Wed, Mar 03, 2010
Tall Travellers Tired Of Extra Airlines Charges For Passengers
That Don’t Fit The Norm
The UK’s tallest travellers
have rallied in support of the world’s overweight passengers
against so called ‘body discrimination’ by
airlines.
Following the recent poll on travel site Skyscanner, where 76%
of people voted in favor of a ‘Fat Tax’ being charged
for passengers who cannot safely fit into a single seat, Skyscanner
has been inundated with emails from Britain’s lofty air
passengers, who have expressed solidarity with overweight
travellers against ‘size discrimination’ by
airlines.
Simon James, a 6' 5" tall man from Edinburgh said
“Everyone’s talking about ‘fat tax’ but
‘tall tax’ has been around for years. I always request
an exit row seat, but there’s no guarantee you’ll get
one. On many cheap flights carriers, I have to pay for the
privilege of choosing a seat or boarding first. I have sympathy for
overweight people, but at least the vast majority of them can lose
weight if they choose. Tall people can’t get any shorter.
People come in all shapes and sizes, and airlines should
accommodate us all.”
Barry Smith, Skyscanner co-founder
and Development Director commented “There’s a fine line
here between discrimination against any body type that is outside
of a narrowing norm, and simple economic viability. The danger is
that airlines will continue to squeeze us into ever shrinking
seats, and charge all but the shortest, thinnest passengers a
premium for extra room.”
Many airlines charge significant premiums for seats with extra
leg room, for example Qantas charges an additional $160 on some
flights for an exit seat. On flights to Sydney that are already
expensive this could raise the cost prohibitively for some
travellers.
Kevin Smith, famed American film director and actor, was the
latest passenger to get involved in the airline ‘fat
tax’ row after he was ejected from a Southwest Airlines
flight after his bulk was deemed a ‘safety risk’.
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