MSNBC: Petite woman bumped from plane for hefty passenger
Penny
Petite woman bumped from plane for hefty passenger
5-foot-4 woman lost her seat so that late-arriving passenger could have two
by Michael Inbar
TODAYshow.com contributor
updated 7/26/2010 12:50:49 PM ET
It’s irritating enough to get bumped from a flight. If you are already
seated on that flight, having to walk off the plane adds a little
indignity.
But to be told to leave a plane because a too-large passenger needs two
seats? It turned into a seeing-red, head-scratching moment for one frequent
flyer.
A female sales rep (who requested anonymity in interviews) revealed her
strange tale to the Sacramento Bee, relating how she was asked to vacate
her seat aboard a Southwest Airlines flight shortly before the plane was
set to leave Las Vegas for Sacramento last week.
The woman, a petite 5-foot-4, 110 pounds, said she was flying standby when
agents sold her the last seat available on the plane. She had already
stowed her bags and was settling into her seat when an attendant told her
she had to leave immediately.
When she was told her seat was needed because a late-arriving passenger’s
girth was too wide for just one, she had some questions.
“It didn’t seem right that I should leave to accommodate someone who had
only paid for one seat,” the woman told the Sacramento Bee. But she was
even more upset because, she said, airline staff acted rudely and
inconsiderately when she asked for a further explanation.
Southwest regrets how the situation was handled, according to airline
spokeswoman Marilee McInnis. “We know that this was awkward and we should
have handled it better,” she told the Sacramento Bee.
While saying the airline plans to apologize to the bumped passenger,
McInnis said Southwest staff may have acted more swiftly than usual in
booting her because the overweight passenger in question was only 14 and
they were trying to spare the teen embarrassment.
Southwest Airlines has been kicking up controversy about weighty issues
lately — earlier this year, renowned “Clerks" director/actor Kevin Smith
was bumped from a Southwest flight because he was too big to fit into one
seat.
Checkmate
Checkmate. Oh, yeah... Veronica says I should also mention that Penny said the
following:
>
> http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/38414189/ns/today-todaytravel/
>
> Petite woman bumped from plane for hefty passenger
>
> 5-foot-4 woman lost her seat so that late-arriving passenger could have two
>
> by Michael Inbar
> TODAYshow.com contributor
> updated 7/26/2010 12:50:49 PM ET
>
> seated on that flight, having to walk off the plane adds a little
> indignity.
>
> But to be told to leave a plane because a too-large passenger needs two
> seats? It turned into a seeing-red, head-scratching moment for one frequent
> flyer.
>
> A female sales rep (who requested anonymity in interviews) revealed her
> strange tale to the Sacramento Bee, relating how she was asked to vacate
> her seat aboard a Southwest Airlines flight shortly before the plane was
> set to leave Las Vegas for Sacramento last week.
>
> The woman, a petite 5-foot-4, 110 pounds, said she was flying standby when
> agents sold her the last seat available on the plane. She had already
> stowed her bags and was settling into her seat when an attendant told her
> she had to leave immediately.
>
> girth was too wide for just one, she had some questions.
>
> only paid for one seat,? the woman told the Sacramento Bee. But she was
> even more upset because, she said, airline staff acted rudely and
> inconsiderately when she asked for a further explanation.
>
> Southwest regrets how the situation was handled, according to airline
> have handled it better,? she told the Sacramento Bee.
>
> While saying the airline plans to apologize to the bumped passenger,
> McInnis said Southwest staff may have acted more swiftly than usual in
> booting her because the overweight passenger in question was only 14 and
> they were trying to spare the teen embarrassment.
>
> Southwest Airlines has been kicking up controversy about weighty issues
> was bumped from a Southwest flight because he was too big to fit into one
> seat.
Only 14, and already a fat slob... disgusting. Also, if the passenger was late
enough that they reassigned her seat to a standby passenger, that decision
should have been irreversible. If you can't get there on time, that's on you.
--
Checkmate
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Kurt Ullman
Checkmate <Lunati...@The.Edge> wrote:
> Only 14, and already a fat slob... disgusting. Also, if the passenger was
> late
> enough that they reassigned her seat to a standby passenger, that decision
> should have been irreversible. If you can't get there on time, that's on
> you.
Yeah but since he seemed to be flying alone, I am sure that SW did not
want the liability associated with keeping an eye on the 14 y/o (let
alone the cost of feeding him) until the next flight.
--
I want to find a voracious, small-minded predator
and name it after the IRS.
Robert Bakker, paleontologist
h
"Checkmate" <Lunati...@The.Edge> wrote in message
news:MPG.26b7b61c3...@news.alt.net...
Umm,. she was already in the seat. How could that be trumped by the "fat
slob"?
My personal feeling is: don't fit in the seat? Buy two seats or don't fly.
Actually, you should just stay home not eating until you fit into one seat.
But that's just me. I'm a retired athlete, but I've always been short and
"sturdy". I'm female, 50s, 5'5", bust 40", waist 29", hips 40", with a
current body fat percentage of 12%, but my shoulders are 18" across. That's
the only really uncomfy bit on a plane. There's NO PLACE to put my shoulders
unless I slouch. I can do that for awhile, but not for a flight over 8
hours. I really don't have a leg room problem because I only bring a small
carryon which, if there's no room overhead, can easily fit to one side under
seat so I still can stretch my legs.
I have NO IDEA what normal sized males do, since most of the men for whom I
make clothes have 17-19" shoulders, so clearly I am not the only person who
has this problem. Yet, I realize that this is MY PROBLEM, not the airlines'.
If you can't fit in a regular airplane seat, either buy two or stay home and
starve yourself until you can. Or, in my case, get an aisle seat and hang
your extra shoulder girth into the aisle. Not exactly rocket science.
Lady Veteran
wrote:
>
>"Checkmate" <Lunati...@The.Edge> wrote in message
>news:MPG.26b7b61c3...@news.alt.net...
>> Warning! Always wear ANSI approved safety goggles when reading posts by
>> Checkmate. Oh, yeah... Veronica says I should also mention that Penny
>> said the
>> following:
>>>
>>> http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/38414189/ns/today-todaytravel/
>>>
>>>
>>> The woman, a petite 5-foot-4, 110 pounds, said she was flying standby
She was flying standby
>>> When she was told her seat was needed because a late-arriving passenger?s
>>> girth was too wide for just one, she had some questions.
This passenger had already purchased two seats.
>>
>> Only 14, and already a fat slob... disgusting.
Yes you are. You know NOTHING about this person.
I am glad you are a COWARD in real life. I would not want to hear your
whining.
LV
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Mxsmanic
> The woman, a petite 5-foot-4, 110 pounds ...
For what it's worth, the average height for women in the U.S. is 5 feet 4
inches, so she's not petite.
> ... because the overweight passenger in question was only 14 and
> they were trying to spare the teen embarrassment.
Sparing the teen embarrassment will result in her weighing about three times
as much when she's 35, just before she dies of diabetic complications and
cardiovascular disease.
Checkmate
the following:
>
> Penny writes:
>
> > The woman, a petite 5-foot-4, 110 pounds ...
>
> For what it's worth, the average height for women in the U.S. is 5 feet 4
> inches, so she's not petite.
If she was 5'4" and weighed 400 pounds, she certainly wouldn't be petite.
> > ... because the overweight passenger in question was only 14 and
> > they were trying to spare the teen embarrassment.
>
> Sparing the teen embarrassment will result in her weighing about three times
> as much when she's 35, just before she dies of diabetic complications and
> cardiovascular disease.
--
Jeff Thies
> On Mon, 26 Jul 2010 19:55:33 -0400, "h" <tmc...@searchmachine.com>
> wrote:
>
>> "Checkmate" <Lunati...@The.Edge> wrote in message
>> news:MPG.26b7b61c3...@news.alt.net...
>>> Warning! Always wear ANSI approved safety goggles when reading posts by
>>> Checkmate. Oh, yeah... Veronica says I should also mention that Penny
>>> said the
>>> following:
>>>> http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/38414189/ns/today-todaytravel/
>>>>
>
>>>> The woman, a petite 5-foot-4, 110 pounds, said she was flying standby
>
> She was flying standby
>
>>>> When she was told her seat was needed because a late-arriving passenger?s
>>>> girth was too wide for just one, she had some questions.
>
> This passenger had already purchased two seats.
No. That is wrong.
Southwest generally requires large passengers to buy two tickets. But in
this case, the child's parents had purchased only one.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20011748-10391704.html
No doubt, that is where the problem arose.
Myself, I'm not thinking too well of the obese traveling. I got pinned
into my seat recently by a fatty who took the adjacent seat and part of
mine.
Jeff
Lady Veteran
wrote:
So the fat should not travel? I think that buying two seats is more
than a decent solution to the problem. The responsible fat person will
buy two seats or travel first class where the seats are bigger.
Those who don't should be bumped. However this is for the EXTREMELY
fat person, not someone who just looks that way.
SteveHorn[Caduceus]ForgingAsGrosvenor
MSNBC: Petite woman bumped from plane for hefty passenger
Most sensible airlines, REFUSE TO ALLOW late-arrivibg passengers to board -
usually 20 minutes before taking off.
In other wordsd, lardbuckets should not have been allowed boarding, let alone
forcing an already boarded passengerr out of her seat.
Jeff Thies
I have no problem whatsoever for anyone who buys two seats. I have a
problem when they take up more than one, when they are only entitled to one.
This kid only bought one seat. Not his/her fault, but the parents who
no doubt were trying to save money. Perhaps they did not even know she
would need two. It's all rather complex with a young girl traveling
alone, stewardesses who are uninformative, and a customer who just
doesn't want to me jerked around. In an environment where the airline
has been harshly criticized for doing the opposite. We don't even know
how fat this girl is.
To make a blanket assumption on right and wrong in this case, I find
to be too republican for my taste.
Jeff
>
> LV
>
aemeijers
Some of them hang on for an amazingly long time. There is one in my
office, probably around my age (early 50s) that has to weigh twice what
I do, and I'm no lightweight, and am close to a foot taller. First met
her 30 years ago when I started, when she was maybe 75 pounds lighter.
ISTR the clinical term is 'morbidly obese'. I never expected her to make
it past 40.
But yeah, 14 and fat is still mostly the parent's fault. A fat 14 was,
in all odds, at least a chunky 8 year old. In my experience, fat kids,
more often than not, have fat parents, and get their dietary/exercise
habits from them. So the parents are in denial that the kid has a
problem, and usually have plenty of crap food around the house.
And save your flames- I am borderline fat myself (Just a big gut,
thankfully), so I know what it is like to be food-dependent, with a
mother with too many kids who used food to shut us up so she could get
some work done. But at least I'm not sliding any further into the hole,
and occasionally make it a little ways back up the hill.
--
aem sends...
--
aem sends....
Gordon Burditt
>
>For what it's worth, the average height for women in the U.S. is 5 feet 4
>inches, so she's not petite.
>
>> ... because the overweight passenger in question was only 14 and
>> they were trying to spare the teen embarrassment.
What kind of ticket did the teen have? The passenger bumped was
flying standby. I'm guessing that you can't get child-flying-alone
standby tickets. The teen might have been late for a number of
reasons not his fault, such as a connecting flight being late, or
the airline screwed up in getting him to the connecting flight on
time.
>Sparing the teen embarrassment will result in her weighing about three times
>as much when she's 35, just before she dies of diabetic complications and
>cardiovascular disease.
Does it also give him a sex-change operation? The teen in question was
14 and *male*. It's also unclear that much of the embarrassment had
anything to do with his weight.
Mxsmanic
> Does it also give him a sex-change operation? The teen in question was
> 14 and *male*.
All of the sources I've seen refer to the fat teenager as female.
Kurt Ullman
gor...@hammy.burditt.org (Gordon Burditt) wrote:
> >Sparing the teen embarrassment will result in her weighing about three times
> >as much when she's 35, just before she dies of diabetic complications and
> >cardiovascular disease.
>
> Does it also give him a sex-change operation? The teen in question was
> 14 and *male*. It's also unclear that much of the embarrassment had
> anything to do with his weight.
There are two empty seats, only one new passenger, but the woman gets
kicked out anyway so the young passenger can have both. How does that
relate to ANYTHING other than weight??