JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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In an OECD survey of 36 nations on people's perceptions of their living conditions, Japan ranked 21st in terms of quality of life; Australia, Norway and the U.S. were the top 3. What do you think of that?
( 12 )
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The Fukuoka mayor is banning public servants from drinking alcohol for a month; the Osaka mayor has declared war on tattoos on civil servants. What do you think of all this?
( 21 )
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Why do you think Facebook's stock failed to live up to the hype in its trading debut?
( 13 )
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Which sport, when played well, do you think is the most exciting to watch?
( 62 )
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What's the difference between an average burger and a great one?
( 12 )
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- Business Teaching Positions - Part-time - Kanto Region
- Interac, Tokyo
- Salary: ¥3,000 ~ ¥5,000 / Hour
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- National Relief/Substitute Teacher - summer start
- Interac, Tokyo
- Salary: ¥275,000 ~ ¥300,000 / Month
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- 営業パーソン
- 加治金属工業株式会社, Tochigi
- Salary: ¥240,000 ~ ¥350,000 / Month Negotiable
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58 Comments
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Kwaabish
Is this an off-shoot of the "How should airlines deal with people of size" article of August 8?
I know there's a lot of fat people these days, but I wonder if this is such a hot topic, especially in Japan.
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AlliedForces
I beleive it is just an excuse by the airlines to make more money from their passengers. They find more and more reasons every year to add on costs. It is a disgrace, especially when most airline staff are kinda unpleasant folks.
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some14some
Yes provided they give discount to under-weight people.
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Bellend
Yes fat chozzers should pay extra. And, as mentioned above, the Japanese should get a discount.
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umioso
IF they have to pay for an extra seat it is on;y proper for the overweight person to HAVE that extra seat. No fair putting someone else in it. IF that happens, the charge for the extra seat should be refunded. The airlines should also make sure that the extra seat is COMFORTABLE for the overweight person.
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Patrick Smash
No way shoud kids who way less than 10KG get the same surcharge applied as the American wobblebottoms do. It's ridiculous to surcharge young children, and should be illegal. Let the fatties make up the difference, and if they're too fat for an economy seat they should have to pay for an upgrade. I'm very big, and have to pay extra for my enormous shoes and clothes. Let them pay more for their disgusting fat guts instead of bulging out of their seats and sweating all over others.
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AlfGarnett
Let all the fat gits pay extra. I should pay less, i
m a pensioner, i cant afford to get fat. Them planes use more fuel if they are full of fatties and then us normal people end up paying extra for them, marvellous innit!!!0
boonme
Fifty years ago airlines used to weight both the passenger and his luggage. Then you were charged accordingly.
I don't see why this shouldn't be reapplied today. The heavier you are the more you should pay. Weight the total package.
Most fat people probably won't like being reminded that they are in fact overweight.
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Damax6
Is this just ONLY an american phenom.??(Obesity)i wish the cabin crew raise the level of courtesy and service to ALL passengers.THIS IS IMPORTANT TOO). how much weight is "defined" as overweight,since the stats show that most western people(NOT JUST AMERICANS!!) are obese or overweight. Why dont the airline industry adapt and make some of their seats geared to the obese/overweight folks. If those seat are empty maybe a pregnant mom or a mother with a small child can fit perfectly if there was NO overweight passengers. A Sofa would be fine,also, i think many people overweight or not would love to get that sofa if available.
The airline industry can make it a Priority seat like they do here in japan on the trains. Fatso, preggos,crippos,old folk can get 1st dibs.
or the can fly on the 380 up in the suites with minimal extra cost.
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Bellend
And before any lardarses start complaining, remember you
ll get 2 meals. Hmmmm the chicken and the beef........ And its not your glands but the fact you eat like a porker and do no exercise.0
GW
this shud be handled just like airfreight is handled, the actual weight or volumetric weight, whichever is higher thats what you.
So for passengers yr ticket pays for the space your seat takes up, think of it in length,width,height terms, thats what we all pay for. Now if your weight exceeds the volumetric weight you pay more, if you body oozes outside your space you pay more
There done!
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GW
shud be: whichever is higher thats what you PAY.
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Scotschan
If the airlines provided seats adequately sized for fully-grown adults in the first place, this would be such a non-issue. Anybody who is over 182 cm (6 ft)tall is going to be cramped, no matter what they weigh. Commercial class seating, especially on overseas flights, is cruel and unusual punishment that you pay for. It is even more cruel to attempt to extract an "extra pound of flesh" for every extra pound of flesh!
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AlliedForces
I flew from Frankfurt to Osaka recently in economy. I am average height and 75KG, not so big at all. Yet i was cramped, my legs had no room, and there was no room to rest my elbows. Plus the airfair price had almost tripled from 2 years before.
Obese people would probably need 3 seats if they took the plane i was on. Hee Hee.
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retirednavygaijin
Simple fix, pay by the pound!
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Pukey2
I don't understand. Haven't the seats in US baseball stadiums widened with the years due to more people becoming obese? Then why haven't airlines also responded in the same way? I don't really care whether obese people have to pay more or not, but it's not right to punish people sitting next to them. It's already unconfortable for average-sized people.
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motytrah
It does. Some of the Chinese airlines actually do that and apply surcharges. In particular the ones that have recently joined global alliances that are now getting westerners on award tickets.
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timtak
Good idea. I think prices should be dependent upon cost. As well as being fair, it might encouage fatties to loose some of their flab - a good thing for everyone.
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Nessie
Tell me the truth. Does this seat make me look fat?
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Nessie
I wouldn't mind paying extra if I were fat, which I'm not. As long as I get a discount for each fat flight attendent.
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NICOLE77
GW - I like your idea!
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buttamimi
Should anorexics get a discount?
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LIBERTAS
The person of size should pay for the portion of my fare proportionate to the level of discomfort he physically imposes on me, over the confines of a regular adult size seat. In cash and up front.
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Azrael
Just a customer's idea: "yes" or "no" questions should come with a poll. Or go in the poll section.
By the way, we had a similar question of the day a week ago. As I said then, I think yes, people who overflow from one seat into the next seats do need an extra seat; not only because of their bodily volume, but also because of their own comfort and health. They should sit on front rows also, where if they have health problems (heart attack, diabetic shock, or other) the attendants could remove them from their seats quickly in order to give them assistance.
If someone is too obese to go on Economy class and their body volume does not fit a single Economy seat, they could be made to pay the extra money to change their seat to an Business Class seat instead. That is I think, a cheaper, temporal option for airlines rather than enlarging the Economy seats of their whole fleet, which in the end allows less passengers in Economy and represents a loss for the company and more expensive Economy Class tickets for the whole of the passengers who travel in Economy Class for... economic reasons.
A studio could be made to determine the ratio of obese passengers who need a second seat vs passengers who don't. Then the front rows for example, could be changed to bigger seats. However, there's always the risk that the ratio of obese passengers surpasses the amount of enlarged seats that would fit in the space for front rows seats... but it's an option. In any case, the obese passengers face a looming fate of being classified, sorted out for being obese and be treated differently (yet yes, with respect but different needs call for different solutions, not always pleasant). Would that be a sort of discrimination? Maybe. However, it would also keep the right the smaller-sized passengers have to travel as comfortably as they can afford (and actually paid for).
As for being weighed at the airport... Maybe curtains will do.
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Jaydog
The negative language is disgusting. I'm not overweight and would never write or talk about people in such a way.
If a person is overweight and can't fit in a seat, then "yes" they should buy another seat or pay for business class which have larger seats.
To suggest weighing people is ludicrous since the planes aren't weighed down.
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conqueror_of_Uranus
Sure, charge the fatties for an extra seat. But to be fair, give them double luggage capacity and double meals.
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Pukey2
You are not doing them any favors by providing them with double meals.
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kview
If it is a full or overbooked flight then the problem exist.I've sat in such a flight much to my discomfort as he had taken up my arm rest plus a quarter of my sit! I asked if they could upgrade him to no prevail. A surcharge would be appropriate. This should be at the discretion of the airline involved, on checking-in such passenger. Requirement of overweight passenger to pay for another seat at special fare would be very much appropriate in long haul flight.
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heloveschillies
I don't think they should pay extra, I think they should not be allowed on the plane as they would be a risk to everyone if the plane got into difficulties and they blocked the exit, As the last thing anyone needs is a slow fat person blocking the emergancy exit if the plane is on fire!
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serindipity
OK! So, if you agree to this concept how would it be implemented? What about children and babies? What about the dehydration during a flight? You are lighter when you land. Why not take it one step further and have a thin people's plane with cheap tickets and a fat people's plane with widened doors and isles and expensive tickets? What would be the deciding weight? 80k? 120k? I have never heard anything so ridiculous in my life!
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akaguma
obese people do have a problem. there isn't any science involved and there isn't any silver bullet. all they need to learn is a little self-control. stop trying to excuse your actions and just learn to chew one twinky at a time
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pointofview
Seats are too small to begin with. How about a person who isn
t overweight but just taller and heavier than the average individual? If unions didnt cause the airlines to pay the ridiculous salaries they pay out to employees who work very little to begin with, than bigger and less seats could be put on airplanes so a wider range of bodily dimensions could sit comfortably. Just another stupid excuse for the airlines to take advantage of the average individual. The world is out of control and based on these comments most people are quite apathetic. Im not overweight either. Its not the oil that is making flying expensive it`s the unions that have too much power.0
Nessie
And search them twice at customs and immigration.
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motytrah
Do you actually have some facts to back that up? Labor costs for any airline are typically very low per seat mile. You can look this up in the financial report for most major airlines. A major wage cut for front line staff would trim a cent or two off the cost per seat mile. That's not going to bring wider seats.
Really? How do you figure? In the US almost every airline labor group has made serious wage concessions, some up to a 30% pay cut. Yet airfare are on the rise and seat pitch is on the decline.
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Apsara
The main issue to me isn't that it costs more to transfer heavier people, it's that sitting next to a very overweight person who also takes up part of your seat for 12 hours would be an absolute nightmare, and it's unfair on the person whose seat is being encroached on. I wouldn't want to be rude, but I would have to ask the flight attendant to move one of us as soon as possible, because I feel uncomfortable enough flying as it is without adding any more stress. What do they do if they have two very overweight people sitting next to each other I wonder?
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Everton2
More often than not being fat is a choice, mainly an outcome of poor diet and laziness. It is not like being tall or short, which are features we can't really change. Yes they should be charged double!!!!
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stanoue
I think a 'two seat' policy if someone can't fit in one seat is fair.
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Patrick Smash
Look, if most of the cost is weight, then they have to charge more to heavier people. I stand over 6 feet 6, so I expect to be surcharged for my godlike physique. But the wife and the little paddies should not be paying the same, that's blatantly unfair. Why should kids who weigh 9 and 15 KGs pay the same fuel surcharges as adults? And I think they deliberately stick fatties next to kids and skinnies where possible, so these two goups are subsidizing seats for the clinically obese. It's not right. Lose some bloody weight or go sit in Premium Economy.
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dammit
I'm overweight, and I fit in economy class seats!
It's not really about the weight though, people should be informed several times during the purchase of their tickets and after purchase that the seat they are paying for can only be used by someone who's butt is a maximum of a certain size. "Please note that for this class of seat the maximum width of the seated butt can be no more than x inches. If you are found to have a wider butt than the maximum you will either be moved to a more appropriate seat IF one is available and charged the extra cost, or you will be rejected from the flight without any refund or partial refund being made. Please ensure your butt is the right size, to spare yourself embarrassment, potential financial loss, and the possible cancellation of your trip."
Seems fair enough to me, let them check at home before they buy. If they still spill over chuck em off or make them pay to upgrade.
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sport
I just purchased a ticket back to the states at a discount and the cost was over 180,000 yen. I travel this same route 2-3x a year. Let me say first that I am 6 feet tall and weight 163 pounds. Sometimes I have a large person next to me (meaning heavy, unusually tall etc.). I deal with it as best I can and in most cases they do too. Not just over weight people control the arm rest. It seems crazy to consider charging more for weight. If you think about it. There are some people that travel very light. Not bringing more than one bag etc. There are others that max out the 50 pound weight limit per bag, bringing 2 bags plus a carry-on (and I have seen some pretty heavy carry on bags) and a personal bag. There are average and thin people, children, babies, pregnant women...the list goes on and on. If all is considered it really means very little to charge someone for being overweight. Besides, don't you think this is an issue centered in the US? Be honest. Japan does not have the same problems with obesity. It seems that 180,000 for a coach seat is pretty darn high (over 50,000 yen was for gas sur-charge). Life is tough enough without being charged more for your weight.
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kview
Well, in this case it is not so much a matter of the weight of the passenger involved but rather the seat that this person would be taking up when seated. If he or she has to so much as to squeeze in and not be able to get out without lifting the armrest! Kids below 12 years of age whatever their size do take up a seat and so should rightfully pay for it at child fare. I have nothing against obese people. What the builders of airplanes should take into account are to increase the width of the seats of all airplanes if viable.
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the_sicilian
Agree with the two seat purchase IF you don't fit into one seat. I'm 5'10" and 200 lbs. I fit just fine, even in bulkhead seats that are more narrow.
"So I tell the girl at the counter to seat me all the way in back against the toilets (seat does not recline), and put me in the middle between two very fat guys who stink. The gate agent says, "Why would I do that?". I say, because you will put me there anyway, I may as well have a choice."
A Friend......
Addiu
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Sarge
The average economy class seat is fine for people who are shorter than 170cm or weigh less than 80kg.
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Sarge
Notginger - That's harsh!
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Patrick Smash
Well I don't know what I'm to do. I'm six feet eight, but the wife is only 4 feet 10. The two little paddies weigh 25 Kg between them, and all 4 of us get the same fuel surcharge. I think that's daft, but I can't upgrade unless we all do, so I end up stuck in economy, usually an aisle seat bulkhead which I fit in fine. If it's a regular seat, it's an awful squeeze for my fine Irish legs, but I have no choice. I would like a bit more legroom, not a wider seat. Seems like they need more seat choices, sizes, widths, legrooms; it could all end up looking rather odd.
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nahummer
Yes, they should be made to pay more. The reason is two-fold, first it's uncomfortable to have to sit next to someone who is bulging over the armrest, and second and most logical, we have to pay for extra weight for our luggage, so they should pay for their extra weight too!
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randomenigma
Notginger - That's hilarious!
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xxBiscuitxx
2 seats = two meals + carry-on bags 3 seats = three meals and a bed
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Richard_III
The thought of being sat next to someone who's obese and liable to be rather sweaty for the duration of a 12 hour flight, is frankly, rather horrid.
Yes, they should pay extra on a per kilogram basis based on weight that exceeds their average height.
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Sarge
P. Smash - If you're 6 foot 8, a bulkhead or emergency row seat is the only seat you can fit those long legs of yours in. I'm not that tall and my knees are jammed up against the seat in front even before it's reclined into my face.
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flawlex
I travelled by Air New Zealand a couple of months ago and the flight was full. I noticed that most of the obese people were given seats near the back of the plane. That was meant to allow them to move around more easily perhaps.
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USARonin
Ideally, they shouldn't be charged anything.
But if they take up an additional seat that the airlines could've made a profit, then maybe the additional charge is justified.
After all, unless someone has mental retardation, fat is an active on-goin' choice.
USAR
0
Confederate2008
USARonin, Great post.
Why should obese people pay the same as normal folk.
They use up more fuel costing everyone else more.
Go on a diet band get some exercise.
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xpompey8
If their butt takes two seats then yes, pay double.
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chardk1
I think the problem is not weight or fairness to fat people or whatever, it is whether said fat person making other passengers suffer. I think the word "overweight" is misleading, we're not talking about people with BMI's of 25.5 here. I think we mean (and we've all seen) the passengers who weigh over 150 kilos and invade the space of people around them. To me, it's not about the fat person's comfort or the airline's fuel costs, it is whether other people's rights are being encroached, literally.
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roobus1
yeah fatties should pay more.. unles sthey have medical grounds and proof stating that they cannot help being grossly overweight, they should stump up extra funds, being stuck next to a mouth breathing sweating lump for 12 hours (feeling guilty about needing to get past you use the bathroom)is vile and why should others have to suffer because someone cannot be bothered to take care of themselves. Airline seats are, in general, adequate... tall people I feel for but fat people, in general, get that way of their own accord.. you get 20Kg's luggage, and you get charged for more, if you weight 75KG and the lump next to you weights 115KG, who pays for the extra 40KG there (equivalent to 2 EXTRA cases) ???
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ichinensei
If you need two seats, you should pay for two. It's not the airlines fault people are fat. They should even pay extra for fuel surcharge.
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