This may be an...interesting discussion, but here goes:
I stumbled across this article over at MSN, [a href=http://now.msn.com/living/0313-overweight-airline-passengers.aspx] the short version being that if you're charged more for heavy baggage, you should be charged more for being heavier[/a], after all the plane doesn't care where the extra weight is coming from, and fuel costs need to be made up somehow.
The [a href=http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/singer84/English]idea[/a] comes from Peter Singer, who I don't always agree with on his other views, but that's an entirely different can of ethical worms. He argues in this case that people over a certain weight, roughly 220lbs, should pay a surcharge, and people weighing 110lbs or under should be given a discount.
Another option, he argues, would be "to set a standard weight for passengers and luggage, and then ask people to get on the scales with their luggage. That would have the advantage of avoiding embarrassment for those who do not wish to reveal their weight."
He also adds, "Friends with whom I discuss this proposal often say that many obese people cannot help being overweight--they just have a different metabolism from the rest of us. But the point of a surcharge for extra weight is not to punish a sin, whether it is levied on baggage or on bodies. It is a way of recouping from you the true cost of flying you to your destination, rather than imposing it on your fellow passengers. Flying is different from, say, health care. It is not a human right."
While I think that implementing the policies for such a rule would be nightmarish-especially when it comes down to that line of what precisely is and isn't overweight-I can't say that I fully disagree with the idea or the reasoning. But again, I think utilizing and enforcing such a policy would be incredibly challenging, and most likely would need to pack riot gear and flame shields to even get approved.
Thoughts?
I stumbled across this article over at MSN, [a href=http://now.msn.com/living/0313-overweight-airline-passengers.aspx] the short version being that if you're charged more for heavy baggage, you should be charged more for being heavier[/a], after all the plane doesn't care where the extra weight is coming from, and fuel costs need to be made up somehow.
The [a href=http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/singer84/English]idea[/a] comes from Peter Singer, who I don't always agree with on his other views, but that's an entirely different can of ethical worms. He argues in this case that people over a certain weight, roughly 220lbs, should pay a surcharge, and people weighing 110lbs or under should be given a discount.
Another option, he argues, would be "to set a standard weight for passengers and luggage, and then ask people to get on the scales with their luggage. That would have the advantage of avoiding embarrassment for those who do not wish to reveal their weight."
He also adds, "Friends with whom I discuss this proposal often say that many obese people cannot help being overweight--they just have a different metabolism from the rest of us. But the point of a surcharge for extra weight is not to punish a sin, whether it is levied on baggage or on bodies. It is a way of recouping from you the true cost of flying you to your destination, rather than imposing it on your fellow passengers. Flying is different from, say, health care. It is not a human right."
While I think that implementing the policies for such a rule would be nightmarish-especially when it comes down to that line of what precisely is and isn't overweight-I can't say that I fully disagree with the idea or the reasoning. But again, I think utilizing and enforcing such a policy would be incredibly challenging, and most likely would need to pack riot gear and flame shields to even get approved.
Thoughts?
