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

[JPG]

Fork lift her into the cargo hold...problem solved. Hope she doesn’t mind dogs, luggage and cadavers.

[Mr Ramsbotham]

That said, 300 pounds is probably borderline.

Not if you're sitting next to it. I was on a Southwest flight a couple of years ago sitting in a window seat beside a guy who might have been right around 300. I told the stewardess that if he got any closer to me we were going to have to get married.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Those crazy Russians!

[Matchett-PI]

LOL! bttt

[Buckeye McFrog]

I suppose they told her to let go of the feather as well?

[sockmonkey]

Next time this happens, the staff members should take a tape measure across the ass

I wear size 12 jeans, and I just did the sit on a yard stick test, to measure across my seat width..it's 19". Yes, I can fit in an airline seat, but that means 2" of my hip fat is squashed in.

BTW, measuring across the widest part of my arms hanging straight down from my shoulders, it's 21". I wear a size ten, or medium top. I'm not a fatso, either, so this lady who weighs more than twice my weight, must've been hard pressed to get in a seat.

[synbad600]

". . .plus-sized seating as mandated by the federal guv’ment."

Which will be discriminatory to charge (only some people) more for, hence prices for all will go up.

[redneck with hot sauce]

I once had to share half of my seat with someone on a flight from Baltimore to New Orleans....I believe it is fair for large people to pay for a second seat.

This guy just lifted the armrest up and place his fat a$$ on half of my seat. Never asked if I minded nor apologized for inconveniencing me. The airplane just happened to be full so I had to stay where I was. His wife who sat across the isle was so big they had to give her a seat belt extension.

I am average in size, so why should I have to suffer.
grumble grumble grumble

[alexander_busek]

"It was judgmental," adds Lozano, who weights 298 pounds. "It was based on their judgment. [...]"

Since when is exercising good judgment something to be criticized?!

Obviously, if this lady had exercised better judgment (and, perhaps, more restraint and self-discipline), the problem would never have occurred.

Regards,

[Matchett-PI]

“I been done seen ‘bout everything . . .”

Have you ever seen butt-lifts gone horribly wrong?

Before:

After:

[Sarajevo]

But how do one place a 300 pound body in a 17-inch wide seat?

Use a shoehorn, extra large of course.

[surrey]

My husband and I just had this experience with a very overweight passenger. We had a flight on Jet Blue to Las Vegas. We always spend the extra money for the seats with more leg room and usually reserve the aisle and middle seats because we find that most people won’t pay the extra for the middle seat. This flight took on standby passengers and just before the door was about to be closed a guy weighing close to 300 pounds plops himself down between us. He slept most of the flight with his hambone arms on both of our armrests. Miserable flight.

[Hoffer Rand]

Post of the day. Nominations are now closed.

[Mr. K]

If you can’t fit in the seat, lady, you can’t fit into the seat.

What’s to figure out here?

You need 2 seats you pay for them

[Mr. K]

hee hee hee...

[Cinnamon Girl]

Does she care AT ALL about the folks who have to sit next to her?

[dead]

[married21]

Rather than going on visual assessment, they could have a sample seat for people to sit in at the start of the check-in line, so the last thing you do before you walk up to the counter is wait in the seat until you are called. If you can’t sit in it with the arms down, you will need to buy another seat.

It’s like putting your bag in the empty box they have at the counter to measure the dimensions.

People are going to have to resign themselves to the fact that air travel while obese costs twice as much.

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.

[whence911]

A related question. What impact would it have to make planes with wider seats? Say add two inches to each seat and anopther 2 inches to the aisle. Total expansion 14 inches. What would that require if done only on new construction? Gas?

[synbad600]

“Even though I’m very big, I feel very little,”

That's funny. Even though I'm very little, I feel very big.