Study: Obese passengers cost airlines

[benyl]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. airlines spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually in extra fuel costs to transport a heavier traveling public, researchers estimate.

The 10-pound increase in the average weight of American adults in the 1990s means additional expenses for struggling airlines today, according to findings published by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

The researchers for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that carriers spent $275 million in fuel costs to carry the additional weight of passengers in 2000.

But fuel costs have risen exponentially since, deepening the red ink at some airlines.

Bankrupt United Airlines said last week it will likely spend $1.2 billion more on fuel this year than first projected.

The calculations do not measure variables like the weight distribution of the flying public or the type of aircraft flown.

But researchers conclude the findings highlight the consequences of obesity in the United States.

Recent government statistics show the average body mass index (BMI), a weight-for-height formula used to measure obesity, has crossed into overweight territory. The average weight of an adult man was 191 pounds in 2002, while the average weight for women was 164.3 pounds.

In May 2003 the Federal Aviation Administration added 10 pounds to per-passenger weight assumptions for calculating aircraft loads.

That step followed the crash of a commuter plane in North Carolina that prompted scrutiny of aircraft weight and balance issues on small planes.

http://money.cnn.com/2004/11/05/news...ex.htm?cnn=yes

[GTS Jeff]

The average weight of an adult man was 191 pounds in 2002, while the average weight for women was 164.3 pounds.

gross...

what ive always wondered is if fat people actually buy 2 tickets cuz they dont fit in one seat on the plane/bus...and whether they feel bad when theyre buying 1 ticket per asscheek. cuz if they dont....well they should dammit.

i cant stand being a plane and getting shafted by being seated next to a fattie (or if u want to be pc, "disgustingly weighing more than is healthy to look at") whos folds spill over the armrest onto my side.

maybe airlines need to impose weight restrictions for flights.

[Melinda]

Originally posted by GTS Jeff
maybe airlines need to impose weight restrictions for flights.

But then the overweight people would screan discrimination...I think it's brutal how overweight society has gotten...it's too easy to be unhealthy now, with machines doing everything and junk food every where you turn, so people are getting bigger and bigger without even giving it much thought.

Too bad it usually takes a life changing experience to make a large person want to change...

[B17a]

Originally posted by GTS Jeff
what ive always wondered is if fat people actually buy 2 tickets cuz they dont fit in one seat on the plane/bus...and whether they feel bad when theyre buying 1 ticket per asscheek. cuz if they dont....well they should dammit.

i

They do. I think there are several airlines in the US that say you have to buy 2 seats if your fat ass is taking up 2 seats. How unreasonable is that? But in Canada some fattie won a supreme court decision I believe that said it was discrimination. I agree, if you're 500lbs you need 2 seats, you gotta pay for 2 seats. But at the same time, those seats are small, I'm "only" 235 and its a tight squeeze for me.

[Shaolin]

they had some special on it on one of those talk shows.. I don't remember if it was Oprah or Montell or whatever.. How comfortable can it be if you're 500 lbs or whatever sitting Economy class? I'm comfortable in those seats but i'm only 150lb

was the case Fattie vs. Airline? or was it Fattie vs. Person stuck beside Fattie vs. Airline? It be different if it was one case or the other.

Maybe they should just stick the fatties all together, like maybe somehow tag the fatties when they buy tickets (although i'm pretty sure that'd be discrimination as well but whatever).. so if Fattie 1 has a seat on 17A, put Fattie 2 and 3 on seat 17B and C and let them jockey for position, at least then slimmer passengers won't have a problem with people going into their space

[PGTze]

The average weight of an adult man was 191 pounds in 2002, while the average weight for women was 164.3 pounds.

Originally posted by GTS Jeff
gross...

how is that gross? I weigh around 190, maybey 195, and I'm not obese. Not everyone is a toothpick.

[Melinda]

I think jeff was reffering to the weight of a woman for the 'gross' remark

[Aleks]

Yes an average height woman weighing in at 165 lbs would be um quite the plumper. not that there's anything wrong with that if you're into that kind of a thing.

[ehos]

There should be a 'fat people' section in a plane. That way they can sit the flabs next to the flabs.

I fly like 30 times a year, and I ALWAYS Sit next to the stinky fat American.

Yeah it's discrimination, too bad.

[GTS Jeff]

Originally posted by Melinda

But then the overweight people would screan discrimination...

well they would be right. by definition, it would be considered discrimination, but discrimination itself is not wrong. for example, we discriminate against criminals by locking them all up in prisons right? discrimination is only wrong when its discrimination for something that is not morally wrong, like not hiring a black man when color of skin doesnt affect the hiring requirements in any way. in this case, i would liken forcing fat people to adhere to special requirements to sending criminals to jail. cuz lets face it, being severely overweight, much like being a crook, is typically a lifestyle choice of the individual, and as such being fat is a crime against the persons own body and against society, financially and aesthetically.

Originally posted by B17a


They do. I think there are several airlines in the US that say you have to buy 2 seats if your fat ass is taking up 2 seats. How unreasonable is that? But in Canada some fattie won a supreme court decision I believe that said it was discrimination. I agree, if you're 500lbs you need 2 seats, you gotta pay for 2 seats. But at the same time, those seats are small, I'm "only" 235 and its a tight squeeze for me.

i agree the seats are small too. i am about 150lbs and while i fit, there isnt much room, especially when im eating

Originally posted by Melinda
I think jeff was reffering to the weight of a woman for the 'gross' remark

yea i was. i dunno, sometimes honesty gets the best of me and my friend, tact.

[B17a]

Originally posted by GTS Jeff


lets face it, being severely overweight, much like being a crook, is typically a lifestyle choice of the individual,

It's glandular you insensitive bastard!

[GTS Jeff]

Originally posted by B17a


It's glandular you insensitive bastard!

haha i realize that for a select few individuals its either a medical condition or genetic and beyond their own control...but that accounts for a pretty small percentage of the fatness out there.

[Texas]

Im 6'41/2 and 285, my ass fits in the seats, but my shoulders don't. When I fly, I try to fly out of prime hours so I can get an exit row seat.. A bit more leg room etc. I remember one time this parade float got on the plane...and you know how everyone watches in anxiety and breaths a sigh of relief when people like that pass their row...well If jumbo doesnt "try to plant his fat stinky ass right beside me, I had my elbow out and said "nope, not happening, find another seat." he seemed so ignorant as to how uncomfortable that 3.5 hour flight to Dallas would be... there were other seats available for him to sit in...so he did. Im a bigger guy, but Im not ignorant about it, I dont throw my elbows at people sitting beside me, I cram over so they have as much room as possible....especially if shes hot

[Ben]

Anyone been to Vegas lately?

Nuff Said.

[rahim]

Originally posted by Shaolin
so if Fattie 1 has a seat on 17A, put Fattie 2 and 3 on seat 17B and C and let them jockey for position

I vote for his idea

[5.9 R/T]

Transport Canada currently uses 188lbs for a male during the winter months which inlcludes heavier clothing and 10lbs carry on. Within the next few months that number will be going up another 10lbs, so at least we arn't as fat as our neighbors to the south, or so it would seem. Airlines should have a system where if you weigh less then the average based on your heightyou get a discount and if you weigh more then you pay more. Seems fair to me.

[QuasarCav]

Originally posted by Ben
Anyone been to Vegas lately?

Nuff Said.

Average Male weight : 285lbs

Average Female weight : 200lbs

Average times I threw up a day: 15

[toyboy88]

Originally posted by Shaolin

so if Fattie 1 has a seat on 17A, put Fattie 2 and 3 on seat 17B and C and let them jockey for position, [/B]

Originally posted by rahim

I vote for his idea

HAHAHA!!! i give a 2nd vote!!!

[Singel]

If fatties do buy 2 seats....don't they get 2 meals too Kind of a vicous cycle