Holiday rentals news - Ryanair's possible 'fat tax' comes as United Airlines targets obese passengers

Ryanair's possible 'fat tax' comes as United Airlines targets obese passengers

Ryanair could be introducing a 'fat tax'. The carrier is asking passengers to vote on what its latest tax should be. The news comes as America's United Airlines announced it would be charging obese passengers for two seats if necessary.

Ryanair's poll on the fat tax and other possible extra charges closes at 6pm today on ryanair.com. So far 40 per cent of respondents have voted for Ryanair to charge overweight passengers extra based on their body mass index (BMI).

Almost 100,000 votes have been received so far and although the fat tax is the clear favourite so far there are also other suggestions for extra Ryanair charges. 20 per cent of passengers have voted for Ryanair to charge its passengers three euros to be able to smoke in a converted toilet cubicle. Other possible charges are for toilet paper with Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary's face on it. A 'corkage' fee for passengers bringing their own food on board and a charge for a subscription to ryanair.com are also in the running.

Ryanair are not the only airline to be targeting overweight passengers - United Airlines this week announced a similar move. Under the US carrier's new rules, obese passengers who are too big for a seat will be moved to two empty seats free of charge. However, if two adjacent seats are not available, which The Guardian considers a likelihood since most US aircraft take off at full or very near full capacity, passengers may have to pay to be upgraded to a larger business class seat or buy two seats on the next available flight.

United Airlines said that it has introduced the policy after it received over 700 complaints on the matter in 2008. The aggrieved passengers felt cramped by their fellow, overweight travellers.

This story was brought to you by holidaylettings.co.uk, the UK's No.1 for holiday homes worldwide.

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