Money Moral Dilemma: Should Andy complain about the Big Bob on his flight?

Alans_Goat

For all those people advocating weighing passengers then charging accordingly, that would cost to implement, cost passed on to you, so no savings there. Weighing passengers is full of pitfalls for the airlines, there are privacy issues, they're opening themselves to charges of discrimination, bad publicity etc. Frankly the first line of defence is the check-in staff, but would you like to be the person to tell somebody their too big?
For the person next to the 'POS' (ridiculous), complain discreetly, its not your fault or problem their big. Big carriers will tend to be better about this as will American carriers. Remember there is also a safety consideration, you will have to get past this person in an evacuation. If you can't move take the Aisle seat, at least you will be able to get up when you feel likeit and move about.
Big people, tell the airline, but don't stand for any rubbish, if they are dismissive hint that your condition is medical even if its not, they will not want to fall foul of disability legislation. See if you can do a deal on two seats or a business class seat. If the flights under booked an empty seat sold for half price is ok by them.
While I'm here how about a forum on flight etiquette. Things like warning the person behind when you recline your seat.

pjshaw

I had exactly this problem on a trip from the UK to Australia, via San Francisco - never mind your paltry 10-12 hour journeys, now we're talking seriously long haul!!! 22-24 hours!

The woman was obese and smelt bad. My wife was 5 months pregnant and we had specifically asked for an aisle seat because she'd be up and down going to the toilet a lot, as pregnant woman do. Anyway, they messed up and it turned out we were were in a cluster of three seats with the fat woman on the aisle. I don't see how it could have been any worse.

We had a quiet word with the cabin crew, away from the our seats, but they said the plane was full so we couldn't move anywhere else. We explained that the situation wasn't really acceptable (she was literally spilling over onto our seats) so they had a word with the woman. She refused to move, claiming she too would need to be getting up to go to the toilet a lot (which she didn't - she might have got up once or twice during the entire flight). To top it all off, the cabin crew accused us of being 'sizest'!!!

I timed how long it took her to get up on one of the many occasions my wife needed to go to the toilet - nearly 2 minutes to squeeze herself out of the seat! Thank god an emergency evacuation was't required!

Anyway the airline was United (I would NEVER use them again) and when I complained they offered a 10% discount on my next flight, to be used within a year.

I pointed out my wife was 5 months pregnant and we'd spent a lot on this trip, so it was unlikely we'd be going back to America in the next 12 months.

They just said that was the best they could do. Appalling customer service in my opinion, considering they messed up out seat allocations at every step of the journey. We were supposed to have seats with extra legroom on the entire journey!


Paul.

mohthom

I have been in this situation, and it's very difficult to resolve without either causing offense or a very uncomfortable journey . . .

I think the real problem is applying a metric to the situation. How large is large (it's as big a problem with a burly builder as a passionate food lover or thyroid sufferer)? At what point do you have to say 'that's too much?' It's not going to work going on BMI because short fat people don't cause the same problems as tall fat people.

I absolutely agree that if people are charged for extra luggage, people should be charged for extra 'luggage.' A limit of (a generous) 100kg, above which you are charged X amount. Either that or - a less embarrasing alternative - weigh the passenger WITH their luggage and allow 120kg for the lot. I guess that still doesn't solve the problem of sitting next to a large person - just the airlines getting cashback!

Again it's indiscreet to ask how wide a passenger's hips/shoulders are when booking a flight. But, again with luggage, there's those cages you have to be able to fit your bags into. Theme parks have a similar thing with modern rollercoaster seats - but are sensible enough to pull people off rides when they don't fit! Surely a similar regime would benefit all air passengers, regardless of size - I don't imagine being squeezed into a seat so much smaller than you can be at all comfortable!

MohThoM

airtrack12000

You have paid money for a seat - not for part of a seat, therefore you should get some money back for such an un-comfortable compromising situation.

earwigging

This happened to a girlfriend travelling with Air New Zealand who found her seat arm had been removed during a stopover so that a clinically obese man could be accommodated - using half of her seat - for the 12-hour night flight. When she complained to the airline in writing, she was allegedly told that they did not discrimate against fat people. Has anyone else experienced anything like this?

cm233lh

Why can't you people use international measurement units so that everyone can understand you? Height is a distance from the floor to the top of your head. Distance is measured in metres. Weight is a proxy for mass, which is measured in kg. garyrjb is 1.93 m tall and weighs about 108 kg. Is that so difficult?

matimage

sad_gills_fan wrote: »

The thing that annoys me the most is when the people behind you stand up to move and pull back on your chair, then springboard you forward when they let go!!

I am guilty of this and I think you can lay the blame completely at the airlines door. If the seats were not so cramped together to make it impossible to stand between your seat and the seat in front without supporting yourself on the seat in front. Problem is multiplied when seat in front is reclined.

jennynoo

I recently flew back from the US and had to sit next to a very large lady. We had to lift the arm rest in-between us because she was so big, however she was so nice and friendly it made up for the lack of room. Actually when I though about it she made me feel less cramped than I did on the flight out when I was sitting between two men who both spread their legs as wide as they liked with no consideration for me.

mashmash_2

King_Drax_I wrote: »

Definitely. And if a person takes up more than one seat, they should pay for more than one seat. If I wanted two Mars bars, I'd expect to pay for two Mars bars. It should be the same for airline, bus, train, whatever seats.

But that assumes that you are paying for "a seat", rather than "a flight".
E.g., I too expect to pay for two Mars bars if I want two Mars bars, but I don't expect to pay twice as much as my brother when we go to the local All You Can Eat restaurant, and I eat twice as much as he does.

russellxena_2

I think its a problem with all public transport. Its Big Bob or BO Bob, Coughing Snotty nosed Bob or even non stop chatty Bob!! Wether your on a flight, bus train or the tube and theres not much you can do about it unless you have the money to go first class!

Cath
York