Posted on 07/26/2010 2:35:27 PM PDT by MissTed
Edited on 07/26/2010 3:15:37 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
Not all stars fly first class. I’ve know celebrities to fly coach. But your point is well taken, so let’s pose the question another way, what if the person in question was a longshoreman, farmer, construction worker, etc?
The airlines just need to increase the size of their seats to what they were in the old days. The average size of people has increased. That woman isn’t the norm. There are many jobs in which the people are larger. What if this had been a firefighter, longshoreman, police officer, construction worker, etc?
Also, people keep missing the point that the woman was flying “standby”. She did not have a seat on that flight.
That's a crucial point and it makes all the difference. The airline made the right call.
Medical conditions are not BS. People who weren’t overweight can find themselves gaining weight if their kidneys become impared kidney. Or those that have mobility issues due to leg problems. These are just two example. So before you judge all overweight people as the same...think again. I’m sure you know the old adage about assumptions.
The airlines have reduced the sizes of seats to install more seats for obvious reasons. What if this was a longshoreman, firefighter, etc? Would you feel the same?
I'm a reasonably big guy at 6'2", 220, but I've never come close to spilling over an airline seat.). If a longshoreman, farmer, construction worker, etc. is so big that they require two seats, it's not because they're big and muscular. It's because they're morbidly obese.
Certainly immobility can increase weight if someone doesn’t adjust consumption.
The longshoreman/fireman comment is absurd. HWP people fit in the seats reasonably well. I am large (often 200+), but don’t take up anybody else’s space because I work hard to make sure it is hard weight. I could easily gain 40-50lbs of fat because of my metabolism, but I work at limiting caloric input and maximizing caloric output.
There is no “entitlement” to 2,000, 3,000, or any other number of calories a day. Michael Phelps could eat 12,000 calories a day and be slender because of his training schedule. Someone who is sedentary has to make adjustments on the downside or find ways of being more active. I’d really enjoy eating more than I do, but I don’t have time to devote more time to exercise and I don’t want to gain weight. If your level of activity and metabolism justify 1,500 calories a day, then that is what you ought to consume; if your level of activity and metabolism justify 12,000 calories, then that is what you should consume. It is no more complex than that for anybody.
Here’s a little insight so you can know that I’m not who you probably think I am. I am a Conservative, a former Sgt in the US Army. I do not believe in entitlements.
Of course, one has to adjust for immobility. The longshoreman/fireman comment is far from absurd. Those guys are hugh. Don’t you acknowledge that the airlines have made the seats smaller?
We don’t know what this poor kid was like?
The bottom line was the lady did NOT have a seat on that flight. She was flying standby. Too bad that more folks felt like piling on the kid rather than being a little tolerant. Just because you walk on water doesn’t mean everyone else can. It’s hard enough being a kid. Thank God he didn’t encounter further abuse from those on this thread.
Thank God there are a few nice people who didn’t pile on this poor kid. You are right, the fact that she was flying standby is the key. The airline doesn’t owe her anything.
The lady did have a seat. The morbidly obese teen also had a seat. As I wrote previously, the wrong was committed by SWA. They were obligated to provide the standby seat because it was available and the woman had paid for it. Instead, SWA, out of fear of the fat lobby or for some other reason gave it to the teen who had not paid for it. The teen, in any event, was not at fault.
As for lumberjacks, firemen, professional wrestlers, etc., if they don’t fit in one seat they need to buy two or three or however many they need. Frankly, even a good friend of mine who weighs 300lbs at 6’3” fits in today’s airline seats (former football player), as does a 6’8” 350+lbs fireman friend. BUT, if they didn’t, the same would go for them.
How do I know that the teen was morbidly obese? She couldn’t fit into a single seat, which is all she paid for. The standby passenger has a right to any unsold seat on that flight. There was an unsold seat, but SWA gave the extra seat to the fat teen. SWA should be whacked for that.
I understand all about airline seats and standby. I’m logging about 50k miles in the air just this summer.
There is no reason to be “tolerant and sympathetic”. My point primarily had to do with SWA. But, the teen would probably benefit from less tolerance and sympathy because her parent(s) are letting her eat herself into diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and an early grave. That, however, wasn’t the point ofthe post.
It had to be water retention.
Obese and morbidly obese are two far different things. I hope you’d agree. Someone can be overweight and not fit in those tiny seats, but not be morbidly obese. Is there a picture of this kid? I hope not.
How do you know the kid wasn’t on a weight loss plan? Maybe the kid had already lost alot of weight and was still working on it? Folks don’t ever consider that. They’d rather jump to conclusions. Guess as long as the kid isn’t doing it fast enough for someone else there will be no mercy. Hopefully, this kid doesn’t commit suicide. The constant harrassment, little digs, mean comments, dirty looks wear on the strongest. What’s that old phrase about walking in someone else’s shoes....
Since you fly so frequently, you also know that SWA had the right to do what they did.
The seats aren’t that small, although the leg room is a problem for a lot of us on longer flighst. Any 14 year-oldteen who can’t fit into one seat is morbidly obese. I hope that the kid is on a diet, but that has nothing to do with the point.
When SWA SELLS a standby ticket, they have an obligation t put you on th enext flight to your destination where there is an unsold seat (assuming you are at th e top of th elist, as the woman was). SWA will end up giving the woman more than a $100 flight certificate for this one.
I may not fly as much as you, but those seats are small. It seems that you just want to bash the kid for not being the way you think he should be. You’re right that whether he’s on a diet or not isn’t the point. You still haven’t said how you know the kid was morbidly obese. Is it just an assumption?
SWA does not have an obligation to put a standby passenger on a certain flight. My sister flew standby a few years ago, and it took three days to get a flight from El Paso, TX to Fresno, CA. Unfortunately, the woman will get more than the $100. if SWA caves. I’m pulling for SWA to stand up to her and the nasty people.
Well, since you seem resolute in your determination to ignore what I have written, there is nothing more that I can do. BTW, some very large people fit into those seats you think are small. If someone requires two seats, it is a virtual certainty that he is morbidly obese.
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