Large passengers on airplanes often occupy more than their “allocated” single-seat space, intruding into the space of a fellow traveler in the next seat—space the fellow traveler reserved and paid for. Depending on the large passenger’s size, this can lead to anything from a slightly scrunched position for the fellow traveler on an hourlong flight to a nightmarish, sleepless, backbone twisting 10-hour journey on an intercontinental flight. This has led to a debate about whether large passengers should pay more for their seat or be forced to pay for two adjacent seats. After all, airlines already charge for luggage by the number or pieces and by weight. An economist recently argued that charging by weight would provide health, financial, and environmental dividends. He proposed three potential pricing approaches: First, price tickets based on the total weight of passengers and their luggage. Second, charge a base rate and an extra charge for heavier passengers. Third, his preferred option, charge a standard price for passengers within a weight range, with an extra weight-based charge added for passengers above that weight range and a weight-based discount for passengers below that weight range. Some additional information: About two-thirds of U.S. adults are medically classified as overweight or obese, and a survey indicated that more than two-thirds of travelers think airlines should charge overweight passengers more if they needed an extra seat.

A passenger who was seated next to a very large passenger on a 15-hour nonstop intercontinental flight has posted photos and a short video of his experience on multiple social media. Taken by his friends at various stages of the journey, the posts show him clearly being in near-continuous distress, squeezed into a fraction of the space he would normally occupy and standing for extended periods to get relief. The story has gone viral with a number of social media users being sympathetic and even urging the passenger to sue the airline. The story has been picked up by national media. Looking beyond this instance, your group has been hired by the airline CEO to come up with a solution for the large-passenger problem. What would you recommend?