The AAPR, the Association for Airline Passenger Rights - not to be confused with the AARP, the Association for the Advancement of Retired Persons - is an organization that’s fighting the airline industry and lobbying the government as it relates to the airline industry (Congress and the FAA) in order to secure a bill of passenger rights that each of us deserves when flying. But that’s not all it’s doing. The AAPR is trying to sort out what we’re really getting charged for when we fly; it’s trying to rate airlines for passenger usage, and it’s trying to make sure that we, as paying customers, are consistently treated with the respect and appreciation we deserve when we purchase an airline ticket.

But I’m Scared of Flying - No, Not of Crashing, Of the Airlines

It’s no secret that the airlines have been doing poorly for a while now, and it’s even less of a secret that everyone and her brother hates to fly, unless of course that person has enough miles and status to upgrade on every flight. That flying is terrible now no matter what size you are is a given, but if you’re fat, or even just a wee bit bigger than “average” then flying takes on a whole new meaning of horror and hell.

When you’re fat:
~ The armrests must go down and hold you within 17.5” for you to be allowed to stay there (compare that to the 20.5” of a movie theater seat), and when they’re down they hurt and leave welts.
~ You could be made to feel bad for asking for a seat belt extender, and on some airlines, when you do, they have now reserved the right to charge you double.
~ You are scrutinized at every stop along the way so that people can crudely evaluate whether or not you will fit in their way-too-small seats.
~ Even if you wanted to pay for an extra-wide seat there are none provided outside of the first class cabin which comes with so many other useless amenities that paying for it is hardly reasonable.
~ And the list goes on….

The AAPR, Fat People and Flying

Brandon Macsata, the Executive Director of the AAPR, spoke with us at the NAAFA Convention, and told us a few things about himself, his organization, and the airline industry. Aside from being an interesting and talented guy, Macsata’s key beef, as it were, is with discrimination of any kind. Under all conditions he believes that every human being should be treated as every other human being is treated, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, medical history, and of course, size. He and his organization spoke out against United Airlines’ recent decision to begin charging fat passengers double, and ever since that event put NAAFA on his radar, he has been working with this organization to help end size discrimination in the skies.

Brandon informed us that the airlines were currently trying to figure out how to get 12 more seats into the coach cabin of certain planes, something they plan on doing without enlarging the actual size of the cabin itself. 12 more seats! That just shows us that without being regulated, airlines don’t care about discriminating against fat people - and don’t care about screwing the rest of us in the process. They will continue shrinking the seats until they can charge everyone double for them. Regulation is a necessity.

We also learned that the airlines figure and account for the average passenger’s weight (with bags) being 220 lbs. That means that with a 30 pound carry-on, each person can be on average 190 pounds. Well, if you think about how many people fall under that number - and considering children, by how much - then it hardly seems like the extra weight of that many people who choose to fly is actually making a financial impact on the airlines when it comes to gas usage or anything else of the sort.

Non-Discriminatory Double-Seat Charging? As if!

An interesting point that was brought up in the Q&A portion of Macsata’s talk was that when people with broad shoulders come over the seats, they are not asked to pay for a second seat (and there are plenty of people with shoulders wider than the allotted 17.5”). I’ve been poked in the shoulders by men who seem to be body builders and intrude on my space. And then there is the tall man with very long legs whose knees splay out to the sides and invade my personal space or even touch me! They’re never charged extra. That means that the seat overflow rule is not being applied consistently - just to fat people whose bottoms have trouble rather than their tops, the more socially accepted hugeness in a person. It would be one thing if there was true consistency being applied, but there’s not. After spending years on the inside of these discussions, Macsata has concluded that it all comes down to one thing: money (admittedly, not a huge surprise, but it’s one thing to surmise and another to hear the issue from the inside). The airlines don’t have it anymore. They need it desperately, and they know that one group they can pick on right now is fat people (which isn’t to say that everyone isn’t feeling the brunt of the airline squeeze, but it’s very easy to pick on fat people in airplanes).

Now, these fat-related problems aren’t the only points that Macsata takes issue with, of course. His organization is about improving the lives of all passengers by making the airlines treat us like people, and by making them understand that we are the paying customers who should have some kind of actual recourse when we are treated poorly. He wants the FAA to stop serving the airlines and return to serving those of us who fly them.

I for one, hate the airlines for numerous reasons (largely because I believe in spending my money where there’s the best customer service and that doesn’t exist but I still need to fly) and am incredibly grateful that the AAPR is out there doing the work it is. Though not relayed in full here, Macsata’s talk was interesting and confirmed much of what I suspected. I wish him and his organization lots of luck changing the way that America takes to the skies.

Consider checking out the AAPR’s website, learning about United Airlines’ discriminatory new policy or reading my previous article on United’s actions.

Part I: Dr. Linda Bacon’s Reflections on Size Acceptance and Thin Privilege
Part II: Sharing Size Diversity and Acceptance with Children

As an historian, Jay understands the degree to which our aesthetic judgments are shaped by our cultural surroundings, and he has studied and written about the importance of rights, respect and acceptance for all people.