United to Charge Large Passengers for Extra Seat
United Airlines has said that today they will begin enforcing a new policy which requires significantly overweight passengers to buy an extra seat. According to a United spokesperson, those unable to comfortably fasten a safety belt with one extension, or sit comfortably with armrests down, will be required to purchsae a second ticket, even if there are empty seats on the aircraft.
Large passengers who do not purchase an empty seat in advance will be asked to do so as the airport; if the flight is full and no empty seats exist, these passengers will be forced to take a later flight.
Although other airlines including Southwest and American have instituted similar policies, none have been particularly strict on enforcement -- each will normally look the other way, provided there are empty seats on the plane.