After news reports circulated yesterday about Air France-KLM beginning to charge for obese passengers who needed more than one seat on aircraft, the airline denied the reports. However, they claim to be even more obese-friendly. Overweight passengers who purchase an extra seat will get a refund if the flight is not full.
With shades of the Southwest and United Airlines overweight passenger policies, Air France-KLM announced that obese passengers who choose to purchase an extra seat will have their extra charge refunded if the flight is not full. They emphasized that overweight passengers would not be forced to purchase an extra seat.
“Contrary to reports in the press this morning, Air France is not planning to force corpulent passengers to pay for a second seat,” the statement said.
Air France said that since 2005 it had offered overweight passengers an option to buy a second seat at a 25 percent discount.
“It is not an obligation; we suggest to such passengers they buy a second seat for their own comfort and in order to be sure the seats are adapted to their needs. If the plane is not full, they can get a refund,” Air France spokesman Jean-Pierre Lefebvre said.
There was no word from the airline about what would happen should an overweight passenger decline to purchase an extra seat and not be physically able to fly should the flight be fully booked.
It looks like though Air France-KLM may be denying a surcharge, they are moving in the direction of the Southwest/United policies.
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
