Consumer Right Boiled Down to Defining “a Seat”

United to charge obese for 2nd seat

April 15, 2009 12:09 PM | 210 Comments | UPDATED STORY

Starting today, United Airlines may bump severely overweight passengers from sold-out flights.

Passengers who are too large to fit comfortably in single coach seat will be required to buy a second ticket or upgrade to business class, where seats are larger, if United’s flight attendants can’t find two open seats for them.

Chicago-based United says that it decided to adopt the tougher policy receiving more than 700 complaints last year from passengers “who did not have a comfortable flight because the person next to them infringed on their seat,” said United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski.

United said that most major airlines have similar rules in place.

United’s flight attendants, who will have the delicate task of enforcing the new policy, have traditionally sought to find two adjacent seats, free of charge, for passengers who spill over their seats.

That hasn’t changed.

“We’ll first try to re-accomodate you on another seat on the flight,” Urbanski said. “If the flight is full, and that’s not often the case these days, you’ll be bumped from the flight.”

If this occurs, passengers will be forced to either find a flight with open seating or required to buy two seats or an upgrade to a class of service with wide seats.

United said it will waives fees it would normally charge for changing travel plans. If seating is not available and a passenger decides not to travel, the ticket will be refunded without any penalty, even if it is a non-refundable ticket.

The new policy for United, the third-largest U.S. carrier, is effective for tickets purchased on or after March 4 for travel on or after April 15.

—Julie Johnsson

SOURCE: http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/04/united-to-charge-obese-passengers-more.html