United Airlines discriminates against "overweight" passengers

What hath deregulation wrought?

You'd think outrages like this would stop, but they just seem to fester and grow deeper - and deregulation is a major factor.

United Airlines has now decided to discriminate against passengers if they're too "overweight." If a passenger is unable to use the airline's microscopic seats, they may be removed from the flight and put on the next flight - and charged twice as much as other passengers.

If there's no room for them on the flight, shouldn't the airline think of that in advance? I'm sure the airline knows in advance, but just doesn't care. It's the same reason airlines intentionally overbook flights: greed.

United's new policy follows in the footsteps of other airlines, including Southwest, which is especially infamous for being a stickler for getting the extra charge out of customers.

I think it's time the government steps in and prohibits airlines from practicing this type of discrimination - assuming it isn't already illegal. But knowing Congress's ideology of corporatism, they'll probably instead give the airlines another bailout (like the now-forgotten bailout the industry got from Bush in the early 2000s).

(Source: http://www.wbbm780.com/pages/4206947.php?contentType=4&contentId=3833137)