Ryanair says passenger 'fat tax' is a non-runner

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Irish no-frills airline Ryanair has abandoned plans for a "fat tax" on obese passengers, because it would slow down check-in procedures, it said Friday

The airline, criticised for considering other money-making schemes including charging people to go to the toilet, said 16,000 people had voted in an online poll on how to charge larger passengers.

The most popular suggestion was to charge per kilo (over 130 kg for men, 100 kg for women); followed by charging for a second seat if the passenger's waist touched both armests, charging for every point over 40 in the Body Mass Index (BMI), or for every inch of waist above 45 inches for men (40 inches for women).

But in the end the Ryanair ditched the idea, "because there is no way to collect it without disrupting its 25-minute turnarounds and its online check-in process," it said in a statement.

"Over 30,000 Ryanair passengers called for a ?fat tax? for very large passengers," said the airline's Stephen McNamara.

"However, as all passengers will soon be checking in online we have no way of collecting a ?fat tax? without disrupting our unrivalled punctuality," he added.

"Ryanair will continue to examine avoidable discretionary charges, which are paid for by some passengers but help lower fares for all passengers."

That's mind boggling. What a different world it is, to the one I grew up in. Really fat people were rather rare. I remember when I was in the second grade, and the kids were laughing at a little girl named Nancy, because she alone weighed 100 pounds. Cruel of course. But it just wasn't as widespread a problem, as it is now.

I have zero sympathy for obese people who cause problems for others by physically spilling over on top of them. My opinion: if you're that overweight, you should be required to buy a second ticket at full price. If you fail to buy a second ticket in advance and are unable to fit into a single seat without causing discomfort for those around you, you should be removed from the plane and your full ticket price forfeited, regardless of whether the plane is full or not. No more playing Russian roulette with "If the plane isn't full, I won't have to buy an extra seat." No. You had your chance to buy your tickets in advance, and you didn't follow the rules. Off the plane, and thank you for contributing to those great airfare rates for everyone else.

What I found entertaining was the story of the rather large guy who bought two seats next to eachother so he'd be more comfortable, and was given two seats either side of the aisle.

Well I think that overweight humans are still human beings. I recall a case in the US where a very overweight person who was trapped in their home had to be taken to hospital. They could taken out of the house and paraded in public which was wrong. Could they not at least cover the overweight person so that passers by did not have a chance to stare and look at the ill person.

Imagine if aspies were being hunted and then paraded in public, or made to pay extra for air travel because they might act differently at air ports. We would not like it one bit.

Us aspies want other folk to treat us well, so I think that we should be tolerant of other people. In today’s world you can not discriminate against gays, people of a different skin colour to yourself and people of faiths which you dislike. But it is still legal and socially OK in many places to have a go at "fat people", so some people who want to have a go at someone different to themselves pick on sfat people which is wrong.

Some people who are overweight are that way because of medical conditions and are disabled as a result. Being overweight would be like having to carry a sack of coal on your back all day everyday, and I guess that would not be fun ! Before anyone has a go at "fat people" I would suggest that they should go for a walk with a sack of coal on their back and some stones in their pockets.

By the way I am not overweight

_________________
Health is a state of physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity I am not a jigsaw, I am a free man !

Diagnosed under the DSM5 rules with autism spectrum disorder, under DSM4 psychologist said would have been AS (299.80) but I suspect that I am somewhere between 299.80 and 299.00 (Autism) under DSM4.

QFT Woodpecker.

it is difficult for people who are very obese to lose weight,more needs to be done to get gyms,sports etc adapted for very obese people so they can use equipment to but that isnt to do with ryan air [which have got a bad press with other disabled people already],taxing what is for many people a disability under the DDA,it would be discrimination to force someone to pay extra than someone smaller than themselves because of their disability.

Also, a morbidly obese person might really require two seats, being that they cannot fit into one. This is a dilemma, both for the obese, and the airlines. I believe that the rise in obesity might be due to the way that people eat nowadays, as opposed to say, 50 years ago. Lots of fast food consumption, empty calories, excessive starch consumption, and the lack of balance in the average diet, contributes to weight gain. I remember being placed on medications, around 10 years ago, that caused a 25 lb weight gain. This was taxing on a petite, 5 foot three frame. So I stopped the meds, and slowly lost the excess weight. Some people may not have that choice.

How is it discrimination? They should have to pay more because they use more "product". Is it discrimination to charge more for a King Sized triple bacon Whopper meal than for a plain burger with a small order of fries? Is it discrimination to charge more for an XXXXL shirt over an XS? Hell, I'm a size XL Tall, and I usually have to pay $5-10 or so more for each shirt I buy just because of it, but I don't consider it discrimination. It's just common courtesy for the severely overweight to pay for an extra seat if they're large enough to "spill" over into the seat next to them. Otherwise it's no different than if you were at a restaurant, they finish their steak first so they take half of yours without paying for it, because hey, they're hungrier than you are.

I'm sure I come off as sounding like I hate fat people, but I really don't. I just really think it's incredibly rude for someone to not be considerate of others, and to be overly willing to be a burden on others simply because they don't want to be bothered to do otherwise. I myself know that I can be a burden on others, simply because I'm 6'3" with a wide build. I constantly do things like sit in the back of a movie theater or classroom, just so I don't block anyone's view. Whenever I fly anywhere, I always get an aisle or window seat, just so I can lean away from whomever's next to me and not be a bother to them. Or, if those seats aren't available, I sit in an incredibly uncomfortable manner the whole time, just to keep from my shoulders and legs from bumping into the people next to me. I don't just let my bodyparts shove into the other people's spaces.

So it's fair to have to pay extra if you luggage is a kilo overweight, while the guy in front of you is twenty kilos heavier than you and gets charged less than you? That's the logic behind this tax.