Seatmates of Size policy debate. Do fat people have to pay more to fly United? The airline is now trying to clarify a policy which is posted on their website that had some wondering if they might be surprised at the airport with an extra fee. An earlier reading of the policy by MSNBC travel writer Harriet Baskas noted it says that anyone who is "unable to fit into a single seat in the ticketed cabin; are unable to properly buckle the seatbelt using a single seatbelt extender; and/or are unable to put the seat’s armrests down when seated" must upgrade to a cabin with larger seats, purchase an extra seat, or not board the flight at all."

Many thought that meant fat people that hang over into their neighbor's seat needed to pony up for a second seat. Most people think that is a fair policy, but certainly the people paying for the extra seat might complain they are being picked on because of their weight.


With all of the dust up United tried to clarify and spokesperson Robin Urbanski Janikowski wrote Baskas in an email, "If there is another seat on the airplane that is next to an empty seat, we will re-accommodate our guest in that seat, and there is no charge."

Now MSNBC reports that some sentences in the policy were re-ordered. The full story is here. Is it fair to make air travelers pay more if they can't keep their bodies from spilling over the purchased airline ticket?