Temember the thread about passengers "of size" ?

[ogreenlee]

Well that is you, but I am guessing that as uncomfortable as this gentleman looks sitting half in his seat and half on the edge of it, he would not want the WWW posting this picture of him.

I only hope for his sake this was a very short flight.

"only" for his sake?

 

[disney1990]

I don't see why this pic was released to the whole world. I guess just to embrass the guy in the pic

It was on the news this evening. They talked to the man who doesn't think that he needs to have more than one seat.

 

[ogreenlee]

It was on the news this evening. They talked to the man who doesn't think that he needs to have more than one seat.

was this on the national news?

 

[C.Ann]

It was on the news this evening. They talked to the man who doesn't think that he needs to have more than one seat.

Are you serious? There is no way he would fit in one seat without infringing on others.. I have been on at least one flight (I weigh less than 100 lbs.) with a person of size (smaller than that man) "trying" to sit in the one seat next to me and I was literally scrunched up in a ball up against the window.. That just wasn't fair and it was a miserable 2 and a half hours..

 

[declansdad]

I would have no idea if I needed to seat on a airplane

Common sense would tell this man that he wouldn't fit in a seat. With his size, I'm sure he finds many seats that he doesn't fit in and why would he believe thaqt an airline would be any different?

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

It's can't be true otherwise he is sitting on the arm rest! The arm rests along the isle don't not move up like the ones in the middle do.

 

[crashbb]

It's can't be true otherwise he is sitting on the arm rest! The arm rests along the isle don't not move up like the ones in the middle do.

In some planes the armrests in the aisle seats to move up.

 

[sbell111]

So you think he bought two seats, but they refused to give him the seats he paid for? Interesting stretch.

When I fly American I receive a boarding pass giving me the seat number. I know how many seats I'm assigned before I board.

If the flight was oversold (or merely full), the agent at the ticket counter may have not been able to issue a second seat assignment.

In oversale situations, it is not uncommon for people to be issued gate passes to get through security, but not be issued a seat assignment. This would be issued by the gate agent after working the oversale.

Yes, actually they do. Like you said though, it isn't necessasarily enforced unless the flight is full. The policy is still there though. ...

From the second article:

Perhaps more disturbing is the fact that the airline let him board. Southwest Airlines, for one, has a "customer of size" policy that requires passengers of a certain size to purchase two seats. American has not adopted this policy, though it does cryptically encourage customers to "recognize ahead of time that they may need to purchase two seats.

... Provided I am not libeling anyone and I am abiding by the applicable laws of blurring or otherwise obscuring the face I am within my rights to take the pictures, post the pictures, and discuss them how ever I would like within the bounds of law. Whether I should or not depends on what my preference is just like whether you read the blog or article depends on your preference. ...

While you are legally correct, if you are acting as a representative of a company at the time that you take these pictures, your actions reflect on that company. American Airlines may certainly not want their employees to be posting unflattering pictures of it's customers on the internet and they are well within their rights to take action when an employee does so.

 

[Callie]

For larger people who do require two seats, for everyone's safety they should be place in the middle and window seats. Think about those two people sitting next to this man on the plane, how are they suppose to get up to go to the restroom?

 

[Callie]

I also don't think its wrong for airlines to require larger passengers to buy two seats. Weight is something that a person can control. Now if airlines require someone who is super tall to pay extra for a seat with more leg room in the same class they purchased, then thats wrong. Height you can't control.

 

[momrek06]

It was on the news this evening. They talked to the man who doesn't think that he needs to have more than one seat.

This is probably exactly WHY his picture ended up on the internet. AA probably told him he needed to buy 2 seats and he refused....hence the FA decided to take his picture. JMHO.

While I still do not think his picture should be plastered all over the WWW, I do feel he should have definitely bought 2 seats.

 

[Aisling]

No one is shaming him, they are posting a picture of him. If anyone is shamed by an unaltered picture of themselves that is their own perception of their self image.

I agree with this. The man knew he was spilling over into the aisle in a major way. He knew the size of his behind and he knew that 100 people on the plane could see how ridiculous he looked. This wasn't an embarrassing accident that someone caught him in and posted it for the world to see. His choice. He's an idiot.

 

[Jennasis]

The guy needed to buy two seats. Period. If there was an evacuation of the aircraft needed...well, I don't even want to think about that.

 

[Scurvy]

I also don't think its wrong for airlines to require larger passengers to buy two seats. Weight is something that a person can control. Now if airlines require someone who is super tall to pay extra for a seat with more leg room in the same class they purchased, then thats wrong. Height you can't control.

Some people can't control their weight, either, because of other health issues. Regardless, the real difference between the weight and height issues in my opinion is that the weight issue is guaranteed to affect those around the overweight person. The tall person might be uncomfortable with his knees around his chin, but he won't necessarily be spilling into others' space. Certainly it's reasonable to charge extra for the seats that have extra leg room, but if the tall person doesn't mind being uncomfortable and isn't impacting those around him then he shouldn't be required to move to (or pay for) a seat with more leg room. Of course if he is impacting those around him then he should be required to pay for a seat upgrade. The overweight person, on the other hand, might not mind being squeezed uncomfortably into a too-small seat, but he almost certainly is adversely affecting those around him. In that case he should be required to pay for an additional seat whether or not he is willing to tolerate being uncomfortable. He doesn't have the right to decide that those next to him should have to be uncomfortable.

 

[PrincessKsMom]

I agree with this. The man knew he was spilling over into the aisle in a major way. He knew the size of his behind and he knew that 100 people on the plane could see how ridiculous he looked. This wasn't an embarrassing accident that someone caught him in and posted it for the world to see. His choice. He's an idiot.

He's an idiot because he's overweight?

 

[ogreenlee]

He's an idiot because he's overweight?

i think she's going on the fact that in his interview he said he didn't need more than one seat. i'd say if that is so, then either he's an idiot or selfish.

 

[declansdad]

I also don't think its wrong for airlines to require larger passengers to buy two seats. Weight is something that a person can control. Now if airlines require someone who is super tall to pay extra for a seat with more leg room in the same class they purchased, then thats wrong. Height you can't control.

even if you have an underlying problem that make it difficult to control your weight, if you don't fit in a seat, you don't fit.

 

[disykat]

He's an idiot because he's overweight?

Oh come on, you are so busy being defensive that you're not even listening here. No one has condemned this man for his weight. We are saying he needs to realize that he does not fit in a seat, so he needs to buy two. Trying to blame this on the airlines is ridiculous.

This picture is proof he does not fit in the sit. How can he claim otherwise?

 

[PrincessKsMom]

Oh come on, you are so busy being defensive that you're not even listening here. No one has condemned this man for his weight. We are saying he needs to realize that he does not fit in a seat, so he needs to buy two. Trying to blame this on the airlines is ridiculous.

This picture is proof he does not fit in the sit. How can he claim otherwise?

I agree he needed to purchase another seat. I also think the airline was at fault for ever having let him board the plane without discussing this with him. And I further believe the person who took this picture and leaked it to the world should be fired.

Also, the PP I quoted never mentioned the article. She simply stated:

"I agree with this. The man knew he was spilling over into the aisle in a major way. He knew the size of his behind and he knew that 100 people on the plane could see how ridiculous he looked. This wasn't an embarrassing accident that someone caught him in and posted it for the world to see. His choice. He's an idiot."

That's why I asked. I would have hated to have ASSUMED she was referencing his stance in the article without actually having mentioned the article.

 

[Aisling]

He's an idiot because he's overweight?

Not at all.

i think she's going on the fact that in his interview he said he didn't need more than one seat. i'd say if that is so, then either he's an idiot or selfish.

This is it exactly. He knows his rump size was WAY too big, and sitting like that on an airplane is just plain ridiculous. Common sense----get two seats to accommodate your behind!