How Fat is Too Fat to Fly?
Gandolf Parker
us-airline/story?id=9227535
How Fat is Too Fat to Fly?
This Man Hardly Looks Comfortable on the Airplane and Surely Isn't Seated
Safely
By SCOTT MAYEROWITZ
Dec. 2, 2009�
We all know that airline seats are tiny to say the least. But when an
overweight passenger squeezes into one seat, the phrase cramped takes on a
whole new meaning.
A photo circulating on the Internet has rekindled the debate over
passengers that some consider "too fat to fly."
In the photo, allegedly taken by an American Airlines flight attendant, a
very large man is spilling out over his armrest (he actually appears to be
sitting on it) and filling half of the aisle. Not only does it look really
uncomfortable for the passenger -- and the passenger next to him -- but it
also seems like a safety hazard.
Kieran Daly of the aviation blog Flightglobal.com said in a post: "This is
sent to me with the absolute assurance that it's a genuine picture taken by
a flight attendant at American Airlines."
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Daly writes that he doesn't know what "the actual outcome was, but it seems
unimaginable that he was allowed to fly in the end."
There was no further information about who the flight attendant might be or
whether the man was asked to move before the flight took off.
American Airlines spokesman Tim Smith said the airline cannot verify the
authenticity of the photograph or know who might have taken it. He added
that the airline has a policy that "tries to be flexible for passengers of
size."
"Certainly no passenger would ever be allowed to fly in any way that
obstructs the aisles of the aircraft," Smith wrote in an e-mail to
ABCNews.com. "It is very obvious in the photo that the aircraft is not
in-flight at the time the photo was taken -- other passengers are still
boarding and several overhead bins are still open."
American, like most other airlines, has a policy for larger passengers.
Roughly speaking, most airlines try to make accommodations for passengers
if the person's body is large enough that it prevents the armrest between
the seats from being fully lowered.
American tries not to charge passengers for an extra seat unless there are
simply no other options.
If the flight is not full, American tries to seat the passenger in two
adjacent seats. Otherwise, the airline tries to book the person on another
flight. If there is no other available flight or the passenger needs to be
on that flight for scheduling reasons, the airline will sometimes book and
charge the person for two seats.
The airline said each situation is handled individually on a case-by-case
basis.
Too Fat to Fly?
The Federal Aviation Administration also has rules about larger passengers:
All passengers must wear seat belts, a passenger cannot be seated in an
emergency exit row seat if a seatbelt extension is required, and no aisle
may be blocked by a passenger or bags in case of an emergency.
"I think most airlines have it right with a policy of armrests being able
to come all the way down for oversized passengers and requiring a second
ticket purchase if not, while re-accommodating and refunding the second
ticket if two seats are open at departure time," said Rick Seaney, CEO of
travel site FareCompare.com and an ABCNews.com columnist. "That is until
such point when being oversized is considered a disability."
Seaney said the issue boils down to cost and enforcement.
"Oversized passengers don't want to pay ahead of time for two tickets and
hope/wait for a refund," Seaney said. "Turning gate agents and flight
attendants into seat airspace judge and juries isn't likely what they
signed up for, not to mention seatmates, who typically only have to worry
about who is going to get the elbow rest."
Anne Banas, executive editor of SmarterTravel.com, added that "airlines
need to clearly communicate these policies to the consumers up front and
enforce them, as well as offer viable alternatives for overweight
passengers such as the ability to purchase a low-cost second seat."
John Kulp
because there aren't any more.
On 4 Dec 2009 21:53:07 -0000, gan...@most.of.my.favorite.sites
Lady Veteran
(Gandolf Parker) wrote:
You guys need new material. You have beaten this subject to death.
People are not going to get smaller just because you say they should.
You also seem to fail to pick up on the fact that this man is three
heads taller than anyone around him. That doesn't make him obese.
LV
"I rode a tank and held a general's rank
When the blitzkrieg raged and the bodies stank."
---Sympathy for the Devil-The Rolling Stones
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illegal to kill them."
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Carol Eskra
flight was east coast to west and not very pleasant.
I am retired from a major carrier, and we had a very obese passenger who
could not fit into the lavatory. She releived herself in the air
sickness bag while the f/a held up a blanket trying to give her a little
privacy. I was told the aircraft cleaners had their work cut out for
them. No way would the man in the photo be able to use the lavatory, so
hope he has good kidneys.