Weight Weight Just Love Me – Accommodations – Day 18
Michelle Labrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT
The planes that fly from Juneau to Haines are far more comfortable than commercial airlines, especially when the weather is nice.
I was talking with my dietitian Kate today about what would happen if the little air taxi’s that fly between Haines and Juneau started to charge by weight. I was wondering how that would impact people’s desire to reduce their weight. I know for me, when I first started going to Haines I was super embarrassed to tell the air taxi services my weight, so much so, I would only take the ferry. Then I got over it and now I just write my weight on a piece of paper and slip it across the counter at the air taxi service. My friends who introduced me to Haines told me if I lied about my weight, they would put me on the scale. PLUS, I’m an aerospace engineer – I figured lying about my weight when going on a small plane was not the wisest decision. (BTW – Kate my dietitian makes her nutrition counseling about improving health, NOT strictly reducing weight for reasons mentioned in other blog posts of this 66 day challenge to create a habit of loving myself more).
But I got to thinking, supposedly 2/3 of Americans are considered “overweight.” This is a sizable market (ha ha no pun intended). I googled how are the airlines accommodating our increasing size. I found this great article that addresses tips on traveling when you are a larger person. Is it only me, or does it seem like the seats have been getting narrower and closer together on planes? Well according to this article, yes the seats are smaller and closer together. BUT there are several airlines where they actually care about their customer’s experience. For example, on Southwest Airlines, you can purchase an extra seat if you would like more room. AND even if the flight is over booked, they will refund your money for the extra seat. Now that is AMAZING. You just have to call and ask for the refund. Next time I fly Southwest, I’m going to give this a try.
It’s rather interesting how I’m just discovering this now. And the reality is the reason I never looked into this before was because I was embarrassed by my size. I have a gazillion frequent flyer miles as air travel is a requirement of my work. So, I’ve been able to get bumped up to first class on most flights, except on the flights that do not have first class. The worst flights are on the smaller prop planes that have two small seats side by side and well before right now, flying on Southwest as they are most often booked to capacity so we are all squeezed in the packed flight like sardines. The air taxi’s from Juneau to Haines are very comfortable in comparison – even if they can sometimes give quite the thrill in rough weather.
I’m going to start paying more attention to how various businesses are more accommodating to people of all sizes. I have a feeling it’s becoming more common place. And now since I’m learning how to love myself more, it is an element of service I will start to reward more for the businesses that are more accommodating to who I am just the way I am – rather than how I “should” or “could” be.
Kate’s comment: it is interesting to think about the services offered that aren’t advertised – plenty of businesses have these. However, wouldn’t it increase the companies’ fan base to make these better known? To let the world know that they are inclusive and don’t participate in fat shaming? It seems that Southwest Airlines gained a fan by being a good-guy company.
