The New York Times raises the issue of “passengers of size” again. Charging larger customers more money is all the rage, after all.

This particular paragraph caught my attention, though:

Understandably, some “oversize” people feel that they are normal, and have a right to the space they need. Leland Stuart in El Paso writes: “I am 6 feet 7 inches and weigh 260 pounds with a 50-inch chest; I’m not fat, only large. To say that I should have to purchase an extra seat seems unfair and discriminatory. Airlines could accommodate large people by making six or eight seats in coach with a little extra room available only to them.”

I’m all for a clearly defined policy toward passengers of size. I’m not sure a “big-boned” section of the plane would work, though. Passengers might be embarrassed to be seen there, or might be insulted if the airline required them to sit there. Further, more space comes at a price, so there should be additional cost to the flyer, much as intra-European business class seats are simply wider coach seats, but cost more. Would folks like Leland want to pay it, or claim discrimination?

The bigger problem is the combination of oversize passengers and fully-booked flights. To riff off Oliver Wendell Holmes’ observation that one person’s right to swing their fists ends “at the tip of my nose”: Another passenger’s right to sit comfortably ends at my armrest.

If you are stuck next to a person whose corpulence intrudes on your personal space, ask to be reseated BEFORE the plane door is shut. If no empty seats are available, then it is both your problem and the airline’s problem. In the worst case, consider requesting that you or someone else be bumped from the flight.