the capacity control computer, an electronic wizard manipulated by
tribal shamans and augers a'top the roof of the airline data center, where,
between mouse clicks, the entrails of sacrifieced pigeons are analyzed,
determined (by arcane and mystical process) that no more fatfolk were likely
to buy tickets, that future ticket purchasers were likely to travel in
comfort, un-intruded upon by billowing rolls of lard, and that, therefore
and to wit, the price of tickets could be raised to more profitable levels.
Incidentally, the very ticket which had just risen $160., might soar another
$100 by departure date, as the last but a few of the seats are sold. On the
other hand, if none are bought and many are cancelled, the price might
drop....



The thread isn't about supply and demand, it's about fat people spilling
over into the space you paid your money for.

No, it's just about bitching..... As a broad-shouldered guy with a
permanent case of osteobeveragecartitis in both of them, I maintain the
g*ddamn planes are just too narrow!



Then why are we hearing arguments about weight as if fat were a crime,
about
the cost of seats and why they can't put in a few rows of seats with wider
seats, about the extra weight. It's not really about how many seats they
can
fit in plane or how much extra fuel it takes to get the fat people off the
ground. It's about the way that airlines gouge passengers wherever they
can.
It would be interesting sometime to find out how much the people on any
given
flight paid for their tickets because just about everyone is paying a
different price.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, and capacity control is not a well
developed - if not always accurate or dependable - tool of airline bean
conters and number crunchers utilized in an attempt to maximize revenue.
Even the only consistently profitable US domestic airline, WN, utilizes the
practice. Now if the computers could be program to project seat utilization
by lardasses, the airlines might slip in another level of tariff, the
"Expanded Americans" fare. Until then, WN's "Twofer" will suffice....

Of course, the next step will be the opening of liposuction centers in major
airports, where, for a sizeable non-refundable fee, over-size travelers can
have their butts sucked/shrunk to fit the seats. Next will come gateside
breast reduction procedures allowing former D-Cuppers to actually bring
their seatback trays down to horizontal. There are currently no quick,
inexpensive medical procedures available to reduce the lumps which make it
impossible for many passengers assigned to bulkhead seats to use those
ghastly trays unfolded from seat arms, the subject of the famous lawsuit for
personal injury, Gondolfo v. Eastern Airlines, in which Gondolfo, messing
about with his girlfriend while dinner was being served in his bulkhead row,
suffrered substantial pain and trauma as his excitement collided with the
tray bottom, ripping it from its anchor mechanism and sending it flying to
gash his forehead, causing substantial embabssment, and emergency landing
and 24 stitiches. Gondolfo was awarded substatial damages including
Lorenzon's penthouse suite in a New Jersey Best Western Motel, a JenUwine
NASA space suit autographed by Frank Bormann, and an engineless 727-100 in
Eastern livery.

TMO

Although you have some good points, I think the main issue here is that
people don't understand that they are buying a seat that moves from one
place to another. Maybe even your bags will get there as well. You might
even be on an airline that serves you food. Apart from that, you have no
control or say over what goes on around you. Complain all you like, it won't
get you there any quicker...

"Beverly" wrote in message
news:PATTf.8642$ld2.4832@fed1read11...
Hello Everyone,

I am kinda new to this newsgroup and would like to use this thread to
introduce myself.
I am a mother of two beautiful daughters and four wonderful grandchildren.
I have used every type of transportation there is here in the good ole US
of A.
I have been exposed to many types of personalities and body types known to
man (or woman).

One trip I took, I was constantly exposed to an overwhelming perfume. I
dealt with it. Should the person have been made to wash the perfume off,
or sit in the restrooms the entire trip?

One trip I took, I was seated next to a man that was mentally challenged
and talked about some pretty weird stuff. I dealt with it. Should the
person have been made to sit alone, or be put off of the flight?

One trip I took, I was sitting near a heavy snorer and could not rest. I
dealt with it. Should the person have been asked to stay awake?

One trip I took, I was seated next to someone who had been drinking
heavily and the odor was as bad as the perfumed person. I dealt with it.
Should this person have been put off the ride?

One trip I took, I was seated next to a down syndrome child that was
constantly moving and kicking me. I dealt with it. Should the parents of
this child been asked to take the child off of the train?

One trip I took, I was seated near a woman who had 2 small children. They
were both normal behaved children. The youngest was 2 years old and had a
cold. In the middle of the night the 2 year old became uncomfortable with
her illness and started crying. The mother couldn't quiet her. A very
selfish lady sitting behind the family reported this to the attendant. The
attendant told the mother that if she couldn't keep the child from crying,
she and her children would have to get off at the next station. I went and
spoke with the mother, and found this out, after hearing the child's cry
being muffled. (It reminded me too much of a M.A.S.H. episode.) When I
heard what the attendant had said to this lady, it upset me. I spoke to
the mother some more and found out that she and her babies were traveling
to her mother's and that her husband was over in Iraq fighting for our
nation. It really upset me to see a family of one of our soldiers being
treated so rudely. I spoke to the conductor (who seemed to not care about
dealing with the situation). So...I called the corporate headquarters and
tore them another...well...you know.
I dealt with it.
We have many types of people in this world, each with their own little
offensive things, be it physical or mental.
Life is too short to worry about the other person having more than us, or
offending us with their body size.
Deal with it.


Kids that scream and cry incessantly, plus selfish pax that thrust
their seats back when your trying to eat and drink from your fold down
table. Makes it even harder trying to get out to go to the WC.
I think these are worse than obese pax.

That's both funny & very logical!!! I think you're onto something there...

"bob" wrote in message
...
Ya know how they have those thingies with bars at the check-in counters?
"Your carry-on bag must fit into this space..."
Well, they just need to install a similar thing for people, like an
economy
seat with sides. "If your fat ass can't fit into this seat..." you fly in
cargo as overweight baggage.


--
Bob

Travel and Astronomy Photos
http://www3.sympatico.ca/bomo




"Dave Smith" wrote in message
...
beavis wrote:

All your examples are behavioral issues, not problems are physical
size. They're entirely different problems, and are dealt with
differently.

It is not just a matter of the physical size of the passengers. It is the
physical size of the seats on some planes. I have been on some flights
where I have been extremely uncomfortable because seats were very narrow
and there was not enough leg room, but on other flights I was quite
comfortable. There was a recent article about a new model of jetliner
that
was built with a certain capacity, apparently designed for passenger
comfort, and airline companies are squeezing more seats into them.

Here's an idea: Next time you're eating a nice dinner out at the table
next to me, I'm going to hang my coat on your extra chair, and use part
of your table for my cell phone, car keys, and dessert menus, because I
don't have room for all of it on my table. You don't mind, do you?

So it would seem that it is not really a matter of a person's size that
is
the issue, just that you are an asshole.

sechumlib wrote:

This has nothiing to do with "compassion for people who have emotional
problems". It has to do with demanding that people occupy ONLY the
seat(s) they bought, and not the seats someone else bought.

Bull****. It has more to do with the witch of seats that the airlines are
foisting on us as they try to squeeze a little more profit about us. You can
have a chubby person on one side of you and me on the other side with very wide
shoulders and chest. You're going to be squeezed out. Tough **** eh.

Beverly wrote:
Are you living in a bubble????
Don't you have any friends or family members who deal with depression or
stress???
Comfort food is a catch phrase meaning food that makes a person feel good.
Some people eat under emotional times, some drink, smoke, exercise (the best
choice) etc, etc.
Some people can grow out of these emotional problems, and some can't.
If you don't have any compassion for people who have emotional problems
(maybe because you have never been close to someone like that) maybe ask
some friends if they know anyone that has, and listen to the sad tale. It
might give you some food for thought (not meant to be a pun).
And...I'll stay on my side of the armrest if you don't fall asleep and plop
your snoring head onto my shoulder


Well, your replies certainly get the prize for the most ridiculous (so
far :-))

If you've got a drum to beat, this isn't really the place.

Jeff (UK)

On 2006-03-24 19:02:36 -0500, Dave Smith said:


Bull****. It has more to do with the witch of seats

Oh. Is she related to the witch of Endor?

On 2006-03-24 19:33:36 -0500, Jeff said:

Well, your replies certainly get the prize for the most ridiculous (so far :-))

If you've got a drum to beat, this isn't really the place.

I'll agree with your first statement, but not your second. This thread
is absolutely throbbing with beating drums!

new American in http://www.travelonline.happyhost.org

But logic won't play a part in that argument. Someone somewhere will whine,
and claim that everybody's the same. Guess what? We're not! Otherwise
there would be one size shoe, one size shirt, one size pants and no color
choices either!

"glenn P" wrote in message
...
That's both funny & very logical!!! I think you're onto something there...

"bob" wrote in message
...
Ya know how they have those thingies with bars at the check-in counters?
"Your carry-on bag must fit into this space..."
Well, they just need to install a similar thing for people, like an
economy
seat with sides. "If your fat ass can't fit into this seat..." you fly in
cargo as overweight baggage.


--
Bob

Travel and Astronomy Photos
http://www3.sympatico.ca/bomo




"Dave Smith" wrote in message
...
beavis wrote:

All your examples are behavioral issues, not problems are physical
size. They're entirely different problems, and are dealt with
differently.

It is not just a matter of the physical size of the passengers. It is
the
physical size of the seats on some planes. I have been on some flights
where I have been extremely uncomfortable because seats were very narrow
and there was not enough leg room, but on other flights I was quite
comfortable. There was a recent article about a new model of jetliner
that
was built with a certain capacity, apparently designed for passenger
comfort, and airline companies are squeezing more seats into them.

Here's an idea: Next time you're eating a nice dinner out at the table
next to me, I'm going to hang my coat on your extra chair, and use
part
of your table for my cell phone, car keys, and dessert menus, because
I
don't have room for all of it on my table. You don't mind, do you?

So it would seem that it is not really a matter of a person's size that
is
the issue, just that you are an asshole.