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

[Cunt]

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?

Fuck that. Obese people, or those with large goiters, do not need special accommodations. There is an easier, more respectful way.
It is quite simple, as I see it. (for the future, I mean)

They should charge everyone as a 700kg passenger, and offer discounts for each kilo under you are (including baggage)

This would encourage efficient packing, including packing on the kilos. Not at all discriminatory either, since EVERYONE can apply for the discount.

It costs per kilo to lift shit up in an aircraft. It makes perfect sense to me to charge people by the kilo.

Plus, lots of people are ashamed of their weight, so lots of them would pay full fare, rather than stand on a scale in front of the other passengers. This would make more money for the airlines, and only off those who could afford their vanity.

700 kg!

Well fuck me sideways!

I had to choose a weight which would account for hefty Americans (and Canadians, and Brits, and...)

And, don't get me started on the Samoans and the Sumo Wrestlers....

Coito ergo sum, it's simple arithmetic.

It costs more to lift more weight. The aircraft must carry more fuel to lift more weight.

Gravity discriminates, and fuck anyone who doesn't like it. That law won't change, even for fat people with a reasonable excuse.

[Warren Dew]

And, don't get me started on the Samoans and the Sumo Wrestlers....

Coito ergo sum, it's simple arithmetic.

I'm pretty sure Coito was making fun of political correctness, there.

[Cunt]

Maybe I was trying to pick a fight...

[Xamonas Chegwé]

700 kg!

Well fuck me sideways!

I had to choose a weight which would account for hefty Americans (and Canadians, and Brits, and...)

Technically speaking, 700kg is a measure of mass, not weight. The weight of a 700kg man would be ~6860 Newtons (at sea-level.)

[Cunt]

Fuck. There goes my pedantry license...

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Fuck. There goes my pedantry license...

But if you skinned one, think of the soft, supple leather you'd get, at least two sides worth.

[hadespussercats]

You don't know any of that. Maybe he was trying to get to some important event-- sick family, or soemthing-- and couldn't afford two seats. And maybe he didn't know there were no empty seats left. And maybe he didn't have a clear idea of how hard it would be to fit into a single seat-- maybe he's not a regular flyer (actually, given what happened, I think it's a safe bet he's not a regular flyer.)

And as I pointed out earlier, maybe he wasn't standing because no one would be able to pass him in the aisle. Or maybe his knees couldn't take standing that long.

He acknowledged that he was the other guy's "worst nightmare." Which indicates that he acknowledges the inconvenience, but can't do anything about it. He can't get off the plane mid-air, can he?

I think the acknowledgement indicates that he knew he couldn't fit into a single seat. I don't think it's at all clear that he's not a regular flyer - there do exist people who just impose on other people as a matter of course, as long as they can get away with it.

I don't think the "can't afford two seats" is a legitimate excuse, either. What about people who can't afford one seat? Should fat people who can't afford a big car automatically get one for the price of a small car?

That said, we're only getting one side of the story here. Just because someone claims he was "forced to stand up" doesn't make the claim true. He may just have preferred to stand up for most of the flight.

I meant maybe he didn't know until he actually tried to sit. And before you laugh, consider he might not really be in touch with just how big he is. That sort of disconnect is part of how people sometimes get that heavy in the first place.

And I'm not saying he should or shouldn't have been charged for two seats-- just that he wasn't necessarily an inconsiderate jerk for not being able to fit into the one he paid for.

I'll re-iterate that the man who stood shouldn't have had to. He didn't get what he'd paid for, and that's not right.

[Cunt]

Fuck. There goes my pedantry license...

But if you skinned one, think of the soft, supple leather you'd get, at least two sides worth.

I don't know how to tan, and my current source is awfully convenient

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Fuck. There goes my pedantry license...

But if you skinned one, think of the soft, supple leather you'd get, at least two sides worth.

I don't know how to tan, and my current source is awfully convenient

You can make really unique lampshades.

Bad taste alarm going off somewhere right now.

[JimC]

Cunt wrote:

I had to choose a weight which would account for hefty Americans (and Canadians, and Brits, and...)

Well, the 400 pounder in the OP would be around 180 kg. I doubt very much that a human could be much more than 300 kg and still living...

[Azathoth]

You don't know any of that. Maybe he was trying to get to some important event-- sick family, or soemthing-- and couldn't afford two seats. And maybe he didn't know there were no empty seats left. And maybe he didn't have a clear idea of how hard it would be to fit into a single seat-- maybe he's not a regular flyer (actually, given what happened, I think it's a safe bet he's not a regular flyer.)

And as I pointed out earlier, maybe he wasn't standing because no one would be able to pass him in the aisle. Or maybe his knees couldn't take standing that long.

He acknowledged that he was the other guy's "worst nightmare." Which indicates that he acknowledges the inconvenience, but can't do anything about it. He can't get off the plane mid-air, can he?

I think the acknowledgement indicates that he knew he couldn't fit into a single seat. I don't think it's at all clear that he's not a regular flyer - there do exist people who just impose on other people as a matter of course, as long as they can get away with it.

I don't think the "can't afford two seats" is a legitimate excuse, either. What about people who can't afford one seat? Should fat people who can't afford a big car automatically get one for the price of a small car?

That said, we're only getting one side of the story here. Just because someone claims he was "forced to stand up" doesn't make the claim true. He may just have preferred to stand up for most of the flight.

I meant maybe he didn't know until he actually tried to sit. And before you laugh, consider he might not really be in touch with just how big he is. That sort of disconnect is part of how people sometimes get that heavy in the first place.

And I'm not saying he should or shouldn't have been charged for two seats-- just that he wasn't necessarily an inconsiderate jerk for not being able to fit into the one he paid for.

I'll re-iterate that the man who stood shouldn't have had to. He didn't get what he'd paid for, and that's not right.

He added that there was a young exchange student from Eastern Europe on the same row as him who was 'pinned up against the window' by the obese man because there was so little space.

If he was impinging on the third seat too I'm pretty sure that he is used to needing two seats wherever he goes. He was just after something for nothing

[hadespussercats]

Or he's full of shame and in denial.

Neither of which seem a stretch for a man that big.

[amok]

Does anyone know if the photo shown in the original link...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... D-man.html

... is a photo of the specific obese passenger in the story or a general photo used to illustrate the story?

Because if it's the specific passenger, I'm calling shenanigans. That person is obviously obese, but it's mostly in his belly. Lots of fatter men are like that, from my anecdotal experience, rather than being "wide," so to speak. Sitting beside the person in that photo would cause difficulty in moving by him into the aisle, but there's no way he's actually flopping over onto the next seat (much less two seats).

[Warren Dew]

If he was impinging on the third seat too I'm pretty sure that he is used to needing two seats wherever he goes. He was just after something for nothing

I think the fat man was in the middle seat, spilling over into the seats on either side. The fact that the exchange student could manage by squeezing over to the window is one of the things that makes me skeptical whether the standing up was really forced, rather than being a choice.

Does anyone know if the photo shown in the original link...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... D-man.html

... is a photo of the specific obese passenger in the story or a general photo used to illustrate the story?

I suspect it's just used as an illustration. As best I can tell it's a picture of a fat person sitting in business class, where the seats actually are wide enough to accomodate him.

[Gallstones]

I strongly dislike situations that force me into close physical proximity to persons I don't know. I don't like being touched by people I don't know. Even if I could have remained in my seat but had to be smashed up against another person, I would be clamoring to get out. I'd have figured standing to be the lessor evil, but it is still unacceptable to have to make that choice.