A plus-size travel influencer is demanding that airlines change their “discriminatory” policies that make larger flyers pay “twice for the same experience.”
Jae-lynn Chaney, who made headlines in April after starting the Change.org petition “Demand for the FAA to Protect Plus-Sized Customers,” doubled down on being discriminated against while flying due to her size.
“People with smaller bodies get to pay one fare to get to their destination,” Chaney, who has to buy an extra seat while flying, told CNN Travel.
“We have to pay two fares, even though we’re getting the same experience. If anything, our experiences are a little bit more challenging.”
Chaney, as well as other plus-size travelers and travel experts, are calling on airlines in the US to standardize their policies.
In her petition, Chaney urged the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to mandate all airlines create a comprehensive customer-of-size policy that “prioritizes the comfort and well-being of all passengers.”
Canadian air passenger rights advocate Gabor Lukacs told CNN he considers the practice of charging larger passengers for two seats a human rights issue.
“Being a large-size person is not a choice, as many people mistakenly believe,” Lukacs said. “There is, unfortunately, a lot of negative attention and prejudice against plus-size people.”
Lukacs noted, “It’s not as if someone is getting up in the morning and making a decision that they’re going to be a large person. So through that lens of human rights, I don’t see any justification for charging these people a double fare.”
He went on to say that airlines don’t provide discounts to smaller-sized passengers or children.
Aside from the financial burden of purchasing two seats, Chaney says there are many other difficulties she faces as a plus-size traveler, especially when faced with hostile passengers or flight attendants.
“The stereotypes that surround plus-size travelers, and the hostility towards us when we’re traveling by plane is honestly horrendous,” Chaney said, noting that she receives similar hostility when sharing her experiences online.
Another plus-size travel expert and content creator Kristy Leanne, who recently went viral after posting a video about the problems she and other plus-size people face on planes, has also received a barrage of negative comments for sharing her experiences.
“I was sharing my experience with airlines and showing other plus-size travelers what to expect, so I didn’t expect so many people to think that the points I made were complaints of any kind,” Leanne told CNN.
“I thought I would get one or two negative comments as I always do with videos talking about being plus-size, but not to the extent that I did.”
A major concern for many plus-size travelers is shrinking seat sizes. Over the last two decades, the average width of an airplane seat has shrunk from 18.5 inches to 17 inches, even as 38% of the world’s population is either overweight or obese, according to the World Obesity Federation.
According to Lukacs, smaller seat sizes should concern all travelers, not just those who are plus-sized.
“It is a concern, because being crammed in a very small seat could, apart from your comfort, also affect your health, in terms of risks of deep vein thrombosis,” he said. “I’m not sure what the science is on that today, but I could see that being a problem. And also, we’re not cattle.”
Lukacs added: “We do expect, when we board a plane, to be treated with some reasonable level of respect.”
While Chaney and other advocate for the FAA to make a change, outside of the US, including in Australia and Canada, there are laws preventing passengers from being charged different amounts based on their body sizes for domestic flights.