On the other hand, in economy on some planes I just literally don't fit in a forward direction because of femur length and cycling muscles, I don't fit in a sideways direction either because of broad shoulders and arm muscles, and I don't comfortably fit vertically on some planes with fixed-position headrests which push into the middle of my shoulder blades and have me hunched the whole flight.
I'm also not _that_ big. I'm 6'2" and have lived my life moderately actively. That's it. I'm biased, but I believe economy should be designed so that I can fit too.
If you agree with that premise, that'd leave plenty of space for most 250lb people too, and there'd be no reason to exclude them.
Man, I hate being rude because I myself weighed 230lbs once upon a time, I get it. I just dealt with a 200lb+ man who spread his legs past the arm rests. Pissed me off the whole flight because I had to contort my body in my own seat so he wasn't spilling into me.
Edit to be slightly less obtuse: surely you're not implying that a common carrier be allowed to discriminate based on facts about a passenger's body without making reasonable accommodations. Surely you're not implying that obese people not be allowed to fly at all. Surely you're not suggesting that fat people should just remove themselves from society so you don't have to deal with them.
Therefore, obese people should get free upgrades to economy plus or better. Thanks for the idea!
I'll imply those things. If you don't fit in the seat, you should have to buy two seats is a not very controversial opinion on the internet IMO. I think that opinion basically violates all of your "surely"s already.
Where do you draw the line? A 250lb person probably mostly fits in their seat still, but at some point a person is just physically going to take up two seats. Do you really think the airline should be responsible for flying them in business class (premium economy doesn't give you more width on most/all airlines)? Does it matter if their weight is due to a medical condition or just laziness? What if they're so big that even a first class seat won't contain them?
The issue is for the airline to solve, since they are the ones trying to make seats comically small.
Also, you have to include other attributes. E.g. Not my problem that you have freakishly long legs, if you have to prevent me reclining then maybe you should have to pay for premium economy. And what if you are broad shouldered? Same deal, not my problem, you have to stay inside the boundaries of your own seat.
I would rather we used regulation to make economy seats a bit larger. Call it a safety issue, since it is.
On the other hand, in economy on some planes I just literally don't fit in a forward direction because of femur length and cycling muscles, I don't fit in a sideways direction either because of broad shoulders and arm muscles, and I don't comfortably fit vertically on some planes with fixed-position headrests which push into the middle of my shoulder blades and have me hunched the whole flight.
I'm also not _that_ big. I'm 6'2" and have lived my life moderately actively. That's it. I'm biased, but I believe economy should be designed so that I can fit too.
If you agree with that premise, that'd leave plenty of space for most 250lb people too, and there'd be no reason to exclude them.