Lol , as if lying isn ' t something he ' s already a pro at . <| sep |> But you are strawmanning my position , I ' ve made no comment regarding airlines ' right to charge as a function of weight , but would be happy to address that . I ' m also not arguing that people who require 2 seats be allowed to buy only one and encroach on their neighbor . That is an easy argument , where both common sense and physics preclude alternatives . My beef with airline seats is not one where passengers blatantly encroach on 2 seats , but when a passenger encroaches by 1 or 2 inches . Those 1 or 2 inches should have already been there their removal and the discomfort it creates benefits only the airline by either cramming in more passengers or forcing an upgrade winwin . Ditto for legroom . As for the argument that airlines can do whatever they want . footstools etc . , that is simply not true . They are regulated heavily I might add , with some discretion in areas that include seating . I don ' t pretend to have the answers this is an extremely complex topic and as a frequent flyer recognize airlines as a whole have done a great job . I think there is room for improvement though , and to level the playing field , some regulation is needed . That ' s it ! I have no great passion as it relates to airline seats , I practically live in them . As for your other point however , that heavier passengers should be charged more because of their weight there I am passionate . This is a form of discrimination that will impact a specific group , and for the exception of small aircraft where it does make sense , has already been accounted for in commercial craft specifications . The only way I would be in favor of this model is if lighter people get a credit as well that would nullify the breakage model windfall airlines are hoping for if they can get enough people to go along with treating people the way they do luggage . You know the scam I ' m talking about Maximum weight on checked in luggage is 50 lbs , you show up with one bag weighing 25 lbs , and the 2 nd weighin 55 lbs . Despite the average weight being 40 lbs which is acceptable , you get slammed for those extra 5 lbs with no consideration or credit for your 2 nd lighter bag . Airlines are dying to play that scam on the passengers , and fatshaming is a big part of that key . If a person is signing up for a helicopter tour or on a puddle jumper , then YES , by all means weigh them for the purposes of safety , but don ' t simply penalize that one person financially for exceeding the weight , if the immediate passenger behind happens to be a skinny 10 year old kid . The breakage model only works if they can penalize in one direction without issuing credits in the other . If the overall weight is unsafe then it ' s unsafe period whether the fat guy paid a penalty or not .