Australian airlines see obese passengers as growing problem

In the United States, finding ways to accommodate oversized passengers may be the subject of uneven enforcement, but in Australia, it’s uncharted territory. In fact, this in-flight service problem is so ignored that the terminology isn’t even standard. According to Virgin Blue, being too grande for the seat is considered an impairment, while Tiger Airways isn’t sure if it’s a “comfort” issue or a “medical” issue. And last year, Jetstar demonstrated the genius of making one large passenger by two seats: both of them on the aisle. A spokesman for Jetstar, by the way, says, “Obesity is not a disability.”

Then, pray tell, what is it? Distinction from does not equate to definition of. And an inability to define imperils the formulation and enforcement of any policy … not that that’s a problem for Jetstar, whose spokesman added, “There’s no rules around what requirements we should do for somebody if they’re above a certain height or weight.” Virgin Blue also doesn’t have a policy for this.

Qantas has received complaints, too, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, but it punts responsibility back to the passengers: “”The only way for a customer to guarantee extra space is to purchase two economy tickets or fly business- or first-class.”

Needless to say, the majority of Australians support a formal system for addressing obese passengers, according to a study by companytravel.com.au. In fact, 70 percent of survey respondents weighed in favorably believed that “obese or largely overweight people should have to purchase two economy-class seat tickets when travelling by plane.” Only two years ago, 53 percent felt this way.

Clearly, this is a growing problem for Australian airlines. The county’s Department of Health and Ageing puts 41 percent of men and 25 percent o women in the “obese” category. Twenty years ago, the rates were only half as large.

[photo by didbygraham via Flickr]

Australian “free” fares must be free from now on

It’s a seductive little move: offer free flights, and then slap the passenger with taxes and additional fees. Tiger Airways just did it this month. It attracts potential customers, generates buzz … all the good stuff that an airline needs in this market. A new law, however, is going to bring all this to a close. Air carriers will have to disclose all the “extra” costs up fronts, and free, for once, will mean free.

And, it’s not just the airlines. This overhaul of consumer protection laws covers any company that sells travel – including hotels and town car companies. It could even rope in dive tour providers.

We can debate who loses with this development forever, but the winners are immediately apparent: anyone who voted for this law looks like a consumer rights champion. Beat up on the airlines, if you’re an Aussie elected official, and you’re really asking the voters to let you keep your job.

Australian airline blasted for its policy on deaf passengers

Four deaf Australians have filed a formal complaint against Tiger Airways Australia with the country’s anti-discrimination agency, saying the airline told them they could not fly unless accompanied by a fare-paying “care provider” who could hear, the Associated Press is reporting, quoting a story in Australia’s Herald Sun on Friday.

Apparently the four were eventually allowed to fly on March 4, but a flight attendant wrote them a note saying next time they’d have to travel with a care provider, “for safety reasons,” the AP reports.

Tiger Airways Australia’s Communications Director, Matt Hobbs, confirms the encounter but says the airline doesn’t really have a policy barring deaf people from traveling. “We’re clarifying with all staff that deaf people do not require a carer to travel with them,” he tells the Herald Sun. “We are apologetic and very sorry that the people involved in this feel in any way that they’ve been discriminated against or upset by this in any way.”

The four travelers are not the only ones upset: Australia’s disabled rights czar, Bill Shorten, personally called the airline to complain. If he were alive, Ludwig van Beethoven apparently would not be able to fly Tiger Airways Australia today, he says incredulously, in effort to show just how outrageous it is to have an alleged policy for deaf passengers.