Stuck...

Due to some delays on our flight from Munich to Prague, Nicole, Brandon and I arrived at the airport with approximately a half hour to make it through security and on to our connecting flight back to JFK. After sprinting through the airport, we arrived at the gate just as they were making the final call. Slightly sweaty and out of breath from my unanticipated airport marathon (running is always tougher when it is done in a spur of the moment fashion, while wearing flip flops), I boarded the plane. Eager to get settled into my seat and make myself comfortable, my eyes browse the aisles ahead, and I notice every seat was full, except one. The window seat next to an obese man (I am not certain to his exact weight, but 500 pounds seemed like an appropriate approximation). I sucked in my stomach as best I could and uncomfortably rubbed against the man in an attempt to reach my seat. Due to his size, the arm rest was unable to come down, and the man was overflowing onto half of my seat. Luckily, despite my weekend of binge drinking and eating endless potato dumplings, I managed to slide cozily into what was left of my seat. The remainder of the flight was spent cuddling up with the stranger who sat next to me and attempting to eat my in-flight meal while balancing the tray in the air, since I could not open up my tray table.

I am not one to complain, but now I am faced with a moral dilemma. Should overweight people be charged extra for an additional seat when purchasing plane tickets? Before my experience on the flight, I would have been the first one to stand up for the passengers that, how should I put it...have a little extra baggage. I would have argued that it is unfair to charge them more than other passengers, for a problem that may be uncontrollable. However, after paying full price for a plane ticket and being forced to squeeze my right butt check into the small slot between the window and the seat, my views are slightly altered. If I payed full price for a plane ticket, is it unfair to only have half of a seat? In that case, the ticket should have been half price. It would make sense that a person that takes up more than one seat should be required to pay for more than one ticket.

I wrote an email to Czech Airlines explaining the situation and received a letter in the mail apologizing for the inconvenience, but stating that there was nothing they could do about it.

How are airlines supposed to solve this problem? My friend recently sent me the following article, which I found to be interesting (http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60S0N520100129). According to the article, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines have a policy where "oversize" people need to buy a second seat and claim a refund if the plane is not full. I think this might be the best option I have currently seen.

How, one might ask, is it to be determined whether or not a passenger requires extra space? I believe the answer lies in the arm rest: if the arm rest must be up for a passenger to sit, the passenger does not fit in their allotted seat and should consider purchasing another ticket, for both themselves and the sake of the poor person stuck up against the window.