Man forced to stand on 7 hr. flight due to obese neighbor.

[Coito ergo sum]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... g-him.html

As I read this article, I kept thinking how horrible the 400 pound guy must've felt. Because of him stealing another person's $800 seat, the guy had to stand the whole way. I wonder why the fat guy didn't agree to leave the flight before they left the gate? I mean, under no circumstances could I, in good conscience, sit down in a seat someone else paid for.

And, frankly, I think the fact that he was not allowed to sit in the flight attendants' seats while they were up, just to give him some time to sit down is abominable. The fact that government regulations would not give flexibility in this kind of instance is fucking ridiculous and typifies what sucks about government bureaucracy. There is no common sense. There are regulations, and following directions.

Moreover, US Airways should be ashamed of themselves. I could understand that mistakes are made, but to insult this guy by offering him a $200 gift certificate when they ripped him off of $800 for the flight - for a seat he never got to use - is a slap in the face. More than that, it's pissing on the customer. I'd take that $200 "certificate" and mail it restricted mail delivery to the Chief Executive Officer, copying the Chief Operating Officer, and the Chairman of the Board of Directors, and I would tell them that what I thought about it.

What a miserable thing all the way around.

[Svartalf]

I hope the guy sues both the neighbor and the airline... he paid for something he didn't get, not to mention the active discomfort involved

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I hope the guy sues both the neighbor and the airline... he paid for something he didn't get, not to mention the active discomfort involved

Oh, they'll settle out of court, with a gag order no doubt.

[Geoff]

How come the fat guy wasn't made to stand up, since the airline admitted he should have paid for two seats?

[Coito ergo sum]

How come the fat guy wasn't made to stand up, since the airline admitted he should have paid for two seats?

I thought the same thing, especially since the skinny guy was in his seat first, apparently. I'd be like "Oh, no. I'm not getting up." Then I thought about for a second, and I could see the likely outcome being -- FAT GUY: "sorry to do this to you, but I'm sitting next to you." Fat guy sits down and spills into skinny guy's seat. SKINNY GUY can't take it very long and just has to stand up, because 7 hours of sitting squashed by fat guy would just be unbearable. So, skinny guy demands to stand up, starts dealing with the flight crew, and realizes he won't get to sit somewhere else, and there's no way in hell he'll get back in the window seat next to FAT GUY. He also has the presence of mind to know that he must remain calm and can't do anything about it, because of how easy it is to get arrested for interfering with a flight crew. He had to just stand and take it.

[Drewish]

Bigotry against the morbidly obese is totally justified.

[Svartalf]

You know that I'm less than 200lbs and my doctor already is calling me morbidly obese?

[Drewish]

You know that I'm less than 200lbs and my doctor already is calling me morbidly obese?

How tall are you?

[Audley Strange]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... g-him.html

As I read this article, I kept thinking how horrible the 400 pound guy must've felt. Because of him stealing another person's $800 seat, the guy had to stand the whole way. I wonder why the fat guy didn't agree to leave the flight before they left the gate? I mean, under no circumstances could I, in good conscience, sit down in a seat someone else paid for.

And, frankly, I think the fact that he was not allowed to sit in the flight attendants' seats while they were up, just to give him some time to sit down is abominable. The fact that government regulations would not give flexibility in this kind of instance is fucking ridiculous and typifies what sucks about government bureaucracy. There is no common sense. There are regulations, and following directions.

Moreover, US Airways should be ashamed of themselves. I could understand that mistakes are made, but to insult this guy by offering him a $200 gift certificate when they ripped him off of $800 for the flight - for a seat he never got to use - is a slap in the face. More than that, it's pissing on the customer. I'd take that $200 "certificate" and mail it restricted mail delivery to the Chief Executive Officer, copying the Chief Operating Officer, and the Chairman of the Board of Directors, and I would tell them that what I thought about it.

What a miserable thing all the way around.

If you are the weight and size of two average humans and can't fit into one seat, you should have to buy two seats. Seems simple to me. Personally if the guy was that big I would have just sat on him, see how he liked to be inconvenienced, until they provided a solution or chucked me off.

[maiforpeace]

How come the fat guy wasn't made to stand up, since the airline admitted he should have paid for two seats?

I thought the same thing, especially since the skinny guy was in his seat first, apparently. I'd be like "Oh, no. I'm not getting up." Then I thought about for a second, and I could see the likely outcome being -- FAT GUY: "sorry to do this to you, but I'm sitting next to you." Fat guy sits down and spills into skinny guy's seat. SKINNY GUY can't take it very long and just has to stand up, because 7 hours of sitting squashed by fat guy would just be unbearable. So, skinny guy demands to stand up, starts dealing with the flight crew, and realizes he won't get to sit somewhere else, and there's no way in hell he'll get back in the window seat next to FAT GUY. He also has the presence of mind to know that he must remain calm and can't do anything about it, because of how easy it is to get arrested for interfering with a flight crew. He had to just stand and take it.

Having the obese man standing up might be a safety hazard as well, since he would be blocking areas that aren't made for obese people to stand in.

Bottom line is that airlines need accomodate obese people, the way they do the handicapped. How do you know that a handicapped person didn't become handicapped due to their own fault, like driving drunk? Why do they deserve more consideration than someone who is obese?

[Svartalf]

You know that I'm less than 200lbs and my doctor already is calling me morbidly obese?

How tall are you?

all of 5'4" so, yeah, I am tubby

[Xamonas Chegwé]

How come the fat guy wasn't made to stand up, since the airline admitted he should have paid for two seats?

I thought the same thing, especially since the skinny guy was in his seat first, apparently. I'd be like "Oh, no. I'm not getting up." Then I thought about for a second, and I could see the likely outcome being -- FAT GUY: "sorry to do this to you, but I'm sitting next to you." Fat guy sits down and spills into skinny guy's seat. SKINNY GUY can't take it very long and just has to stand up, because 7 hours of sitting squashed by fat guy would just be unbearable. So, skinny guy demands to stand up, starts dealing with the flight crew, and realizes he won't get to sit somewhere else, and there's no way in hell he'll get back in the window seat next to FAT GUY. He also has the presence of mind to know that he must remain calm and can't do anything about it, because of how easy it is to get arrested for interfering with a flight crew. He had to just stand and take it.

Having the obese man standing up might be a safety hazard as well, since he would be blocking areas that aren't made for obese people to stand in.

Bottom line is that airlines need accomodate obese people, the way they do the handicapped. How do you know that a handicapped person didn't become handicapped due to their own fault, like driving drunk? Why do they deserve more consideration than someone who is obese?

YEAH! Stick it to those disableds - dey durka JERBS!!1!

[maiforpeace]

How come the fat guy wasn't made to stand up, since the airline admitted he should have paid for two seats?

I thought the same thing, especially since the skinny guy was in his seat first, apparently. I'd be like "Oh, no. I'm not getting up." Then I thought about for a second, and I could see the likely outcome being -- FAT GUY: "sorry to do this to you, but I'm sitting next to you." Fat guy sits down and spills into skinny guy's seat. SKINNY GUY can't take it very long and just has to stand up, because 7 hours of sitting squashed by fat guy would just be unbearable. So, skinny guy demands to stand up, starts dealing with the flight crew, and realizes he won't get to sit somewhere else, and there's no way in hell he'll get back in the window seat next to FAT GUY. He also has the presence of mind to know that he must remain calm and can't do anything about it, because of how easy it is to get arrested for interfering with a flight crew. He had to just stand and take it.

Having the obese man standing up might be a safety hazard as well, since he would be blocking areas that aren't made for obese people to stand in.

Bottom line is that airlines need accomodate obese people, the way they do the handicapped. How do you know that a handicapped person didn't become handicapped due to their own fault, like driving drunk? Why do they deserve more consideration than someone who is obese?

YEAH! Stick it to those disableds - dey durka JERBS!!1!

They have Big and Tall retailers for clothes, maybe somebody needs to start a travel business that caters to big people.

[Audley Strange]

I fucking wish! Even business class can be a struggle in some airlines for me (though often I'm lucky enough to get one of the emergecy exit seats0. Tell you what I don't expect though, I don't expect the staff to say "Just swing your legs up on the other seat so you are comfortable, we'll make some poor fucker who is smaller stand" and then essentially say to the poor bastard "LOL ain't I a tall one?!! hehehe!"

[Drewish]

Damn Civil Rights Act keeping companies from discriminating