This woman seated between two obese people is awful but so are they for not buying the extra seat.
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Anonymous
They need to nurse on takeoff and landing so their ears don't hurt. Otherwise they'd scream. |
Anonymous
This happens to my dad a lot of the time as well. He's a big guy (6'5" and probably 275 if not 300lbs, honestly) and will buy the seat next to him, usually even if travelling with my mom or another family member just so he can be more comfortable. It allows him to turn his body just a bit to give him a smidge more legroom. As above, most times a flight attendant will come to him and say something like, "sir, due to the overbooked status of this flight, we need to give this empty seat to another passenger. The airline will reimburse you the cost of the ticket plus $xxx." He has, however, been able to refuse a few times. It really depends on the airline and/or the flight attendant. Some will get an attitude and say things like "I really don't understand why you are being this difficult, sir" which seems to be the magic word. It's like if they say "being difficult" outloud, it gives them more leverage to kick you off. Kind of like how a cop just has to say they smell weed and they have the right to search your car. I remember one instance about 8 years ago because I was around 18, traveling with my dad, and still in my 'my parents are so mortifying' stage. He was asked to give up the empty middle seat (this was a 4 seat row - him in aisle, empty, me, lady beside me on other aisle). He refused because he gave up the empty seat on the flight to our destination and his legs cramped so badly that they were sore for the first few days of our vacation. The flight attendant tried again and offered more points or vouchers or something and again, he refused. She called over another flight attendant (male) to try and he even started dropping the "sir, we may have to ask you to exit this flight and take a later flight if you keep being difficult" and my dad finally said, "look, I'm not giving it up. I bought, it's mine. Either drop it and let's get on with this flight or take me off this one and guarantee me that I'll get an empty seat on my next flight." I was sinking lower and lower in my seat out of embarrassment. They left, there was some back and forth talk, some radio talk, and then some supervisor boarded and told my dad that he could guarantee an upgrade and empty seat if he would exit the plane and go later. I don't know if they knew my seat was attached to his or not, but I know he kept negotiating and got a crapload of miles and money from them for us both getting off and taking a flight 6 hours later. It was the first and only time I've ever flown first class. Airlines sucks. People suck. Take the train! That's my motto. |
Anonymous
Ageeed and I am not at all surprised at the airlines attirude. Every flight I’ve been on has been at full capacity in the last year and if was Delta - overbooked. The airlines are making the seats smaller, the passengers more uncomfortable and lining their pockets. |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
Agree, thanks for sharing! Definitely adds a perspective I hadn’t thought of before. We do need a passenger bill of rights. Seats need to be bigger. Im short so don’t have a problem but my husband is long and his legs are always crunched. I will always blame the airlines for these problems. When tired grouchy people are smooshed together for hours nothing good will come of it. |
Anonymous
| Maybe they need seat options. Like some seats are wider, some have more leg room, some are just cheap. I personally wouldn't mind standing like Ryan Air proposed. |
Anonymous
I've been thinking the exact same thing. |
Anonymous
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The nurse was the one calling the squished woman "b*tch". Nothing that the squished woman said had to be bleeped out.
I don't think that any of these three people handled the situation well. They were all three incredibly rude. But the rudeness was premeditated on the part of the obese passengers. Why didn't one of them offer to sit in the middle seat to spare the woman from being squished from both sides? They knew darned well that no one would want to sit there and they knew it before they boarded that plane. They suck. And the rude lady sucked for not politely asking an attendant to help find her another seat. |
Anonymous
Bottles and pacifiers work just as well. And I'd rather a screaming infant than a projectile infant. |
Anonymous
A pacifier will also solve that problem. |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
I’m normal sized (5’7”, normal BMI) and would consider buying a bigger/wider seat if they were offered. I feel squished I can imagine how much worse it is for others. |
Anonymous
| I can’t believe nobody has mentioned this, but most airlines, including United, actually have an obesity policy that states that if you are of a certain size, you should book an extra seat. If you don’t, you will be charged for the seat or have to rebook if one isn’t available. United’s specifically says that “the additional seat must be available without down grading or unseating another customer.” If you ever get into a situation like this, Google it and insist that the airline on her it’s |
Anonymous
| Honor its policy |
Anonymous
Same - average weight guy but 6ft tall. I would pay 20% more for a wider seat because the seats on planes are just ridiculously tight |