Overweight man was plane 'humiliated'

news.com.au ^ | April 26, 2013

[FourtySeven]

Matthew Harper, who weighs 154 kilograms [340 lbs] claims he was told to step off the Southwest flight from Chicago to Denver, US, as it was overbooked.

[al baby]

Think how Kanye West must feel

[Yo-Yo]

[ladyjane]

I had a huge guy sit next to me. He immediately pulled up the arm rest. I put it back down and he began to pull it back up. I SLAMMED it down and told him “Don’t even think about putting that back up.” A little harsh but that was the only language he’d understand.

[FourtySeven]

Wow! And that is NOT Photoshopped?

[SampleMan]

What do you suggest be done when Passenger A can’t sit down without taking up the seat that Passenger B is paying for?

Bottom line, if you require two seats, pay for two seats. That avoids the embarassment of having the ovious pointed out in public.

[Yo-Yo]

Wow! And that is NOT Photoshopped?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/6671018/Obese-air-passenger-in-economy-seat-has-picture-taken.html

[A_perfect_lady]

I don’t fly anywhere if I can help it. It’s incredibly uncomfortable, and I’m only 145 lbs. Not skinny, but by no means unhealthy.

[Txngal]

If I have to pay extra to accommodate my height, people should pay more to accommodate their extra width. I pay a premium on flights because coach simply doesn’t have enough room.

[Darteaus94025]

"The seats are so narrow now that a child can infringe upon other’s space."

If that child is morbidly obese, then yes.

[FourtySeven]

Wow. That seems like a safety issue there, among other things. I feel sorry for his seatmate!

[EEGator]

[Darteaus94025]

"...ALL demand larger seats...

Yes, and our own private jets too! It's a right!

[fuente]

As a fat guy who flys often, if you can't comfortably fit into the seat with the armrest down, buy an extra seat or fly first class when available. The first thing I do when boarding is to pull the arm rest down to remove the doubt about taking up more than my apportioned space.

[from occupied ga]

I SLAMMED it down and told him “Don’t even think about putting that back up.” A little harsh but that was the only language he’d understand.

My fat guy at least asked. Then there was the gay pair that sat next to me - I was on the isle where the guy next to me kept fondling the genitals of his friend the whole way from Atlanta to PBI. I vowed never to sit on the three seat side of the plane again after that.

[bigdaddy45]

Oh come on, “insanely inhumane”??? You always this much of a drama queen?

I fly every week. The planes are small (50 seat, 2 seats on either side). I’m 5’11”, 180 lbs, and the seats are perfectly comfortable. I’ve had the occasional morbily obese person next to me, but I’ve learned to never get a window seat. Also, the armrest stays down. No exceptions. But 95% of the time the trip is perfectly comfortable.

The only thing insane about air travel is TSA. They are a useless menace and should be disbanded. Otherwise, its not that big of a deal.

[henkster]

If he’s ashamed of his weight, he might try losing some.

[SoothingDave]

When did they start putting “isles” on airplanes?

[SeaHawkFan]

Many years ago, I was assigned to a middle seat. When I got to my row, there were two grossly obese women sitting in the aisle and window seats. I found a flight attendant, and politely informed her that they would have to find another seat for me. Fortunately, I was moved up to first class.

[TurboZamboni]

[jimt]

I think if you’re bigger than the seat you should be required to buy two seats.

That would be perfectly logical if the airlines weren't constantly shrinking the seats and the legroom. Watch a movie from the 60s featuring air travel. It was nothing like the sardine cans of today.