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."

FMI: www.cta-otc.gc.ca, www.aircanada.com, www.flyjazz.ca, www.westjet.com, www.southwest.com