"In what is perhaps the most egregious case of job discrimination the world has ever seen,"

Hmmm, I wonder if that statement is the most egregious case of hyperbole the world has ever seen.

As Bill Clinton would say, it depends on what you mean by overweight.

But to me the question of how much weight (pun intended) an prospective employer can put on physical attractiveness is a difficult one. For example, should a woman who goes to considerable lengths to make herself attractive, such as by exercise, diet, good grooming and dress, personal hygiene, etc. be entitled to have that considered when she applies for a job, particularly a job in which being attractive is good for business? Should woman who was born with less than good looks be discriminated against in jobs in which attractiveness is good for business?

If I am hiring a secretary, and a 200 pound unattractive woman has better skills than a slender good looker, can I hire the latter without breaking the law?

I confess I don't know what the answer is, or should be. But I can sympathize with the airline wanting attractive flight attendants. It's a fact of life that men, and I expect most women, prefer attractive women. They are good advertising. To what extent a company should be prohibited from taking advantage of that fact if hard to know.

This is hardly something new.

And as someone who has been served by one too many depressingly overweight grumpy Western airline attendants, I would like to see some similar anti-fat regulations here.

The best part? Now we can justify it based on being green and lowering fuel consumption!

is a health issue then this is a way for the market to modulate unhealthy social behavior.(Would people be so upset if the issue was smoking?) What's so wrong with that?...I for one would rather have my pathetically skimpy bag of peanuts handed to me by a smiling, svelte cutie than by a soviet-style big, mean mama. Perhaps fat women (and men) should be encouraged to work at fast-food restaurants as ghosts of Christmas future. Just as people with poor grammar shouldn't be editors so people with fat profiles shouldn't be allowed to clog the narrow airplane aisles that will soon be too expensive to enjoy anyway. Let it be said that the commercial aviation industry went out in style.

Well, I do not with to be percieved as person that discriminates, but some boundaries should be set to create margins for discrimination. This time I agree with the plane company: they do all in their power to maxymize the well being of their customers. This is like an alcohol rehab program: we accept only people that fit a certain profile.