Man Stands for 7 Hour Flight

gitana1

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A 57 year old man was forced to stand for a 7 hour flight because a last minute passenger seated next to him took half the man's seat. The man could not even fasten his seat belt because the other passenger was sitting on it.

He complained, and the airline offered him $200.00 which he refused. They deem the matter closed. He doesn't.

The airline says that:"We have attempted to address this customer's service concerns, but offering increasing amounts of compensation based on a threat of a safety violation isn't really fair -- especially when the passenger himself said he didn't follow the crew members' instructions and fasten his seat belt,"

Really? How was he supposed to when another passenger was sitting on it?

http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/25/travel/passenger-of-size/index.html?hpt=hp_t3
 
A 57 year old man was forced to stand for a 7 hour flight because a last minute passenger seated next to him took half the man's seat. The man could not even fasten his seat belt because the other passenger was sitting on it.

He complained, and the airline offered him $200.00 which he refused. They deem the matter closed. He doesn't.

The airline says that:"We have attempted to address this customer's service concerns, but offering increasing amounts of compensation based on a threat of a safety violation isn't really fair -- especially when the passenger himself said he didn't follow the crew members' instructions and fasten his seat belt,"

Really? How was he supposed to when another passenger was sitting on it?

http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/25/travel/passenger-of-size/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

That's nuts. If you try to stand during take off or landing they would have the police waiting for you at the exit. it seems that the airlines are taking chances that one day they will regret. $200 is an insult, I don't blame him for passing up the ridiculous offer.
 
I thought if you were too big to fit in one seat, you had to pay for both, and if you didn't and couldn't fit they kicked YOU off not the other person's whose space you are invading IMO.
 
Would it kill the airlines to have a couple of 2 seat rows instead of the 3 seat rows, in order to accomodate the overly large? They lose 2 seats and everybody's taken care of. :waitasec:
 
I wish they would do as TrackerSam suggested. I know it's not their responsibility, but it seems like it would be the nicest thing to do for all involved. I just feel like no matter how much of a hassle it is for the person standing, I would still rather be in their shoes than those of the person overfilling a seat. Nobody wants to be in that position, it's probably extremely humiliating. Maybe I'm being overly compassionate, but it seems like having a couple extra seats to accommodate everyone safely would be the kindest option for all involved.
 
That's nuts. If you try to stand during take off or landing they would have the police waiting for you at the exit. it seems that the airlines are taking chances that one day they will regret. $200 is an insult, I don't blame him for passing up the ridiculous offer.

Actually, he was able to wedge into his seat for take off and landing but he could not fasten his seat belt during either and it was not a sustainable position. So, he had to stand the rest of the time.

He had his seat first and the larger man came later, having been seated in the middle seat. After the 57 year old got up to let the other man pass and get seated, he realized there was no more room left for him to sit.
 
I've flown many times with larger people (too large for one seat) next to me. If I cannot lower my arm rests or if they even touch my legs with theirs, I complain. 9 times out of 10 I am moved to 1st class. Other times I am provided a voucher (which I never use) or a free drink (getting me drunk, eh?).

There are RULES that need to be followed -- I cannot believe it was allowed for this guy to stand the whole flight. I would not mind if airlines had requirements for people's sizes like carry-on baggage sizes. They charge us for luggage that weighs too much, why not people? Sorry if this is not PC, but . . . IMHO, respectfully.

My gf is very large & always flies 1st class because of her girth, but she is considerate. Oh, and she has sleep apnea, snores horribly, and is quick to fall asleep on flights (LOL). God love her :blushing: and love you if you're seated next to her.

What happened to the person in the 3rd seat . . . if Big Guy was in the middle seat? I suppose if he was at the window seat, he was pretty squished, too.
 
from the CNN article:

Southwest Airlines requires customers who do not fit in their seats (which are 17 inches wide) to purchase an extra seat before boarding, but will refund them for the seat if the flight is not full. AirTran, which is being purchased by Southwest, has the same policy.

Continental and United require passengers to be able to lower their armrests and fasten their seat belt with no more than one seat belt extender.

Delta requires that passengers lower their armrests and fasten their seat belt with no extenders. Passengers may be required to purchase an additional seat if they fall outside of this protocol.

US Airways has a policy that allows for extenders, or booking the passenger on a later flight. If neither is possible, the passenger may be charged for an additional seat.

Nothing about American . . . boy, are they really filing bankruptcy?
 
Would it kill the airlines to have a couple of 2 seat rows instead of the 3 seat rows, in order to accomodate the overly large? They lose 2 seats and everybody's taken care of. :waitasec:

I wish they would do as TrackerSam suggested. I know it's not their responsibility, but it seems like it would be the nicest thing to do for all involved. I just feel like no matter how much of a hassle it is for the person standing, I would still rather be in their shoes than those of the person overfilling a seat. Nobody wants to be in that position, it's probably extremely humiliating. Maybe I'm being overly compassionate, but it seems like having a couple extra seats to accommodate everyone safely would be the kindest option for all involved.

I completely agree. And the man who had to stand was not upset with the other passenger, who he said was very apologetic and kept repeating how sorry he was. He must have felt incredibly humiliated and too ashamed to offer to stand himself, so he could be gawked at the whole flight with everyone knowing the reason why a large man was standing in the aisle.

Part of the problem is that the seats have become even smaller than they were a decade or so ago. The other problem is that the airlines do not care. They want to squeeze as many people as possible onto their seats, passenger comfort and safety be damned.

But, it's a money thing. And the airlines will not change unless they demand that we do.

This story strikes a nerve with me because I used to be actually phobic of flying, but with a lot of work, I have been able to resume flying and often even enjoy it now, believe it or not. But situations like this, or like extreme runway delays, or a seat that is broken and shoves you forward the whole time (happened to a friend of mine on the way to Hawaii), those are things that could set me back in a big way if I experienced them because I need to be able to be somewhat comfortable so I can keep myself relaxed.

I will never fly US Airways as a result of this story. In fact, most of the major domestic carriers concern me when it comes to how they treat passengers.

I fly Jet Blue whenever I can. They have comfortable seats and treat people with a lot of respect. They recently had some runway delays and immediately compensated their passengers with full refunds AND free round trip tickets for future flights: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/mon...ers-may-not-be-able-to-sue-attorney-says.html

That's much better than the measly $200.00 they offered the man in this story.
 
I can't believe no one else offered the man their seat for awhile ...
 

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