deep
Blue Crack Addict
well
For those who tweet, Kevin Smith has a hilarious story about just such a situation....
For those who tweet, Kevin Smith has a hilarious story about just such a situation....
.Fat passenger sent off airline for not buying extra ticket!
16 February 2010, 09:56am IST
LOS ANGELES: An overweight passenger who required two air tickets to fly because of his heavy weight was thrown off a Southwest Airlines' flight
Saturday for refusing to buy the extra ticket.
Kevin Smith had the choice to either buy two tickets for himself or be kicked off the flight as he could not fit into a seat and lower his armrests. He refused to comply. The airline asked him to get off its flight from Oakland to Burbank despite his pleas that he can fit in his seat.
Outraged over his treatment by the airline, Smith tweeted his ordeal, saying, "I know I'm fat, but was (the airline) really justified in throwing me off a flight for which I was already seated?"
He insisted, "I broke no regulation, offered no 'safety risk.' ''
After his protests, the man was accommodated on another flight by the airline. The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) sprang to Smith's support, condemning the airline for its discriminatory policies.
The body, which has been advocating rights of fat people since 1969, gave a call for boycott of the airline.
After the outrage, Southwest apologized to the passenger, saying, "We are sincerely sorry for your travel experience on Southwest Airlines.'' But the airline defended its weight policy, saying it has been in force for 25 years.
"The policy requires passengers that cannot fit safely and comfortably in one seat to purchase an additional seat while travelling,'' the airline was quoted as saying in the Los Angeles Times.
"This policy is not unique to Southwest Airlines and it is not a revenue generator. Most, if not all, carriers have similar policies, but unique to Southwest is the refunding of the second seat purchased (if the flight does not oversell), which is greater than any revenue made,'' the Southwest statement said.
Now I haven't seen Kevin Smith in awhile, but he said he was able to lower both armrests, so I'm not sure what exactly is going on...
Of course, statistics could help, in that e.g. airlines would analyse how many people, on average, will take a flight that need more than just the usual space, and then arrange their seating accordingly.
you can't pack more seats across in your planes and then be surprised when the ever-growing population of the modern world can't squeeze in.
could take the air france/klm path - put 10 seats abreast on a particular type of plane when the industry standard is 9 abreast and then charge passengers for an extra seat. it's genius!
This clip is from the Airline show that was on A&E. This episode addresses the too fat to fly.
YouTube - Airline TV Show S1E11 You Must Be Kidding? (2/3)
What about when you go to a concert or a sporting event and the person next to you "spills over"-they don't make people buy two seats and just like an airplane, you can't move if there aren't available seats (unlike a plane even if there are available seats, for ticketed events usually they won't let you move). That has happened to me and it's very uncomfortable, especially in an old ballpark with very small seats and a very small amount of room. I suppose maybe you could go to someone and tell them that you're next to a large person and you need to move, but I've never done that. I guess it's not something I feel comfortable doing. They don't make people buy two seats in those situations-and you are trapped there sometimes just like you are on a plane.
he'd already purchased an extra seat because he was a "customer of size". he was also trying to fly stand by, presumably to get to his destination earlier. southwest policy is that if a "customer of size" travels stand by and has had to go through buying an extra ticket, then there need to be two open seats on the flight he's traveling on. they boarded him, realised their mistake and yanked him. a bit senseless given there didn't otherwise seem to be a problem.
According to everything I've heard from him, he didn't buy two seats because of his size (and I listened to the entire podcast, all 90+ minutes of it), he bought two seats because 1) he prefers to have some buffer area around him, rather than being close to people - his choice, in other words, and 2) because he can afford to do this.
He was on standby for a flight which only had one other seat available. The ticketing agent and other staff in the area were well aware of his size before issuing him the ticket. His issue was that they let him seat himself in the one seat they offered him, and then came to remove him from the plane. Even when the two ladies sitting on each side of him said they were fine with him sitting there.
He claims that he's flown their airline many times in the past with only one seat, and it's never been an issue. He also claims that he can get his armrests down, and buckle up without an extender.
The other major thing he took issue with is that on the later flight they finally did get him on, one that did have two seats for him, there was a large woman sitting next to his empty seat, and before take-off, a flight attendant came up and asked the woman to follow her. Later in the flight, the woman told him that the flight attendant took her aside and suggested to her that in the future, she might think about purchasing two seats. He felt that this was needless cruelty, given that the woman was sitting next to his empty seat, and not bothering anyone. He has a point. Staff should not be able to arbitrarily hassle customers once they're seated, buckled in and with armrests down. There should be a standard applied to everyone, and they should apply it before boarding, period. There's no need to embarrass people like that. Asshats.
According to everything I've heard from him, he didn't buy two seats because of his size (and I listened to the entire podcast, all 90+ minutes of it), he bought two seats because 1) he prefers to have some buffer area around him, rather than being close to people - his choice, in other words, and 2) because he can afford to do this.
He was on standby for a flight which only had one other seat available. The ticketing agent and other staff in the area were well aware of his size before issuing him the ticket. His issue was that they let him seat himself in the one seat they offered him, and then came to remove him from the plane. Even when the two ladies sitting on each side of him said they were fine with him sitting there.
He claims that he's flown their airline many times in the past with only one seat, and it's never been an issue. He also claims that he can get his armrests down, and buckle up without an extender.
The other major thing he took issue with is that on the later flight they finally did get him on, one that did have two seats for him, there was a large woman sitting next to his empty seat, and before take-off, a flight attendant came up and asked the woman to follow her. Later in the flight, the woman told him that the flight attendant took her aside and suggested to her that in the future, she might think about purchasing two seats. He felt that this was needless cruelty, given that the woman was sitting next to his empty seat, and not bothering anyone. He has a point. Staff should not be able to arbitrarily hassle customers once they're seated, buckled in and with armrests down. There should be a standard applied to everyone, and they should apply it before boarding, period. There's no need to embarrass people like that. Asshats.
ah, ok. i probably also should have noted that my post was (obviously) completely second hand information.
either way, southwest screwed up. and ultimately, i totally agree with your post.
I question a lot of the points in your post.
Since they came from Kevin Smith himself. I don't believe he is capable of being objective in relating his facts. I listened to and read some of his remarks, there is a lot of emotion and victim-hood coming through.
The fact that he requested to fly standby on a flight he did not buy a ticket for weakens his whole argument.
Getting the armrest down does not mean he was not encroaching 6 inches, or some other significant amount, over into the 17-18 inches in the next seat.
Doesn't really matter what operators of a stadium do. It's up to them if they charge extra or not. Further, the lost revenue for an airline is very likely to be greater than for a stadium owner.
I guess with an increasing reight of overweight or obese people in the developed nations, where they sometimes make up to 50% or more, most businesses will have to look how they can adjust. Of course, statistics could help, in that e.g. airlines would analyse how many people, on average, will take a flight that need more than just the usual space, and then arrange their seating accordingly.