United is blocking some seats due to weight concerns

As Americans get heavier – the percentage of adults considered overweight has gone from 30.6 percent to 41.9 percent from 1999 to 2020 – airlines have slowly been reacting.

It has even prompted an industry-wide discussion on weight, as the Federal Aviation Administration is addressing the size of shrinking airline seats, and Qantas has even allowed passengers to purchase an adjacent empty seat if it’s available for more room.

Now United Airlines is taking matters into its own hands.

To better distribute weight balance on flight, United is blocking some seats on flights in the name of weight distribution, according to a story published this week.

Because of a 2019 Federal Aviation Administration ruling on weight distribution, United is blocking off anywhere from three to six seats per flight on 45 of its Boeing 737 equipment between November 1, 2022, and April 30, 2023. But it’s not just picking on overweight passengers; United is concerned that as suitcases get bigger and better and can cram more stuff inside, it is also facing an overweight luggage problem.

While many passengers seem willing to pay the extra fee for exceeding the weight limit on a single piece of luggage, usually 50 pounds, some have thrown caution and finances to the wind and are loading up their suitcases.

That’s no good, says United.

So, on some flights, passengers who are boarding will find signs or placards on seats that say, “Seat inoperative – Do not occupy.” The seatbelt will also be rendered useless in case somebody tries to flout the rules and sit there anyway.

A memo to flight attendants seen by the blog Live and Let’s Fly told them to “monitor these seats throughout all phases of flight to ensure they remain unoccupied.”