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Travel5 min(s) read
Published 17:29 23 Mar 2026 GMT
A woman has alleged that she was charged $49k "Boob Tax" to upgrade flights because of her chest size.
Summer Robert, 27, from Glasgow, says upgrading to business class is no longer a luxury but a necessity due to her 30R chest, which she says weighs around 25kg and continues to grow because of a rare condition called macromastia.
The model says standard airline seating simply doesn’t accommodate her body, leaving her with no choice but to pay thousands for extra space.
"There is a real physical and financial toll of navigating a world that feels increasingly designed for a one size fits all standard," she said, The Scottish Sun reported.
Summer explained that even basic tasks in economy seating have become unmanageable.
"Even something so simple like putting the tray table down to eat my dinner is so difficult [in economy], it doesn’t go down all the way," she said.
"The biggest struggle is comfort, especially on a long-haul flight. I always end up with the person next to me touching my b**bs and it makes both of us uncomfortable," she added. "I need to get business or I won’t be able to eat my dinners on a plane or be touched by another passenger.:"
She says her perspective changed after experiencing business class for the first time on a trip to Thailand. "It was like a new world," Summer recalls.
Over the past two years, she estimates she has spent more than $49K on upgrades alone, including $14 for a single flight from Los Angeles to Melbourne.
Her frequent travel, including multiple trips between Scotland and LA and visits to Australia, has only added to the cost.
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Summer was diagnosed with macromastia three years ago, though she says she had been seeking answers since her early teens.
"I had been going to the doctors since I was like 14 or 13 years old, and not one of them diagnosed me. No one told me that there was a condition," she told PEOPLE. "They all just said it was puberty. They all just said I had to lose weight. It was ridiculous."
Her condition causes extreme and ongoing breast growth, often in sudden spurts triggered by hormones. At one point, she says she grew 11 bra sizes in a single year.
The physical toll is significant. She says even simple daily activities can be challenging, and she often needs to wear a back brace for basic movement.
"I get really, really warm because I’m carrying a lot of weight in my chest," she explained. "In a crowded cabin, this physical strain becomes unbearable."
Despite the challenges, Summer says she has struggled to access long-term medical solutions.
"They won’t do it. They literally will not touch me," she said of attempts to get a breast reduction through the NHS.
"I’ve been to the doctors six times trying to get a reduction ever since I was a teenager. When I was younger, they would say I was 'too young', or I 'too fat' because my BMI was high, but it’s because my boobs weigh so much," she added.
Even when referred, she says doctors turned her away after learning about her condition. "They said ‘there’s no point because they’re just gonna come back,'" she revealed.
While surgery remains an option, she is not rushing into it. "But I don’t think I would get a reduction now. I’ve really grown to love them. Maybe in 10 years or so, but as it stands right now, I think I’d like to keep them and see what’s gonna happen," she added.
Summer says her body has also shaped her life in other ways, including the challenges of finding clothes that fit and dealing with unwanted attention in public.
"I just go through those struggles daily - people thinking that I want to show off my boobs and I want the attention," she said. "I'm just like, 'I'm just trying to exist, literally, and I just have big boobs.'"
Despite this, she has found confidence through her work as an OnlyFans creator, where she can earn up to $60K a month.
Still, she says everyday life remains far from easy. "It's just day-to-day things that you would think are so easy, it's so difficult," she said.
