SOURCE: Association for Airline Passenger Rights (AAPR)

AAPR Blasts United Airlines Decision to Discriminate Against People of Size; New
Policy Charges Overweight Passengers for Two Tickets

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 17, 2009) - The Association for Airline Passenger Rights
(AAPR) today blasted the decision by United Airlines to violate the Civil Rights
of people of size by charging them for two tickets if they are deemed to be
overweight. United Airlines announced that its ticket agents will begin denying
boarding passes to people of size if they are "unable to comfortably fasten a
safety belt with one extension or sit comfortably with armrests down," unless
they purchasea second ticket.

"They're at it again," said Brandon M. Macsata, Executive Director of the
Association for Airline Passenger Rights, of the airline industry. "United is
now the latest airline to shelve customer service standards in search for higher
profits, while claiming that the new policy is to 'protect' other passengers.
At issue should not be the size of any passenger, but rather why the airlines
continue to pack coach passengers like sardenes into the cabin."

Most coach airline seats are smaller than seats on buses or trains, even movie
theaters - yet unlike in those environments, customers cannot simply get up and
move around but are rather forced to sit uncomfortably until the flight's
destination is reached.

Macsata further argued, "Where does this madness end? So now a customer who
purchases an advanced ticket online can show up at the airport and be
arbitrarily denied boarding because a ticket agent deems him or her to be
overweight? He or she would be at the mercy of the airlines - an unthinkable
scenario especially if the passenger is traveling for a family emergency or
death in the family. I wonder just how much will be the price of that second
ticket?"

AAPR also questioned the legality of the discriminatory policy and whether it
violates the Air Carrier Access Act governing the treatment of passengers with
disabilities. It is documented that certain health conditions, and sometimes
medications, can cause weight gain and therefore should be protected by law.
The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) addressed this issue earlier this year,
when it issued its "one-person, one-fare" ruling covering passengers with
disabilities - including "clinically obese" passengers who cannot fit into a
single seat.

United Airlines joins Southwest Airlines in aggressively discriminating against
people of size.

The Association for Airline Passenger Rights is a 501(c)(4) tax-exempt,nonprofit
organization whose mission is to promote fairer customer service and
accessibility standards in the airline industry and to improve passenger
satisfaction. AAPR was formed in response to growing dissatisfaction among
American consumers toward the airline industry.

According to the American Consumer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), a polling
organization that rates over forty-three businesses in ten sectors based on
in-depth interviewing and computer-based extrapolation of its results, the Big
Six legacy airlines (full-service providers with national or international
flight routes) rate the lowest of all sixteen industries surveyed in the first
quarter of 2008.

For more information about the Association for Airline Passenger Rights, please
visit www.flyfriendlyskies.com or contact AAPR directly at
info@....