British Airways says: “Our customers have individual needs so we discuss options and provide guidance on a case-by-case basis.”
The most benign solution is operated by Air France. It offers passengers who won’t comfortably into a single seats the chance to buy a second, adjacent seat at a 25 per cent discount – with the promise that, if there are any unoccupied seats in your cabin, you get a refund on the second seat.
What if a passenger who can’t comfortably fit into a standard seat just turns up?
Most of the time, if there is some space available, cabin crew will work sensitively and discreetly to find a suitable pair of seats to maximise comfort for the large passenger and minimise discomfort for fellow travellers.
Problems arise, as in the British Airways court case, when flights are full. Air France warns passengers who don’t avail of the extra-seat offer: “In the interest of safety, if the flight is full and you have not reserved an additional seat, you may not be allowed to board if your build does not permit you to sit comfortably in a single seat.”
Passengers who are denied boarding because of their size will not qualify for compensation, but they will generally be accommodated on the next available flight.
Do fellow passengers have the right to unimpeded use of their seat space – and can they demand an upgrade?
Legally, no. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) deals with obesity only in terms of its threat to pilots’ health. The authority requires seats to be configured to allow passengers to escape swiftly in an emergency. But the CAA is silent on encroachment.
British Airways has rules about behaviour “which causes discomfort, inconvenience, damage or injury to the crew or other passengers.” But having a high body mass and sitting passively in a seat cannot be classed as “unacceptable behaviour”.
If, in a full economy section, a possible solution involves re-seating someone in a premium cabin, there is no reason to assume that either the large passenger or their neighbour will get the benefit; airlines generally issue upgrades according to frequent-flyer status.
Should passengers be weighed at check in?
Ideally, yes – but not to embarrass or surcharge overweight people. Stepping on the scales at check-in is a good idea is for safety and environmental reasons.
To operate safely and efficiently, pilots need to know the weight of the plane and everything in it. The CAA assumes passengers and their presumed 6kg of hand baggage weigh an average of 84kg. Children under 12 are assumed to average 35kg. And each passenger’s checked-in baggage is deemed to average 13kg, though this is one thing that the airline should know with accuracy since all hold bags are weighed
If the captain knows the plane is carrying less weight than the “assumed mass”, he or she can load a little less fuel, which in turn uses less fuel to carry. Also, on routes where there is a restriction on passenger numbers because of range limitations, knowing exact weights can mean a plane carries more people – reducing the “footprint” per person.
On small passenger planes, such as those used for safaris, it is essential for passengers to be weighed, in order to assign seats in a way that maximises safety. Wilderness Air in Zambia insists on knowing weights ahead of time, so it can plan its operation. Small planes are much less tolerant of “weight and balance” issues than bigger passenger aircraft.
But unless it is for safety reasons, passengers are unlikely to tolerate the indignity of being weighed at check-in.