#710: Obeseats

I read today that airlines in Canada can’t charge obese people for two seats even if they don’t fit into a single, standard size one.

(Aren’t there rules about having to wear seatbelts? I don’t really believe that these offer much added safety in a crash, but they might stop the wearer banging their head on a locker in turbulence -so what happens if you don’t fit a normal belt? What happens if you have trouble squeezing down an aisle?)

Today’s invention is to fit bench seats in a section of an airliner equipped with a sliding set of armrests which would allow people to accommodate their different girths. Inertia reel belts would extend to fit pretty much anyone (Having worked on airline projects, I realise this is unlikely, since they wouldn’t fork out £5 for even smokehoods -which are proven lifesavers).

People would be asked when buying a ticket if they would fit in a standard seat and if not, they could be allocated space on a flexi bench at no extra cost. They would thus occupy less than 2.0 seats each at the cost of 1.0 seat. Thinner than average people could be encouraged (eg via special meals or movies) to sit in this area and each occupy less than 1.0 seats at the cost of 1.0 seats.

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