|
BlackPhx -> RE: Yet Another Airline Fee... (4/19/2009 7:40:20 PM)
|
Orion I am not large enough to require a second seat..neither is BP or Buttah..I do have several disabilities that require some accommodation, including an insulin pump, asthma, emphysema, hypothyroid, neuropathies of several areas of my body that affect my ability to walk straight or sit for long periods of time, retinopathy (going blind) and now a kidney that looks like it is going to fail on me (waiting on the verdict). We are currently training a service dog to help with my balance but that will be a whole nother problem since the dog has to be large enough to actually be effective, a chihuahua can't help me walk like I am not drunk or get up out of seats. The same dog will have to learn to handle my diminished vision so you can figure out the size of the dog. Some days are worse than others and to be honest I will never pass a field sobriety test, though I will be clear on a breathalyzer or blood test of any alcohol. I run into walls and shelves constantly, not to mention people and other moving obstacles. Tilt my head back I fall over, close my eyes and I list badly standing still. Misfiring muscles in my legs mean I have to pull myself up with my arms and then teeter until the messages start getting through properly, my dogs have learned to brace me and so has Buttah. Here's the fun..Not ONE of these disabilities is visible to the naked eye. As I said most people would think I had a little too much to drink when i walk.
The airlines will pre-board me, BUT, if we are stuck on the tarmac for several hours and we have been, I will not be able to use the non-functioning bathroom, get up and move about the cabin to prevent swelling of my legs, access Oxygen if I have an attack or my nebulizer (in my luggage you can't take either on a plane) or get something to eat or drink ( I carry with me, but have to buy drinks in the terminal since they won't let you take liquids through security). While they are sitting on the tarmac, the air does not circulate, which can get very uncomfortable and once they pull away from the terminal, you are stuck until they have a free gate to pull into.
Yes many large people want to say they have a disability when it is their own bad diets that is the underlying cause, YET, obesity brings with it disabilities that make it difficult to lose the weight. Enlarged hearts, thyroids that quit, high blood pressure, edema, asthma are all attributable to gross obesity. So, do they get out of paying for a second seat if they have one of those disabilities and can prove it? That means the average person who is overweight is the only one paying.
Now you say the bodybuilder should pay more and those with large frames..but is someone 6'5 going to get more leg room if he pays a premium? Not on most domestic flights. Is the Football player going to get more room if his shoulders are broad but his waist trim, or should he pay for another seat? Where does it stop? Do we penalize the woman with the over sized chest because it intrudes in your space? Or the Basketball player whose legs keep you from laying your seat back? What about the Young adult whose ears are bleeding Punk, Rap or Death metal while you are trying to sleep, or the person who forgot their deodorant and is making you nauseous or wearing too much perfume and triggering your respiratory problems?
Yes I have been squished in plane seats by those too large for the seat..and it was uncomfortable for me..but ALSO for them. They have been far more apologetic and pleasant than the businessman trying to do his expense report or blowing alcohol fumes in my face as he slept and drooled on my shoulder.
poenkitten (P.S. BP doesn't drink)
|
|
|
|
