THAI sets waistline limit for passengers on 787-9 Dreamliners

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The new QF 787 has an airbag at least in PE. Agree it is quite uncomfortable.
3 point in J.

The VA 77W Business seat has a lap belt with airbag. Quite a long adjustment ability as well, so any girth based restriction would likely he rather large.
 
I flew in Y+ on Qantas Dreamliner last night and have to say, not a fan of the built in air bag on the seat belt, it interferes with the tray table sitting flat, even for those who have plenty of spare inches on the lap belt.

Personally I feel that airlines using this type of belt need to:
1. Enable you to slide the tray table an extra inch forward to clear the bulk of the airbag,
2. Adjust the hinge so that the tray table sits an inch higher above the lap to allow better clearance, or
3. Find somewhere else to position the air bag (why not have it built into the seat or wall in front).

The large guy across the aisle from me had to undo his seat belt completely to use his tray, i just loosened mine (probably to a point that was useless safety wise) so i could squish is next to my leg to get a flat tray.

People who dont fit comfortably in Y are more likely to pay to be Y+ or J, but this option goes away because of the poor design of this air bag belt.

Im not petite but with the belt done up i still had a ton of extra belt length available, yet found it uncomfortable, i think less people will leave this sort of belt fastened during meal service or if they using tray table for the laptop - reducing safety over all.
 
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This is my first post so I hope I get it right. Just flew 2 legs with Virgin Australia J to lax and Hong Kong to Mel both with the airbag attached to the seatbelt. Can someone explain the purpose of an airbag as I don’t think they will do a lot dropping from 35,000 ft. They also are extremely annoying and do make for some discomfort.
 
Why do only BIZ flyers get the seat belts ? if you are in BIZ, and cant fit into the seat belt, and they move you to Y, do you get a fare adjustment ??
 
This is my first post so I hope I get it right. Just flew 2 legs with Virgin Australia J to lax and Hong Kong to Mel both with the airbag attached to the seatbelt. Can someone explain the purpose of an airbag as I don’t think they will do a lot dropping from 35,000 ft. They also are extremely annoying and do make for some discomfort.

The purpose of the airbag is the same as a car - to inflate in the event of a sudden impact. This would normally be a crash landing on the ground during one of the critical phases of flight - either take-off or landing. Not a mid air incident.

The airbag is one of several methods to restrain a passenger... a three point harness and resting your head on the seat back in front of you are a couple of others.
 
Why do only BIZ flyers get the seat belts ? if you are in BIZ, and cant fit into the seat belt, and they move you to Y, do you get a fare adjustment ??

Yes, you would get a fare adjustment. The level of that adjustment may not be what you expect however as the airline may not price your economy seat at the lowest available fare (rather, they may apply the fare as on the day of departure). You would have the option to cancel and get a refund. But again, the level of refund will depend on a number of factors.
 
Ta. i thought that would be the case if they redeploy you to a Y seat - if it was me, i wouldn't be expecting much back LOL.

Do you know why the airbags are apparently only in Biz class ?

Yes, you would get a fare adjustment. The level of that adjustment may not be what you expect however as the airline may not price your economy seat at the lowest available fare (rather, they may apply the fare as on the day of departure). You would have the option to cancel and get a refund. But again, the level of refund will depend on a number of factors.
 
Ta. i thought that would be the case if they redeploy you to a Y seat - if it was me, i wouldn't be expecting much back LOL.

Do you know why the airbags are apparently only in Biz class ?

Some bulkhead seats in economy have them.

If you can reach the seat in front of you in economy there is no need for an airbag. You rest your head there (to prevent forward movement on impact).
 
Do you know why the airbags are apparently only in Biz class ?

Because they are paying for it, the same reason an S class Benz has better and more safety features than a Haval.

Or if you go back far enough the same reason 60% of first class passengers on the Titanic survived versus 24% in third class.
 
Given the recent recall of vehicle air bags, I can picture the headlines ...
"Air crash kills 6 - seat belts killed the rest"

All joking aside, let's hope they have adequately constructed these air bag belts.
 
Why do only BIZ flyers get the seat belts ? if you are in BIZ, and cant fit into the seat belt, and they move you to Y, do you get a fare adjustment ??
If Qantas moved you from business to economy then you'd be up for a fare adjustment but don't be surprised if you end up owing money for the privilege of a lower cabin.
 
Well, the inevitable happened and the internet is now outraged...


Edit: Apparently the women booked through Flight Centre, and the travel agent failed to notice/tell them about the Thai Airways policy for the particular aircraft type. Flight Centre gave them a refund after the media became involved.
 
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I too would be horrified if strangers came at me with tape measurers and made a public spectacle of me.

I will never fly this airline if they don't get the air bag issue fixed.
 
Using the "discrimination" argument is a straw man argument. No one is discriminating against anyone.
That is the design limitations of the seat. Nothing more nothing less.

Y seats discriminating against fat and tall people
J seats discriminating against poor people
Airplanes discriminating those who have a fear of flying
Travel is discriminating against those who cant get travel insurance.
And movement activities discriminate against quadraplegics.
In disneyland some rides have a height limit. So are they discriminating against short people?

Im all for a provider making reasonable efforts to make their product available to as many people who want it. But in the end you cannot please everyone.
 
... I will never fly this airline if they don't get the air bag issue fixed.
I’m probably not going to fly them for other reasons, based on reports about how far the product has gone downhill in recent years. Although, I have only ever flown with them on a B747 in F some years back and that was pretty good at the time.
 
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