[QUOTE=Brian-E;324820]If we're keen to clamp down on economic drains on society due to some people taking more out than they put in, I say let's start with the real "fat cats": top directors of banks spring to my mind here.
Alright, maybe that's facetious.[/QUOTE]

It is facetious only in the rigged system we currently are stuck with.

[QUOTE]But I tend to sympathise with overweight people, whose lives are often made extra difficult - in addition to their health problems - by other people's attitudes in a manner which is disproportionate to any slight extra air fares those others might have to pay to compensate for their fellow passengers' extra weight in a plane.[/QUOTE]

I sympathize with any health problem, mental or physical. I certainly have my own collection. However, having just come back from a trans-Pacific excursion in Economy Class, I have to say that added weight is not the only issue. Have you ever been seated next to a really large person on a long flight? (Not the case this time.) There is a tendency for large people to spill over the very limited space of an airliner seat, with unfortunate incursions on those seated next to them.