Obesity Archives - Stuck at the Airport

Tidbits for travelers: Free Wi-Fi, Olympic travel tips, and in-flight body-mass tax

01/20/10

We want Wi-Fi Slowly but surely airports large and small are getting with the program and making free wireless Internet access available in the terminals. The latest major airport to join the party: Boston Logan International Airport (BOS). Hooray! Packing tips from Olympic athletes Curious about what some Olympic athletes do when they’re traveling – […]

Clip ‘n save guide to airline policies on seatmates of size

04/24/09

No matter your weight or your width, the next time you fly make sure you know your airline’s policy on “seatmates of size.” Better yet, if you can find your airline’s customer of size policy, print it out and carry it with you. It may help you avoid a pain in the butt and it […]

Portly passengers may pay twice on United

04/18/09

This week United Airlines joined Southwest and several other airlines in formalizing and posting a “seatmates of size” policy on its website. (From a 2007 Well-Mannered Traveler column on this topic, courtesy MSNBC.com) Although the policy was quietly posted on the airline’s Web site some time ago, it went into effect just this past Wednesday, […]

Ryanair asks: would you pay for toilet paper?

04/14/09

After alarming travelers with the ‘joke’ about on-board pay-toilets (don’t be surprised…), Ryanair officials asked travelers to send in their own ideas for other discretionary fees that could be charged. They did. As of today (April 14th) close to 45,000 votes have been cast. And sadly, so far more than 20,000 people have voted in […]

One person – two seats – in two rows?

02/06/09

One of my recent Well Mannered Traveler columns on MSNBC.com discussed the “tush test” Canadian airlines are asking travelers to undergo in order to take advantage of that country’s One Person/One Fare laws. So Gregg at FlightsfromHell sent along a link to a story about a woman forced to purchase two airplane seats “for other […]

Air India says flight attendants too fat to fly

01/07/09

A few months back, Air India grounded a group of flight attendants and told them they could return to the skies only if they lost weight. Instead of going on a diet, the flight attendants went to court. The scales of justice tipped in the airline’s favor, though, and now the airline has fired nine […]

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Air India flight attendants

Canadian airlines cram to obey obesity ruling

12/05/08

(Illustration for my column by MSNBC’s Duane Hoffman) “You’ve dawdled this whole year. Now stop all that bellyaching and get on with it.” That’s pretty much the message Canada’s Supreme Court gave to the country’s major airlines at the end of November. Now, after spending a year trying to weasel out of it with repeated […]

Pillows for purchase on WestJet

11/28/08

Joining JetBlue in the “pillows for purchase” movement, Canada’s WestJet just announced that starting Monday, Dec 1, it too would be begin selling pillow and blanket kits to passengers on all flights. The kits will cost CN $7 (about US $5.65) and include a travel pillow, fleece blanket, carry bag, and a $5 coupon that […]

Weighty issues for Canadian and US fliers

11/25/08

As you put on your loose-waisted pants and head off to airport to join your friends and family for that big Thanksgiving feast, keep this in mind: On many US airlines, if you can’t fit in your seat with the armrests lowered, you may be asked to pay for a second seat. In Canada, however, […]

Stuck at the airport

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