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Chinese airlines plagued by 'weighty' issues

       New Delhi: The latest trend of the Chinese people growing in size both ways is giving the country's airlines headaches as they are being forced to cut a sizeable number of seats in passenger aircraft, and put in bigger seats to let the fatter and taller Chinese fit in comfortably. The move might cause huge loses to the airlines, especially during peak season when the flights fly to full capacity. Passengers have complained that airlines often try to squeeze more seats into a plane in order to make bigger profits. Ironically, the problem has attained such proportions that early this year a China Southern Airlines aircraft delayed takeoff for two hours because two passengers began fighting over seating space. According to a Xinhua report, keeping in mind the problem, the China Eastern Airlines has already planned to reduce the number of seats by about 20 on the new Airbus 321 to enlarge the seating space. The company had imported all its aircraft from the West where people are on average bigger, said a company source. Xia Hongshan, vice dean of Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, suggested that more airlines rearrange seats to provide for the comfort of larger passengers. "China's civil airlines always have empty seats, especially in the low season. So, it is reasonable for companies to think about reducing the number of seats, even though it might not be a small investment," the report quoted Xia as saying. Wen Weiliang, director of China Health Care Association, said that Chinese people were becoming fatter. Without larger seats, more quarrels would certainly happen, he added. Citing statistics, Wen said that nearly 20 million adults in China were overweight, and the ratio reached 30 percent in the big cities. "The Chinese are also getting taller," Wen added.
-Oct 7,  2006

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