This cartoon was inspired by recent events where actor/director Kevin Smith was unceremoniously booted off a Southwest Airlines Flight because they claimed he was too big to put the armrest down. He claimed otherwise but was still booted.
Now of course I exaggerated Kevin’s weight above but this brings up the bigger question. Should overweight people be forced to purchase two seats on planes where the seats are way smaller than they should be? I am sure that if you go back 50 years people were skinnier and airline seats were bigger.
But on the other hand, what about the rights of the person who paid full price for their ticket as well and had to suffer from someone invading their already small space. As someone who is over 6′ tall and broad-shouldered, I realize that my frame could impede a seatmate on a plane. That is why I have moved to window seats so I can scruntch that extra 2 inches towards the window.
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Hey, on a good day, the average person is already right on top of you… but if you have to lift up those arm rests and your ass comes rolling onto my lap… we have a problem!! My opinion is, if you fit in the seat, even blood clotting tightly and don’t have to raise the arm rests, you are golden!! If you have to lift them and my face is smothered by your armpit or ginormous jiggling mooby-boobs, then you need to buy a second seat and give us all that respectful amount of personal plane space!
I had this little guy sitting next to me on a plane. Somehow he thought the leg area under my side of the seat was his to enjoy as well. He learned otherwise.
Lol, nice one. That is a mighty gray area there. How about if TWO oversize people have to sit next to each other? THEN what? Maybe the airlines should have a ‘seat tryout’ to see if you need to buy 1 or 2 tickets BEFORE you get on the plane.
Funny…that is what the other half said. Just have an overweight section.
They should if it’s becoming that much of an ordeal. 🙂
Simple! Build bigger seats, less of them per aircraft,thus increase cost of travel, decrease passenegr numbers, increase comfort and reduce carbon emissions!
The problem is if you had two planes the same size and one cost $500 and had 100 seats and the other cost $1000 and had 50 seats, the 50 seater would go out of business.
Not if the larger passengesr were prevented from flying in the 100 seater plane but only allowed on the 50 seater!
hmm…who’s gonna be the one to regulate this? i know, we could put a scale at the baggage check so folks could weigh in.
No way. I wear bulky clothes. They weigh more..hahah
If you are too big to fit, then pay for two seats.
But why deos the average seat size continue to decrease?
the answer is most likely g-r-e-e-d and profit! don’tcha think?
Yes and yes. I never understood the economics of plane travel with all the different pricing. I pay alot for plane tickets yet the airlines are going bankrupt.
I thought famous actors flew first class
Me too. haha I guess unless they are paying themselves.
Kevin should only fly on Super Guppies.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Guppy
But I loved Clerks.
That think looks like Predator.
If you can’t fit in the seat and click the seat belt lock, then buy another ticket! Planes are designed for weight loads and if you take up two seats or an entire aisle, then you should have to pay extra! So there! 🙂
I think most will give you an extension. If you need two then you need to buy two seats.
If they pass a certain weight and width they should pay for two seats. We cannot accommodate for persons who cut our profits and travel experience especially on a top airline. 🙂
I agree that fat persons should pay for two seats.
Spoken by a truly lanky dude.
This is one of those items that has bothered me for a while since they started imposing it. I myself am a rather large framed individual, not fat, just big 6′ 3″ 260lbs…Ok, I am a bit big, but my girth does not take up two seats, but my leg room is cramped and quite often I do end up invading the other users area because of the distance between my seat and the one in front. Will it become practice to make me purchase two seats as wel in the future simply based on the length of my body. What about those folks that are 6′ 5″ +, I have friends that are well beyond 6′ 5″, and I know they take up extra space just because of their length.
I understand if the person in 400lbs and girth is definitely an issue on a already heavily loaded flight to request they purchase two seats, and I understand that most of this is based on a weight factor as well (weight of passengers + baggage + staff = X Weight. So much fuel is needed for X amount of weight for X amount of Flight Time.) But in his defense, if he can amply put the arm rest down between him and the person next to him, then he’s not imposing upon that person space. Sure he may be a bit more broad shouldered due to his weight, and that might impede, but come on, those seats are tight as it is.
I feel they should have approached the situation a bit more delicately and asked him to please step off that flight and that they’d gladly put him onto a less packed flight. I don’t believe Southwest has that many 100% booked flights during this time of year. But not only is that frustrating but its publicly humiliating.
Southwest is known for bumping people. Knowing that if I was larger than I am, I probably would avoid them.
I would buy two seats right in front of each other assuming the back went down and I could prop my legs up.
Did you know that your RSS leads to your Flickr page now and not to this site?
Anyway, Yep I’m all for “pay for what you use.” If you fit in one seat, pay for one seat. If you take up two seats, pay for two seats. Just like anything else in any other commercial business.
Check your feed. It should be http://beartoons.com/feed/ I just put it in my reader and it worked fine.
I had no idea that it was slightly above average height day, Bearman!
Perhaps you (6’+), tmcelmurry (6′-3″) and I (6′-1″) should start a basketball team.
I’m sure we’d be provided with a private jet. We’d be that good. Or … you know … slightly above average, anyway. 🙂
My horizontal leap is amazing. Problem is to play Bball you need the vertical.
We can just pass a lot. And if that doesn’t work I know where I can get a hold of a ladder. 🙂
I used to be pretty fat before I became diseased and was forced to lose weight. I used to weigh around 260 pounds! On planes, they always sat me next to some guy who weighed 340 pounds. It’s just wrong to do that. It throws off the weight distribution of the entire plane. Our side was always dropping down (which is why I always give the other dude the window seat). On the up side, you get some really good views of the ground that way, but on the down side, you spend a lot of time flying in circles.
My father’s brother’s sister, who weighs around 400 pounds, once bought two seats on a plane so she would be more comfortable, but she said that straddling the hump between the seats wasn’t much better than squashing a skinny dude.
For her. But the skinny dude was indeed more comfie.
Flying in circles. Is that the real reason they hover around Ohare for 2 hours everytime you go to Chicago.
Not so much Chicago, but definitely Mississippi.
I opt for window seats myself. It’s getting to the point where it seems like my airplane seats are getting smaller. I’m sure that’s just me, but the airlines actually make the seats so they can get more people on flights. Just like the movie theaters. I know those seats used to be bigger.
I would hate to have to pay twice as much just to ride on a plane. Maybe some airline should establish Phat Air: Plane rides for the Huskee Guy. I’d pay a little bit more to have adequate space, but not double.
Good cartoon, though! I like your rendition of Kev.
Well as long as first class isn’t double…you might as well pay for that ticket. Then at least you get fed.
Another point often glossed over except by the heavier who have experience it first hand is that many of these airlines that make you buy the second seat DON’T give you two seats next to each other. It’s not about the comfort of the other passengers, it’s all about the $$.
No way?? Seriously?? Sir you have 2A and 25D…enjoy. WTF?
In SWA’s case specifically they don’t assign seat numbers on the tickets but have “first come first serve.” This has other interesting effects as well. There was a recent article I don’t have handy about a mother being separated from her toddler (different rows.) The kid was screaming but the mother was afraid to get up and console him because of Homeland Security rules.
There was a time when airline travel was a pleasant experience and the staff treated people with dignity. Now it’s just a cattle call trying to cram as many people as possible into a given space and get them there with as few frills as will be tolerated by those cattle. So you put up with the crap from TSA and then continue to get treated like crap by the airline employees.
I don’t fly anymore unless absolutely necessary. Also, I fit in 1 seat just fine if anyone was wondering.
haha…last line is priceless.
I think airlines should “suggest forcefully” that overweight passengers purchase 2 tickets, but at the time they make the reservation. The airlines should state that anyone weighing over a certain amount need to purchase an additional seat due to the carrier weight limitations for the safety of all passengers. But it should be done tactfully and graciously. It’s like mailing parcels – if it’s huge, you pay more.
Funny cartoon, BTW! Interesting topic.
Trouble is, you can have a guy who weights 250lbs who is built completely different than another 250lb.
If they make you buy two seats, make em take out the middle arm rest thingy so you can use both seats. Either that, or bring along a tool box and take it out yourself. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind 🙂
The middle arm goes up in every seat but exit row and bulk head.
Bringing along a tool box would be way more fun 🙂
was i the only one that found it ironic that the airline in question is Southwest? hell their target passenger seems to be the midwest, stretchy sweatpants wearer with bedroom slippers. here’s the deal, they should charge him for two seats if their airline attendants will stop the ridiculous cute-sy singing and game playing! i flew southwest one time and was disgusted that the attendant broke out in song and poetry during the safety instructions…no joke! no thank you…southwest is the greyhound bus of the skies! there i said it!
haha…as someone who ignores the drolls of Delta flight attendants, I might actually listen to safety if they started singing it.
Haha! good stuff, Bearman, you’re back with a bang.
It’s really one of those questions where no matter what, you’re going to offend someone. I don’t think it’s right to make someone feel even more self-conscious about their weight, but then again, I’ve sat beside people who’ve taken up half my seat as well as theirs. Sounds weird, but as long as they try their best to be considerate, I can pretty much suck it up. It’s the jerks that think they deserve half my seat that chap my ass (as Mr. Mills would say.)
Do they make chapstick for chapped asses??
ok i am 5’1 and little. So in economy seats im usually quite comfy plenty of leg room and seats are perfect… BUT for those who are overweight I am baffled how anyone can be remotely comfortable in those seats because I konw that i am not average height or average american size weight. however, I think both in Australia and the US and in a lot of western countries we are all getting too overweight. I hate it when really really large passengers think that just because i am little that they are entitled to my space. Pay for 2 seats I agree.
Why is it that I NEVER get to sit next to you wee little women on the plane.
oh bearman, they know that they cant get into my space I make sure of it. Those arm rests are MINE! i always always ALWAYS get an aisle seat, that way i can never be squashed hehe 😀
Once while on my way to LA on a 20 hour flight over the pacific… i was trully trully amazed that this guy who would have been a good 200-250 pounds sat on the 20 hour flight and NEVER EVER got out of his seat to use the bathroom. I dont sleep on planes so i know for a fact he didnt move. I walked past and he was still breathing.
Sure he wasn’t a camel???
Those insisting some people should pay for two seats … just you wait. The airlines are going to keep shrinking those seats until everyone has to pay for two. It’s all about the $$$.
So right you are.
They should rip out all the damned seats, throw down some straw and just charge everyone by the pound. Plane travel is uncomfortable as hell regardless of your size.
Imagine the specials…
“New York to L.A. special $1.99 a pound”
Back in your day I bet you sat with the mail.
bahahahahahahahahahah
bearman! lol so rude! lol
That wasn’t rude. First plane travel people traveled with the mail planes.
In-flight meals would consist of raw corn on the cob and alfalfa.
I reckon we should pay by weight, that should give us more room. If you fall over a certain weight to height ration you pay excess luggage or in this case excess blubber. Problem solved. Now all we need is for the airlines to make it compulsory for all babies to be stored in the overhead luggage compartments and my job here is done. Hello, if we could get the “no nuts” segregated !!!!!
Psst what happened to Silent Bob?
That is fine only if the airlines provided seat widths adjustable to your fare.
Ha Ha this reminds me so vividly of a certain train ride home from work one day when a very large woman sat next to me. I was just about as squashed as the guy in your toon. I almost was tempted to fart out loud in the hope that she would move. But I didn’t, I’m too nice a guy….
That reminds me of a recent tweet by the captain of the South African cricket team. He’s one of the hugest guys on the cricket field, and he was complaining that he was *squashed* between two *huge* guys — one on either side — all through a three hour flight!