idle musings

I received a response:

Dear [Erin],

Thank you for contacting United Airlines Customer Relations Department. I am sorry that it was necessary to apply our current seating policy. Effective April 15, 2009, for the comfort of all of our guests aboard United flights, we decided to align with other major airlines in adopting a seating policy relating to guests who are unable to: fit into a single seat; properly buckle the seatbelt using a single seatbelt extender; and put the seat’s armrests down when seated.

Our policy is that any guest ticketed on a United or United Express flight and unable to meet one or more of these criteria must either purchase a ticket for an additional seat, or purchase a ticket for an upgrade to a cabin with seats that eliminate the seating issues. The seat purchase or upgrade must be completed for each leg of the itinerary. If a customer meeting any one of the described criteria chooses not to upgrade or purchase a ticket for an additional seat, he or she will be denied boarding. Further details about the purchase of an additional seat can be found at United.com.

Please understand that we sincerely care about the comfort and well-being of all of our guests and have implemented this policy with best intentions, to help ensure that everyone’s travel experiences with United are safe and pleasant

Regards,

Miguel Santiago
United Airlines Customer Relations

I could not leave it at that, so this is my email back:

Dear Mr Santiago,

Thank you for your response. However, based on the email I received from you, I feel that your company has failed to see the discrimination that this policy enacts. The Canadian Transport Agency ruled in Canada that one-person, one-fare was the only non-discriminatory policy. This means that if a person requires two seats, the second seat must be provided free of charge. In fact, the Canadian Transport Agency “estimates the new policy will cost Air Canada about $6.93 million a year, and WestJet about $1.48 million a year. That amounts to about 77 Canadian cents a ticket for Air Canada and 44 Canadian cents for WestJet.” (source) A small price for everyone to pay that allows every person to be treated with respect and dignity, no matter their size or needs.

This leaves me no choice but to see your policy as one of discrimination against fat people, especially women as they are the ones most likely to have wider hips and therefore not be able to put the armrest down. I have noted that you have no such policy regarding people with shoulders that extend beyond a certain width, who would also be protruding into the seat next to them. Such a policy would affect men more than women, as men tend to have broader shoulders – does such an example make the discrimination clearer?

Again, I will be boycotting your company, and any other company that follows such a discriminatory policy. In these economic times, I would have thought that companies would be doing everything they could to keep loyalty of customers – United has chosen to take the opposite path and for that, I choose to no longer be one of your customers.

Sincerely,

[Erin]

I do not expect them to reverse the policy – after all, it took a ruling in Canada that forced our airlines to adopt a one-person, one-fare policy. But in a capitalist society, the best way I can show my displeasure is with my wallet, and I want them to know exactly why they are losing my dollars.

This article shows the proposed high speed rail system around the US, and it looks like the Pacific Northwest section extends up to Vancouver. This underlines my point about keeping loyal customers, as there will soon be an alternative to flying, and one that I will be glad to make use of.