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> It is hard for airlines to cater for that last 5% without a negative economic impact. If this were any other industry, doing things that obviously cause harm
by craftyguy 8y ago
> It is hard for airlines to cater for that last 5% without a negative economic impact.
If this were any other industry, doing things that obviously cause harm to 5% of customers would be considered unlawful discrimination or assault.
- austhrow743 8y agoIf that was the case they'd just put in height maximums for economy tickets. Afaik height isn't a protected class. Amusement parks have been "discriminating" against very short and very tall people forever.
- baddox 8y agoIf you're talking about physical injury, then I don't think it would be legal for any 5% of your customers. Pretty sure injuring people is illegal regardless of protected class status.
- refoundglory 8y agoThats why airlines would have height limits - people who are not allowed on your airplane are not your customers and can't be injured by sitting in it.
- aikinai 8y agoThat's exactly why tall and short people aren't allowed on amusement park rides.
- brandonmenc 8y agoTall people make more money. Use it to buy a better seat.
- majos 8y agoEh, speaking as a very small man (5'2"), come on, there are many low-earning huge people, and better-than-economy seats can be bizarrely expensive. (I will admit that I peak at "mild" empathy for this problem. But even mild empathy gets me to the response above.)
- madengr 8y agoBetter seats are usually WAY more expensive than the slight earnings statistic for height. At 6’5”, I’ll do the Early Bird check-in (out of my own pocket) on SWA, or the economy plus on United regional jets. I cannot physically get my knees in a standard regional jet seat. The only relief for tight airline seats is a few drinks to dull the misery.
- st26 8y agoThat sucks man. I'm 6'2", my knees almost hit. When I first sat in the new thin seats, I extended my leg straight down the aisle. My foot reached well in front of the seat pan ahead of me. It was crushing to see that visual evidence of just how tight it was. The worst part for me is my shins are long enough my knees & thighs are elevated off the seat, causing the blood to pool. I have wondered if economy plus allows enough leg extension to alleviate that problem.
- madengr 8y agoThe economy plus leaves room between my knees and seat. On one of the regional jets, where the seating columns shift slightly, there is a single economy plus seat with a huge amount of leg room, and you can stretch them out.
- throwaway413 8y agoSource?
- scarface74 8y agohttp://time.com/money/4252311/income-discrimination-short-men-overweight-women/ http://time.com/money/4252311/income-discrimination-short-me...
- TangoTrotFox 8y agoThere's an unexplained but significant correlation between height and IQ [1] which in turn successfully predicts a correlation with higher incomes. Doesn't mean it's causal, but the existence of such correlation is not in question. [1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Height_and_intelligence https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Height_and_intelligence
- Cthulhu_ 8y agoAnecdotal, but, I'm a pretty tall guy (for American standards) at 6' something, and most of my bosses and senior management were taller than me.
- craftyguy 8y agoI'm 6' something, and most of my bosses and senior management are not taller than me.