There are two ways to deal the morbidly obese on airplanes. The airlines can either charge them for two seats or be more accommodating to the obese person's needs. Like all businesses the airline business's top priority is making money. The problem with changing the plane to accommodate the obese is that it would cost millions of dollars to re-engineer the plane and to rebuild them all. So, from a cost point of view charging them for two seats is far more effective.
However, there is the possible cost of lawsuits filed for discrimination if the obese are charged for two seats. One obese woman even described it as a type of racism (Fat-ism). Although there are many diseases that contribute to obesity, none are the actual cause of obesity. The real cause is simply too many unhealthy foods and not enough exercise. The fact that an obese person can control their weight makes it completely different then someone who cannot control their skin color. Therefore, this is obviously not discrimination.
Another reason that the morbidly obese is a problem on airplanes is the safety hazard they create. This hazard is created if the plane is sinking and the passengers need to get out. The obese take up more room creating an incredibly inconvenient escape path for the other passengers. This inconvenience places lives in danger in an emergency.
In conclusion, the obese should be charged for two seats. This is because they take up that additional space and should have to pay for it, they create a safety hazard, and it would cripple the airline business financially to design all their planes to accommodate to obese people. This is not discrimination because the obese can control their weight to a large degree.
Sources
"Fat-ism Worse Than Racism." CORRUPT.org: Conservation & Conservatism. Web. 11 Sept. 2010. <http://www.corrupt.org/articles/satire/alex_birch/fat-ism_worse_than_racism>.
