Airlines Lose Appeal Of One-Person-One-Fare Policy
In a ruling handed down by the Supreme Court of Canada on
Thursday, the court determined obese people are entitled to two
seats for the price of one on Canadian domestic flights.
A group of Canadian airlines sought to have a decision made by
the Canadian Transportation Agency in January 2008 regarding
seating for obese persons aboard airliners overruled. Potentially
affecting as many as 80,000 people with disabilities, the CTA had
said that those "functionally disabled by obesity" deserved to
occupy two seats for one fare, Reuters reported.
An appeal of the CTA policy of "One-Person-One-Fare" made by Air
Canada, Air Canada Jazz, and WestJet was turned down by the Federal
Court of Appeal last May. The airlines then opted to appeal to the
Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case, allowing the
previous decision to prevail.
"This One-Person-One-Fare Policy is based on longstanding
principles of equal access to transportation services for persons
with disabilities, regardless of the nature of the disability, and
the Agency's legislative mandate to remove 'undue obstacles' to
their mobility," the CTA said.
The airlines are expected to develop a screening process to
assess eligibility, and will be required to implement the CTA's
policy by January 10, 2009. "For persons disabled by obesity, the
Agency cites the practical experience of Southwest Airlines, which
screens for the necessity of an additional seat by determining
whether a person can lower the seat's armrests."
But unlike the Canadian ruling, US airlines are permitted to
charge for the extra seat needed for their larger customers.
Although some US carriers have a policy of refunding the cost of
the second seat if the flight does not oversell, the Air Carrier
Access Act states, "Carriers are not required to furnish more than
one seat per ticket or to provide a seat in a class of service
other than the one the passenger has purchased."
As ANN reported in 2004, the experience of
being grilled by a gate agent about one's weight prior to boarding
an airline flight can be humiliating and uncomfortable. In Trina
Blake's case, a Southwest Airlines gate agent's lack of discretion
was "abusive."
"Even if they offered me free tickets for the rest of my life,
it would do me no good," Blake said. "I'm not able to fly any more.
The idea of flying again gives me too much anxiety."