On airplane now, large woman spilling onto me!

[Phydeaux]

Just serves to wonder when airlines will begin charging fares based on the weight of the passenger and their baggage. I just don't understand why they haven't yet adopted this considering fuel costs are their primary expense. What are they waiting for?

 

[Ridewithme38]

Just serves to wonder when airlines will begin charging fares based on the weight of the passenger and their baggage. I just don't understand why they haven't yet adopted this considering fuel costs are their primary expense. What are they waiting for?

Thank you! I've often wondered what it would take for me to go on a diet....Turns out, that would work!

 

[DebBrown]

I would have a problem with this person being in the exit row. If she is not capable of getting out of her seat or possibly through the emergency exit, then she is a danger to everyone. As someone else mentioned, this comes up alot on FlyerTalk. No one wants to share their seat with the large person in the next seat. In our family, we have a healthy fear of being the one seated by a stranger.

Deb

 

[fillde]

Well, Heathpack, that was me sitting next to you. For your information, I don't have a weight problem, I have a height problem.

 

[squeeze]

I am genuinely sorry for your "flight plight", but I am also very grateful for the belly laugh you've provided; I almost wet my pants at your descriptions. If you're not a humor writer, you should be. :hysterical:

Seriously, after wiping away tears of laughter, I wholeheartedly agree with the observations above regarding the sorry state of our "entitled" society. The "oversize" issue entirely aside, the behavior so artfully described is symptomatic of a complete lack of awareness or any consideration for impact on others.

I completely agree!

I sure hope Ms. Heatpack had a pair of nose plugs with her.:rofl: :hysterical: :hysterical:

Sorry, Ms. Heatpack, but I can't imagine being in your position. Maybe you should have asked her if she was aware there was a bathroom on the plane.:annoyed:

Being squeezed out of your seat is one thing, but being stunk out is sure another.:hysterical: You gave me such a giggle that I was nearly in tears.:hysterical:

I sure hope you do write your letter and let us know what happens. At the very least, you deserve an apology.

 

[squeeze]

Well, Heathpack, that was me sitting next to you. For your information, I don't have a weight problem, I have a height problem.

...........and maybe you should get your colon checked. :ignore: (ha!)

 

[ScubaKat]

:hysterical: I loved your description of the situation.. I am sure it is not as funny sitting through it! :rofl: I can't stand flying these days.. We were stuck on a full flight with a 2 year old for 15 hours.. she had her own seat and the agent had booked us taking up 3 seats out of 4 in the middle of the plane so dd can sleep... it was booked so the middle seat between us was taken... The flight attendants offered the woman in the middle of us another seat and she turned it down?! I guess she hasn't had experience with a toddler moving non stop.. it was a long 15 hours.. :annoyed:

 

[vacationhopeful]

... Maybe you should have asked her if she was aware there was a bathroom on the plane.:annoyed: ..

Come on ,,,, she could NOT have fit into the bathroom. She must have been wearing adult diapers.:ignore:

 

[laurac260]

Just serves to wonder when airlines will begin charging fares based on the weight of the passenger and their baggage. I just don't understand why they haven't yet adopted this considering fuel costs are their primary expense. What are they waiting for?

When a plane falls from the sky because the completely full flight is completely full of obese people and their obese clothes and all the stuff they must drag on to the plane that the plane has exceeded it's load capacity....

THEN.... they will address the issue.


Until then......:deadhorse:

 

[easyrider]

If she expressed even a whiff of regret when I asked her to stop playing her video game.



H

Ok, y'all, I've tried to be tolerant.

To add insult to injury, she has also been farting up a storm.



H

Wouldn't the farting be a wiff of regret ??? :rofl: Thanks for the laugh !!

Bil

 

[DianeG]

Blame the airlines

Actually, I feel for all passengers in sardine class. Airlines have been relentlessly shrinking the space each of us occupies, reducing both seat pitch (down to 29"-31" from 31"-34") and seat width (down to 16"-17" from 17"-19"). So it's not just us getting bigger...

And the airlines are not being fair to the passengers who need two seats either... even if two seats are bought, there's no garantee that two seats *together* will be made available (or remain available), speaking from personal experience. I tried this once and will never go through that hassle again! To add insult to injury, I had a hard time getting reimbursed for the extra seat too, as I did have two boarding passes issued.

I don't need a seat belt extender, but I really do need a min. of 31"/17". And if I'm seated next to a guy, I also "automatically" lose the use of the armrest. So I try as best I can to book an aisle seat and/or a premium seat. I recently heard of an airline (in Europe, I think) that will let two people book and pay for the 3 seats in a 3/3 configuration. Yeahhh - that DH & I would be willing to do!

There's no easy answer on our end, except being civil and respectful to our fellow sardines. As Ron said, flying has become the most difficult and unpleasant part of our vacations.

 

[Courts]

The entitlement attitude shown by some really gets the best of me at times. When a gravitationally challanged person feels they have the right to intrude on another person paid for space, just because they're a big person, it really ticks me off. I guess this flyer feels that because they're big, they simply deserve more space.

I once witnessed a man I would estimate at 400 lbs thow a fit on a NWA flight because he had a coach seat and they refused to bump him up to first class. He was throwing a temper tantrum and threatening legal action because he couldn't fit in a standard seat so it was NWA's responsiblity to put him in first class. He didn't seem to understand that first class was already full. He was demanding they bump someone back to his rear of the plane coach seat so he could have the seat they paid for or earned with their FF miles.

We have become an entitlement society. Nothing is our fault and if something goes wrong, someone else must pay.

I totally agree.

The space you pay for is your own personal space and if another person tries to "take" part of your space it is IMO "stealing" from you.

THAT person needs to purchase his /her own extra space if they need more. :annoyed:

.

 

[dioxide45]

I totally agree.

The space you pay for is your own personal space and if another person tries to "take" part of your space it is IMO "stealing" from you.

THAT person needs to purchase his /her own extra space if they need more. :annoyed:

.

The problem with the whole setup is that to purchase more space, one must buy twice as much when they only need 10% more. Perhaps the airlines could add wider seats and charge more for these. Perhaps two seats where there are normally three, or four where there are normally five. This way a passenger of size could buy a wider seat or two could buy them separately. The problem is that skinny people would buy them up for more space too. Everyone wants more space.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

The problem with the whole setup is that to purchase more space, one must buy twice as much when they only need 10% more. Perhaps the airlines could add wider seats and charge more for these. Perhaps two seats where there are normally three, or four where there are normally five. This way a passenger of size could buy a wider seat or two could buy them separately. The problem is that skinny people would buy them up for more space too. Everyone wants more space.

The reason that doesn't work is because unless there is some kind of mechanism to require that more amply sized people buy those seats, most of the people who need the extra room will still buy the cheaper seat and squeeze themselves into that seat.

Most of those seats that offer more room would simply be purchased by travelers of all kinds who are willing to pay more to have more room. You wind up with something similar to business class.

 

[am1]

The problem with the whole setup is that to purchase more space, one must buy twice as much when they only need 10% more. Perhaps the airlines could add wider seats and charge more for these. Perhaps two seats where there are normally three, or four where there are normally five. This way a passenger of size could buy a wider seat or two could buy them separately. The problem is that skinny people would buy them up for more space too. Everyone wants more space.

I believe that is first class.

But yes the airlines could do more to accommodate. Different sized seating for different pricing. There should be no need for someone to have to pay full fare for two seats. Full fare for one seat and then a lessor amount for the second seat.

Thankfully I have never had an issue with someone stealing my space.

 

[PStreet1]

I believe that is first class.

But yes the airlines could do more to accommodate. Different sized seating for different pricing. There should be no need for someone to have to pay full fare for two seatsI don't think there is any justification for asking the airline to accept less money for a seat simply because the person purchasing the seat is "of size." The airlines are selling seats at a specific price because that's what works for their business model. They aren't in business to provide charity.. Full fare for one seat and then a lessor amount for the second seat.

Thankfully I have never had an issue with someone stealing my space.

There's no question that the issue is a difficult one--and when you are the one being intruded upon, it is more than irritating.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

I believe that is first class.

But yes the airlines could do more to accommodate. Different sized seating for different pricing. There should be no need for someone to have to pay full fare for two seats. Full fare for one seat and then a lessor amount for the second seat.

Thankfully I have never had an issue with someone stealing my space.

But unless the airline actually forces people to buy the seat with more space it won't work. Many large passengers will simply continue to buy the lowest price ticket they can and wedge themselves into the seat.

Certainly there are some who will pay extra, but not that many.

 

[dioxide45]

I believe that is first class.

The problem is that first class is priced far more than twice the price. So purchasing two seats, where only one and a quarter is needed is a waste.

The reason that doesn't work is because unless there is some kind of mechanism to require that more amply sized people buy those seats, most of the people who need the extra room will still buy the cheaper seat and squeeze themselves into that seat.

Most of those seats that offer more room would simply be purchased by travelers of all kinds who are willing to pay more to have more room. You wind up with something similar to business class.

I agree, the problem is that those that don't need the space would buy those seats for the extra room and those that do would still try to buy the cheapest seat and squeeze in. There is no perfect solution.

The problem with economy plus type arrangements is all they provide is more legroom when really it is width that is also needed in many cases. The problem is that the setup of many aircraft is not conducive to having three or four classes of seating where width rules. You can put five across where six would normally go, but when you switch to the class where it is six across, the isles don't line up and it becomes a hazard in event of emergency.

We could go the route that Canada did where it is a one person one seat rule and the airlines have to accommodate for the customers of size. The problem with that is that everyone's airfare goes up, not just those needing the extra room.

 

[am1]

Expenses are a lot less if someone is just needing the second seat for more space. Plus the other passengers will enjoy it. More likely the people that need a second seat will purchase one. It is better than the current system.

 

[Ridewithme38]

Expenses are a lot less if someone is just needing the second seat for more space. Plus the other passengers will enjoy it. More likely the people that need a second seat will purchase one. It is better than the current system.

Capitalism is an economic system, not a government system, so i hope this is ok to say...

This is the Main problem with Capitalism...The Airlines will continue to down size the seats as long as they can raise their profits...there's no thought to the comfort or the care of the actual people, just the profit line...

Expenses maybe less for someone just buying the seat for comfort and it will help all the other people be more comfortable...But if they reduce the cost of that seat, thats money off their bottom end....This can't happen in a Capitalistic system, money comes before everything with Capitalism

 

[Patri]

Beats socialism.

 

[pjrose]

...But if they reduce the cost of that seat, thats money off their bottom end....

Uhhh.....did you mean to say bottom LINE, or bottom END? Bottom END is of course particularly relevant to this conversation....

Capitalism is an economic system....This can't happen in a Capitalistic system, money comes before everything with Capitalism

Beats socialism.

I'm not going to TOUCH that one.....

 

[ronparise]

Beats socialism.

maybe so... but if you you dont like socialism, what are you doing with timeshares?

Here is a definition of Socialism from Wikipedia

Socialism /ˈsoʊʃəlɪzəm/ is an economic system characterised by social ownership and control of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy,[1] and a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises, common ownership, direct public ownership or autonomous state enterprises

common ownership; cooperative enterprise; cooperative management....sounds an awful lot like timeshares to me

The PCCs.... they do capitalism right

 

[PStreet1]

Expenses are a lot less if someone is just needing the second seat for more space. Plus the other passengers will enjoy it. More likely the people that need a second seat will purchase one. It is better than the current system.

What expenses are reduced? One can of coke and one package of some sort of snack? The gasoline required to haul a 200 pound person plus 50 pounds of luggage? I don't see a reduction of any size for them, and requiring them to sell a seat at a loss is totally unfair to the corporation. They are profit making entities, not charities.

For the airlines, it is definitely not better than the current system. For the passengers, maybe--only if the "of size" passenger is willing to pay more, and I, like others who have posted, would bet money that most wouldn't. The people who might pay more are the more normally sized persons who have a bit of extra cash.

 

[Courts]

One airline is doing something about the situation - Southwest

http://www.southwest.com/html/customer-service/extra-seat/index-pol.html


These rules are controversial, but Southwest has stood by its policy despite several unsuccessful lawsuits against it.

.