one person one fare rule

One person – two seats – in two rows?

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 people’s comfort.”

Unfortunately, the two seats the airline assigned her were not next to each other.

air-canada-tush

Pillows for purchase on WestJet

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 can be used on-line towards the purchase of a CleanBrands product.

Not interested in buying a kit with “brand new, allergen-free, breathable and washable” items that “can be used over and over again?” The airline promises that, for now, its current stock of blankets, which are certainly used over and over – and over – again – will still be available on all WestJet flights for use at no charge.

WestJet, by the way, is one of the Canadian airlines that got news last week that it has until January to figure out how to comply with the Canadian Transportation Agency’s ruling that people who are “functionally disabled by obesity” deserve to have two seats for one fare.
WestJet, Air Canada and Air Canada Jazz argued that complying with the “One person -one fare” rule would cost too much.

Canada’s Supreme Court didn’t buy the argument.