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Passenger sues American Airlines for sitting between fatties for 14 hours

Bamabuzzard

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I hardly fly but had an encounter at a QuickCare Pediatric clinic with an obese nurse that was highly uncomfortable a few weeks ago. One of my kids started running 101 degree fever during the weekend and our regular doctor's office was closed. So my only option was to take him to the Quick Care Pediatric clinic. We check in, sit in the waiting area, then get called back to an office where a nurse takes his temp, blood pressure, gets specific information on symptoms etc. Then takes us back to wait on the doctor. The nurse who called us back was no less than 300 lbs and she didn't carry it well. She takes us in this small office where she had to move in and out from behind a desk to check my son's vitals then get back to the desk and key in the information. She was so fat I literally had to stand in the hall and look into the office so there would be room for her to move around. She kept saying "I don't know why they make these offices so small?". In my mind I'm like "The problem isn't the size of the office sweetheart. It's the size of you that's the problem." She was one of those who had the backward "lean" when she walked and excessively heavy breathing.
 
MattinBama

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Man.. fattie bashing season on Tidefans is here again already? It always seems to sneak up on me each year.
 
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64met

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I travel every week on American Airlines and have flown nearly 4 million miles. I can say with 100% certainty it's not only the displeasure of sitting next to an obese person, but it's also the constant bumping of shoulders, legs, etc as they try to make their way down the aisle. I find it ironic, the same obese people on flights are the same ones shoving food in their mouth and washing it down with a coke! They are not only large, but they sweat badly and literally are struggling until they sit down.

I agree, people who need an extension belt absolutely should have to pay for two seats.
 
DzynKingRTR

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64met said:
I travel every week on American Airlines and have flown nearly 4 million miles. I can say with 100% certainty it's not only the displeasure of sitting next to an obese person, but it's also the constant bumping of shoulders, legs, etc as they try to make their way down the aisle. I find it ironic, the same obese people on flights are the same ones shoving food in their mouth and washing it down with a coke! They are not only large, but they sweat badly and literally are struggling until they sit down.

I agree, people who need an extension belt absolutely should have to pay for two seats.
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isn't usually a diet coke?
 
rgw

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We've generally been getting taller and wider over time even if not classified as obesity. Building thing for averages doesn't really take into account the variability of humanity.

I mean, it is probably unfair for me to say "it is the airline's fault" because there is a ton of blame to go around but I think some bad assumptions are made...
 
uafan4life

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crimsonaudio said:
It's the airline's fault that some folks won't fit in the typical 18" wide seat?
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Yes and no.

While it is reasonable to assume an average size in order to estimate a plane's potential seating capacity and optimal seating arrangements, there is something to be said for valuing the customers' comfort during a flight and not purposefully over-crowding the plane.

The average, adult, American male stands at 5'10 and has a shoulder width of a little over 18 inches. So, even if they aren't obese, the average man doesn't technically fit in the typical 18" wide seat.


DzynKingRTR said:
crimsonaudio said:
It's the airline's fault that some folks won't fit in the typical 18" wide seat?
Click to expand...

of course it is and McDonald's made them to not fit in it.
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As I mentioned above, while obese passengers definitely compound the issue it certainly isn't the only issue.

While I'm no Adonis I'm not morbidly obese, either, and my arms can hang vertically at my side. I'm also no giant, standing a hair under six feet tall. However, I have a 52 inch chest and my shoulder width is a little over 23 inches. As a result, I don't come close to fitting into your average airline - or stadium - seat.

Fortunately for me, my wife is rather slender so I can usually steal some of her seating width. :)

Even so, when I fly I always try to get an aisle seat so I can hang 3 or 4 inches into the aisle space. I just have to watch out for that dang drink cart.


Getting back to the airline issue, it shouldn't be that difficult to at least attempt to find some way to rearrange a few passengers in order to optimize everyone's comfort.

Of course, if an airline truly wanted to make passenger comfort a priority, they could sacrifice one to two rows worth of seats in order implement a staggered or partially staggered seating arrangement - which could give at least most of their passengers an extra three to four inches of shoulder and elbow room while also preventing some of the larger passengers from "spilling over" into their neighbors' seats.
 
crimsonaudio

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uafan4life said:
Yes and no.

While it is reasonable to assume an average size in order to estimate a plane's potential seating capacity and optimal seating arrangements, there is something to be said for valuing the customers' comfort during a flight and not purposefully over-crowding the plane.

The average, adult, American male stands at 5'10 and has a shoulder width of a little over 18 inches. So, even if they aren't obese, the average man doesn't technically fit in the typical 18" wide seat.
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I'm a good bit larger than the average guy - though not obese. I'm not super comfy in coach as I fill the width of the seat and my knees are against the seat in front of me, but I fit. Yes, we can argue that the airlines could work to accommodate larger folks, but there's a limit. When someone literally oozes over the arm rest into my space, I'm unhappy, yet it seems in the past when airlines have tossed around the idea that the obese folks should pay for two seats, etc., there's been an uproar from folks.

There's 'uncomfortable within the allotted space' and there's 'imposing on other people's space' - the latter is really the issue this thread is about.

I just don't see how 'imposing on other people's space' is the airlines' fault. And I doubt you'd be one of the folks the article was about.
 
rgw

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I think uafan4life basically hit at my point: the airlines have been consistently proven to not really have a customer-centered model. Their cabin designs are poorly thought out and prioritizing the number of seats over comfort for even an average person. But the media is so well controlled by corporate shills that we willingly turn on our fellow man and shame a paying customer for "causing the problem" due to their shape and size instead of considering the blame of the corporation.


This is one of the many illnesses of America. Most people seem to hold corporations blameless for everything these days. There is no accountability. There is no loving your fellow man. We only demand accountability from the destitute and only love our fellow brands. For a Christian nation, we sure do seem so unlike Christ. Again because we worship money and greed in this country and have since the first settlers. We just wrap the Christian language around our true gods.
 
crimsonaudio

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rgw said:
I think uafan4life basically hit at my point: the airlines have been consistently proven to not really have a customer-centered model. Their cabin designs are poorly thought out and prioritizing the number of seats over comfort for even an average person. But the media is so well controlled by corporate shills that we willingly turn on our fellow man and shame a paying customer for "causing the problem" due to their shape and size instead of considering the blame of the corporation.
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And I agree that the airlines have moved more and more towards maximum profit even at the expense of customers.

But shaming? Goodness.

This is one of the many illnesses of America. Most people seem to hold corporations blameless for everything these days. There is no accountability. There is no loving your fellow man. We only demand accountability from the destitute and only love our fellow brands. For a Christian nation, we sure do seem so unlike Christ. Again because we worship money and greed in this country and have since the first settlers. We just wrap the Christian language around our true gods.
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Okay, wow...
 
rgw

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Look at this country we live in today and tell me I'm wrong. We don't worship Christ. We worship money and greed...and that mindset taints nearly every way we contextualize our world.
 
crimsonaudio

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rgw said:
Look at this country we live in today and tell me I'm wrong. We don't worship Christ. We worship money and greed...and that mindset taints nearly every way we contextualize our world.
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Collectively? Yes, that's probably correct.

Acting like its is universally true on an individual level is incorrect, and therefore I don't understand why you brought it up in this thread. Are you suggesting it's un-Christ-like to understand that there are limits to how large of a person an airline can accommodate? Or it's un-Christ-like to wish you didn't have someone you don't know laying on you the entire flight?

Sorry dude, while I get the general statement, I don't understand it in context of the thread, and it struck me as quite odd.
 
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