Woman told she's too big to fly

WOAI ^ | 07/21/2010 | Reported by: Janet Kwak

[Responsibility2nd]

 

Woman told she's too big to fly

 

 

 

SAN ANTONIO -- Mary Louise Lozano says she was humiliated after Southwest Airlines told her she was too big to fly.

"I felt like there wasn't a big enough rock for me to crawl under," says Lozano. On July 8th, she was supposed to fly to Baltimore - a gift from her brother she hasn't seen in four years. However, when she got to the gate, she was told she'd have to purchase an extra ticket because she wouldn't fit into a seat.

"It was judgmental," adds Lozano, who weights 298 pounds. "It was based on their judgment. People were hearing everything that was going on, parading me around. I wouldn't call that discreet.

Southwest Airlines wouldn’t comment specifically on Mary’s case, but say that all their passenger size-related guidelines are found online. Representatives with the airline say passengers must fit into a 17-inch seat with the armrests down, or buy another ticket for extra space. If the plane isn’t full, you can get that extra money back. However, when News 4 WOAI asked how staff members determine who can fit to fly, they said it’s based on visual assessments – what their employees see.

Southwest refunded Mary’s ticket, and her brother is now flying to San Antonio instead.

“Even though I’m very big, I feel very little,” Lozano adds. “I feel damaged or something. I don’t want to take a bus or a plane, I wont’ take a train, I don’t feel like I can travel in any vehicle except my car.”

Here’s a list of passenger size guidelines for airlines at San Antonio International Airport:

Aeromexico CLICK HERE

Airtran: CLICK HERE

American: CLICK HERE

Continental: CLICK HERE

Delta: CLICK HERE

Frontier: CLICK HERE

Skywest: CLICK HERE

Southwest: CLICK HERE

United: CLICK HERE

US Airways: CLICK HERE

[Auntie Dem]

Arm rests don’t really solve anything in the case of fatties. I had to sit next to a 300+ lb woman on a flight once. The second she sat down she lifted the armrest between us and her flab rolled over on top of me. I lifted the arm rest between my wife and I and had to encroach on her space. We paid for 2 seats and only got to use 1 1/2 seats.

[Responsibility2nd]

That's not a butt-lift.

 

Them's Back Boobs

 

 

[Habibi]

“Look - if you want to be treated with decency, then you have no business flying. Period.”

Amen.

[Dem Guard]

If they are wider than tall just lay them in the cargo bin. lol

[Responsibility2nd]

Back Boobs

 

What can ya say?

 

[patriot08]

I have no sympathy for anyone that fat.
Try shoving yourself away from the table once in a while and you won’t feel so embarrased.

[mom.mom]

If you are uncomfortable sitting next to a fat person - complain. My husband did and got a free ticket from Jet Blue.

[patriot08]

I know how you feel.
I am small and hate being sandwiched between blobs of fat.

[-YYZ-]

“If people stop flying as a result, perhaps the airlines will widen the seats to whatever they used to be. 17 inches wide is not much for a long flight.”

For a 737, which I believe is what SWA flies, in coach/economy configuration 17” is all that’s possible with a center aisle and 3 seats on either side. It’s just a factor of the size of the plane’s fuselage. I don’t know if a configuration with 5 seats per row is possible - it would obviously throw the balance off a bit. 2 seats on each side is a possibility, but that would mean 1/3 fewer seats, and 50% higher cost per passenger.

[cranked]

Oh snap, I can hear the howls of racism coming......

[Matchett-PI]

ROTFLMAO~ bttt

[Matchett-PI]

LOL!!!! bttt

[married21]

How about this: the aisle seats could have extenders that come out and give you an extra inch or two of width once everybody has brought their luggage on and sat down? You’d have to put it in again for a minute when the beverage cart came by, but for most of the flight, you’d be more comfortable. They could charge a bit more for the “flex-seat”.

[CaptainAmiigaf]

Height doesn’t matter at all. I bet there was no scale at the airline gate. The problem is WIDTH...period.
The players in the NBA are so HUGE they must all weigh great amounts...but they are not WIDE, and I doubt if they are required to pay for two seats. (If they can even get their legs folded into the inadequate room jokingly called “legroom”.
That is where I have a great problem!! Length NOT width.

[Matchett-PI]

"How about this: the aisle seats could have extenders that come out and give you an extra inch or two of width.."

Forget all that. It's like my brother just said:

"IF GOD WANTED HER TO FLY, HE WOULD HAVE PUT WINGS ON HER ASS!"

[Arrowhead1952]

I was in the window seat and there was a gentleman who had to be pushing 400 pounds in the middle seat next to me

I was on a flight on SWA from Austin to El Paso several years ago and had someone about 350 in the middle seat. His wife was in the window seat and his fat @$$ was almost pushing me out of my isle seat. That was a flight from hell as well. He also smelled like he hadn't had a bath in a week.

[AngelesCrestHighway]

Cry me a river!....Now get off the damn plane and call Caterpillar tractors for a tow!...

[married21]

I wasn’t thinking about her, per se, with the extenders. They wouldn’t help, because they’d have to be closed up once or twice during the flight. I was thinking about normal-size people who are just trying to get more comfortable, and maybe get away from the big person in the middle seat next to them.

[Pearls Before Swine]

Borderline what?

300 lbs is borderline... compared to 350 or 400!

[shiva]

The answer may be to make bigger seats, which would make everyone happy.

You are so right. Spouse and I have watch for years how people are getting fatter and fatter. Several of the restaurants we go to have even replaced the chairs they had for bigger ones. The airlines have small chairs because customers used to be small. Now they need to enlarge the seats to accommodate this new generation of fatties.