[aephi alum]

The fact is that economy class seats are just too small. I'm 5'2" and not overweight (ok, I could stand to lose 5 lbs, but so can a lot of people), and *I'm* cramped in coach-class seats.

That said, no one should be forced to share his/her seat with half of a morbidly obese passenger, especially on an 11-hour flight! Someone that overweight should either sit in first class or pay for the 2 seats s/he is actually using. (In the Southwest case, the charge for the second seat wasn't as much as a full ticket, and you got a refund if the flight turned out not to be full. There is no first class section.)

I'd also like to see a small "economy-plus" section where the seats are first-class sized but you still get economy-class service - obviously, for an additional fee. These seats would be reserved for seriously overweight passengers. If there are none on a given flight, they can be offered to preferred-class frequent fliers (the ones that rack up 25,000+ miles per year) as a perk.

Not all obesity can be treated just through diet and exercise - although it does help. In any case, if you weigh 500 lbs and should weigh 150, it will take several years to safely lose that weight. So, some morbidly obese people are in fact people who have made the decision to fix their problem and who have just started the process.