The article I read outlines the different approaches Canadian airlines and American airlines take toward obese people; Air Canada provides obese flyers with a free extra seat whereas most American airlines ask that they pay for the extra seat or wait for the next flight. Air Canada is taking “a financial hit” for every free seat they provide and other passengers may be having to pay more for tickets so overweight passengers can be accommodated. Currently, we already subsidise the costs for on-board defibrillators for patients who suffer cardiac events on planes.

Source: http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/11/obese-flyers?fb_ref=activity

In our week 6 tutorial regarding consumer behaviour and decision making our class discussed what we consider when choosing what airline to book a flight with. Many stated the obvious; price, availability of flights, comfort, customer service, etc. However, if you see it from the perspective of an overweight person, they will definitely look for an airline that is willing to provide them with a free extra seat. It didn’t occur to most of us that this is something that some people consider when booking a flight.
What do you think- should you have to pay more to fly so overweight people can get free second seats?

Read article here