EXERCISE 2

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EXERCISE 2

  • Victory Air has been criticized in the press lately because of its new policy of charging an overweight passenger for a second seat if he or she cannot fit in a single coach seat without his or her body crossing the armrest boundary. In a public letter printed on its website, Victory used the following evidence as part of its defense of its new policy:
    • In 2003, a commuter plane crashed on takeoff from Charlotte, North Carolina, in part due to excess weight. We need to be able to require that a heavier passenger pay for and use two seats in order to keep the plane’s total weight within acceptable limits for safe operation of the plane.
    • Our policy is not an attempt to increase revenues: if there is an available empty seat, we do not charge the heavier passenger for a second seat.
    • Every passenger pays more for a ticket because heavier passengers increase fuel consumption. It’s only fair that heavier passengers pay extra for the increased fuel consumption.
    • According to a study by the National Transportation Safety Board, an overweight passenger squeezed into a single coach seat might be a safety risk to another passenger or to himself or herself if the plane must be evacuated quickly.
    • The average weight of a passenger climbed from 180 pounds in 1995 to 190 pounds in 2003. Estimates place the current average weight at almost 195 pounds.

For each of these five items, write a brief paragraph in which you identify the nature of the evidence—commonsense argument, numerical data, example, or expert testimony—and comment on its effectiveness. If you think the evidence is not as effective as it might be, what is the problem, and how would you make it more effective?