In last week”s issue a glitch seems have occurred in the first paragraph of the COMMENT column. Here is the first paragraph followed by a condensed version of the rest.
ABTN spoke of Air Canada's policy of charging obese people extra for a second seat which had been upheld by the Canadian Transportation Agency. We said that In these politically correct times you cannot even call them fat passengers. Which brought us neatly to the case where Virgin Atlantic Airways paid ”13,000 compensation to a lady who claimed damages from the airline when an oversized woman sitting next to her spilled over into her seat. US no-frills carrier Southwest Airlines earlier this year angered lobby group the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, with its decision to require passengers too large to fit into one seat to purchase tickets for two seats. We said that at the end of the day it is a question of safety and our democratic society. Smoking was banned on aircraft because at first it could be considered a fire risk and danger, and secondly it affected people who did not wish to inhale the fog. The same goes for the large traveller. If they can't fit in a seat they are a risk to themselves and to others. Spreading into a neighbour's sitting area can hardly be considered democratic. Buy two seats (and in the Virgin case put the husband next to the wife!).
For the full editorial please look at 28/10/02 archives in
http://www.abtn.co.uk