Overweight man sues airline.....?

Question

because they made him pay for a second seat. what would happen if bus companies started charging big people for taking up 2 seats. Your thoughts please.......

Answer 1

If the fat Bastard wins then it is a joke. I think if he expects to take up 2 seats then he should pay for it by buying 2 tickets..only fair to others crammed beside the jerk. In the future the airlines should send these tubs of lard to the cargo holding area and ship them via container ship or freight train to their destinations. I am tall and even although average build and weight within the range for my height I had the misforune to sit beside a really fat guy on a flight to the UK and this big motormouth done nothing but ***** about the seats and how uncomfortable they were. He made the stewardess cry with all the complaints and name calling he threw at her about seats and food and slow service. I finally lost it and told the jerk that if he did not shut the F888 up I would personally drop his oversized fat *** into the cargo area where the animal should have been due to his size. I was hauled to the captains attention as he complained about me and the captain thanked me as this a-hole was a regular on this flight and always bitched while on business trips. I went back to my seat and I'm regular passenger too & if I ever seen him ***** again I would drop him where he is, he was as quiet as a mouse,the crew all thanked me personally and I still see some of them occasionally in the air and smiles galore and a welcome aboard is a sure thing and service abounds me even in turbulence when others are waiting to get a drink.

Answer 2

This is a very difficult one. You have to create seat size to accommodate say, 95% of the population with reasonable comfort. Those on the margins, will simply have to be a little more uncomfortable than the average person, and try like hell to avoid invading somebody else's seat area. You obviously can't create seats of such size that almost anyone could fit into them. That would reduce airline capacity, and most of the space would be wasted. The only other thing I can think of is to schedule seating according to size; ie. small and large sit next to each other. That wouldn't be popular either, and almost certainly impracticable. Another problem is, that large people are not necessarily fat. The thing about bus seats is that journeys are usually of shorter time duration. The airline also has to consider the discomfort caused to passengers having to travel with large people. Could they be made to travel business class. I am starting to see them as a damn nuisance, after all, if you post a parcel, you get charged by weight/size. The answer might be to send them by sea, or put them in the hold. It's a kind of disability, isn't it? There, I have said it now, I have put them in a victim group. After all, wheelchairs are allowed on board. Large people, know that they are large, why can't they take some responsibility, instead of simply presenting themselves, and implying I'm now your problem. Don't they feel a little guilty? Damn nuisances.

Answer 3

I have to agree with the airline. I think it is unfortunate for the overweight person but he does take up more room that a normal sized person. He can't fit between the armrests so must raise the armrest which ususally serves as a physical barrier between me and him. Those seats aren't very big to begin with and then you have someone who is oversized for the seat sitting next to you. That leaves me squashed against the bulkhead. Not fair for me is it? Especially since I paid for a whole seat not half of one. I do believe that airlines should make some effort to accomodate these people. Maybe deeply discount the second seat.

Answer 4

I think that perfectly fair. If he weighs the same as two people then he should pay for two seats. after all, air lines calculate fuel on weight so if people on board are heavier, its going to cost more in fuel. I think the argument is over political connectedness more than anything. In the news article on Yahoo the man in question seems quite offended that he's been called "fat" and "enormous"!! I mean, what does he want to be called, slim?! Its ridiculous. I think to solve the problem airlines should sent clear guidelines on the weight / size you have to be to pay for two seats. That way people can measure themselves at home and avoid humiliation. Airlines can protect themselves from legal cases too if people are made aware of this prior to attempting to fly.

Answer 5

It's been airline policy for YEARS that people of a certain size had to pay for an extra ticket. They are taking up the extra seat, aren't they? Now, while I am sympathetic towards over weight people, I also understand that most of them are that way because of bad eating habits (I recently watched a family member lose 214 lbs, along with most of America). And while it is a difficult task to change your life like that, it is possible. If they want to continue eating in a way that will keep them the size they are, or get even bigger, then they have to deal with all the consequences that come along with it. It's called taking responsibility for your actions. This is one of the responsibilities.

Answer 6

Fact of life is, people are getting bigger. I don't think he's sueing so much for the charge of a second seat, which is only fair if he was taking it up, what he's sueing more for is the humiliation suffered. Which I think is fair. Imagine if you were to be measured infront of an airport full of people and then told you're too fat for a single seat. There were better ways to deal with the situation, take him aside to a private area and explain the situation to him.

There will soon come a time where airlines will have to increase the size of their seats to accomodate larger people.

Answer 7

Yes, good idea they should pay more. Maybe they could sell tickets by weight? It's kind of hard to come up with a simple and enforceable plan though.

Did you ever measure the width of a seat though? Like at a stadium, concert hall, or plane? The measurement I seem to get is around 18". What adult, especially male, is only 18" across at the shoulders? So, even if your butt fits into the seat, you will be jostling at shoulder height for room. Blame it on profiteers.

Answer 8

hmmmm ..... bit controversial this one isn't it?! i can see why the airline did it at the end of the day they could have used that seat for someone else.... but buses?! i think there would be an uproar of disapproval amongst the overweight community but again they would n't be out of their rights to charge them for taking 2 spaces i do think it would be a bit extreme though.

what annoys me the most is when people use up a seat with all their luggage - this happened to me on the train recently and loads of people were having to stand and i asked this woman to move her bags off the seat so i could sit instead of stand (the next stop was 20mins away as well) and she moaned a bucket which really got on my wick and i pointed out to her that i had paid for a seat and did she have an extra ticket for the bags she had?

she moved them and i sat. different but same sorta thing so i s'pose you should pay for what you get.

Answer 9

Did he sue successfully? I hope not, I think that if one does use up two seats then one must pay for them both, like if I parked my car with a trailer on the back then I ought to pay for the other parking spot I used, it's manners. We can't make the whole world twice the size for those poor overwight people, or the thin ones'll complain that they are paying twice the price without needing to.

Answer 10

Lets put a scale up at the front of the bus and have people pay per lb. Use good ol' capitalism to motivate some sliming down out there!