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supersizeme
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Obese people may get an extra seat for free when they catch a flight in Canada, following an unprecedented legal ruling that is rattling the airline industry.
The ruling stems from a complaint brought by a Canadian woman who had to pay 50 per cent more for a first class seat to accommodate her girth on an Air Canada flight between Ottawa and Calgary in 1997.
Linda McKay-Panos brought a discrimination suit against Air Canada before the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA), an independent, quasi-judicial tribunal with authority over access issues on federally-regulated modes of transportation.
In December, the CTA ruled that a person who demonstrates that obesity prevents him or her from taking an airplane under normal conditions has the same rights as a disabled person, and the company must assist him or her to travel comfortably for the same price as other passengers.
The ruling has sparked complaints that it does not distinguish between people who are obese due to illness, and people who are obese due to overeating, spokesman Normand Bergeron said.
"People are saying they don't want to have to pay for people who have bad eating habits," Mr Bergeron said.
"When you see someone in a wheelchair, do you ask 'were you drinking or driving or skiing?' No, the fact is they are in a wheelchair," countered Ritu Khullar, an attorney for the plaintiff.
The CTA must now decide whether Air Canada must compensate McKay-Panos.
The airline was low key in its reaction to the ruling.
"We don't expect significant costs because we don't foresee that there will be a large number of people who fit the criteria stipulated by the law," said Nicole Couture-Simard, a Air Canada spokeswoman.
Your thoughts??
The ruling stems from a complaint brought by a Canadian woman who had to pay 50 per cent more for a first class seat to accommodate her girth on an Air Canada flight between Ottawa and Calgary in 1997.
Linda McKay-Panos brought a discrimination suit against Air Canada before the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA), an independent, quasi-judicial tribunal with authority over access issues on federally-regulated modes of transportation.
In December, the CTA ruled that a person who demonstrates that obesity prevents him or her from taking an airplane under normal conditions has the same rights as a disabled person, and the company must assist him or her to travel comfortably for the same price as other passengers.
The ruling has sparked complaints that it does not distinguish between people who are obese due to illness, and people who are obese due to overeating, spokesman Normand Bergeron said.
"People are saying they don't want to have to pay for people who have bad eating habits," Mr Bergeron said.
"When you see someone in a wheelchair, do you ask 'were you drinking or driving or skiing?' No, the fact is they are in a wheelchair," countered Ritu Khullar, an attorney for the plaintiff.
The CTA must now decide whether Air Canada must compensate McKay-Panos.
The airline was low key in its reaction to the ruling.
"We don't expect significant costs because we don't foresee that there will be a large number of people who fit the criteria stipulated by the law," said Nicole Couture-Simard, a Air Canada spokeswoman.
Your thoughts??
