Fat flyers

[amaroo]

It's just not fat flyers.

I've sat next & amongst the Los Pumas (Argentina Rugby Team) on a flight from AKL. They were huge, the forwards were way to big for the whY seats & it was a very uncomfortable flight to SYD.

Couldn't move, couldn't see the o'head screens & couldn't breath as the prop forward occupying the seat in front was that bag that his seat was bending back in the recline position trying to cope with his weight.

 

[mr_osborne]

Nothing will change until someone who loses a portion of their seat to a large neighbour sues the airline and a court adjudicates the matter.

My only comment re this would I wouldn't be suprised if there was something in the terms and conditions which would make this difficult, e.g. we don't guarentee anything.

An example of this is that if your inflight screen doesn't work, usually they give you a bit of compo, but you can't sue them....

 

[mardy]

but you can't sue them....

My guess is the passenger that lost part of his or her seat could sue for discrimination on the basis of not being given a full seat! (While the larger passenger gets more than one..)

 

[cove]

Have only been oozed on once in a Qantas plane where the fat folds extended over into my business class seat.
Yes that was a lot of ooze but he was able to keep his strength up with 6 cans of coke.
Look it happens but not too often.
America can be a lot worse now that you can get a turkey fryer that can cook a 30 pound turkey in oil from Home Depot. If you go to Orlando for Disney and think you are fat you may be one third of the super big size over there.
Would you like fries with that??

 

[mr_osborne]

My guess is the passenger that lost part of his or her seat could sue for discrimination on the basis of not being given a full seat! (While the larger passenger gets more than one..)

But by my understanding the airline isn't discriminating against you... I would have thought the only possible legal challenge would be failure to provide a service (a full seat), and I'm saying in their terms and conditions, it will say nothing is guaranteed.

 

[wandering_fred]

Re: Fat flyers- stupid question part 2

The various regulatory agencies require sufficient doors / escape hatches to permit the evacuation of the plane within a certain time period. Would the current certifications stand up with a plane load of people (non rugby players) that have an average BMI of 35 or higher? Would some of those even make it through an over the wing exit?

The only way regulations will get changed is via lawyers... Alas.

Fred

 

[Archphoto]

Re: Fat flyers- stupid question part 2

The various regulatory agencies require sufficient doors / escape hatches to permit the evacuation of the plane within a certain time period. Would the current certifications stand up with a plane load of people (non rugby players) that have an average BMI of 35 or higher? Would some of those even make it through an over the wind exit?

The only way regulations will get changed is via lawyers... Alas.

Fred

I could virtually guarantee the woman I was seated next to would definitely *not* have got through an over-wing exit. . . . .

 

[AVC]

Maybe they should just make the doors smaller. No fit, no fly.

Then you would need to have a different door to board J and F....

 

[mr_osborne]

Maybe they should just make the doors smaller. No fit, no fly.

Then you would need to have a different door to board J and F....

One issue with that is boarding the elderly, and those in a wheelchair, and as Jetstar (In New Zealand) can attest, you don't want to upset those in wheelchairs.
One thing I'm noticing is that people are shunning the fact that being obese is becoming more socially acceptable, however, one thought I had re this, taking a different exapmple, prostitution.

(I'm looking at this from a Kiwi viewpoint btw, not sure of the situation in Australia). In NZ, they made a decision to legalise prostitution, which many people shunned etc, but by doing that, it gave them a degree of control over it which they never had before. If we as a society (including the airlines) take an approach, hey, it's not abnormal to require more than one seat, we'll make it easy for you to book it, I feel like that would potentially result in better outcomes for all. Because then you're sortof saying It's ok to be overweight, but it's not ok to be sitting in someone elses seat.

Also, how hard is it for airlines to make a note in the FF card account, stick them down the back with a spare seat if there is space? or maybe they just do this at check in desks automatically

 

[ozbeachbabe]

One thing I've noticed since airlines started charging for exit rows is the number of people who purchase these seats are not suitable to sit there. Part of the fault is with the airlines for marketing them as "extra leg room seats" with the safety obligations & responsibilities of sitting in those seats a secondary thing instead of the other way around.

All too frequently you see elderly couples turn up at an airport having booked 'extra legroom seats' & they don't meet the criteria to sit there - walking sticks, hearing aids etc. Sometimes the bookings are made on their behalf by their adult children thinking they're doing them a favour other times people do the booking themselves wanting the extra comfort without being prepared for the extra responsibility that goes with it.

They don't get a refund if they're deemed as being unsuitable for those seats which causes further aggro as they now have the sense of entitlement to those seats.

Then there's the times when they are one of the last to turn up to checkin on a full flight that only has middle seats left only to find they're clutching the OLCI bit of paper saying 'this is not a boarding pass, see customer service at the airport' & say "I couldn't print out my boarding pass at home because I'm seated in an emergency exit".

You can always drag out th old chestnet "it's a CASA requirement that people seated in an emergency exit cannot have an extension seatbelt" however you'd always want to reseat pax prior to boarding it's not fair to embarrass the pax by doing it onboard nor is it fair to the crew.

 

[kempvet]

I don't think that is has been mentioned as yet, but in some of the planes where you can lift the armrest on the aisle side, often with a fat passenger they tend to spill their hip and leg into the aisle itself, a couple of times at night I tripped over this guys leg as for more comfort the aisle side armrest was lifted, when I complained to him, he said that it was within his rites to lift the armrest for his personal comfort (read - spill into the aisle an extra 6 inches for free)

 

[Ansett]

Its Simple as has been mentioned before most people know if they will not fit into a standard seat. My mother is one of those and she always buys two seats and gets annoyed when other larger people dont. However the solution is a measure seat like the luggage check.

Can you sit in it with out the need to raise the arm rests if not then tough you need an extra seat and if none available NO fly.

realistically if you fly you know how much room you need.

What ever happened to common courtesy?

I do feel for the FAs it must be so hard these days when put in a situation that could cause embaresmnet to people.

Come on airlines time to get this right for the comfort, safety and dignity of all on board

 

[kempvet]

Hope that the following comment doesn't open up a can of worms but what if the ability to sit within the arm rest tended to be a gender issue, where men perhaps carry the obesity more in the chest and the stomach rather than the hips. The guy next to me the other day, must have been 130kg but sort of slept with his head on his stomach, guess the same 130kg woman may be wider in the pelvis, especially if they are just over 5 feet in height.

Therefore, what started as weight discrimination, may also become sex discrimination, can just imagine now, the sex discrimation police sharpening their pencils and tuning their tonsils, if the issue were five fat women to every one fat man.

They have a weight tax already on vehicles, ie more weight more damage to the road, therefore why not on overweight pax, more weight, taking up more space and costing more fuel.

 

[AVC]

. However the solution is a measure seat like the luggage check.

Maybe one of those amusement park things "you must be this thin to ride"

I remember one time we were flying a short hop in one of the Vanuatu islands, and they weighed every PAX on scales.

 

[kempvet]

I know as a fact that weight is an issue PQQ or SYD to LDH, something that they do keep an eye on with baggage at least, guess that this would be one of the first flights where they would weigh people (also some flights to mining communities perhaps as well)

 

[juddles]

On small flights individual weights can actually be a serious matter. As the old advice (for men) goes - when you declare your weight (often it is a question, not an actual weigh-in), then count how many women are on the flight and add ¨10 pounds¨ for each of them to your own weight. You may have to say you are 140kg even though you are 90, but it makes for a safe flight. They lie

 

[Major]

Also on a flight where each pax weighed and seated accordingly. BLD-GCN

 

[Oneworldplus2]

Maybe they should just make the doors smaller. No fit, no fly.

I saw this happen about 8 years ago. PER-Tanami/Coyote Gold mine-site.
Flew on a Skippers charter plane (Cessna, l think). Old mate was too big, he had to fly to Newman (on QF l presume) and hitch a ride with a truck.

 

[Fifa]

I was once on a Dash 8 (I think) in a rear facing seat in row 1.
The lady seated next to me was rather large and her flesh was hanging right over my armrest and into my space.
Before the meal was served I was wondering how I was going to ask her to move her body, then had the brilliant idea of asking "would you mind moving your elbow so I can get my tray out of the armrest?"
Not a problem for me, but she couldn't use her tray as it would not move back far enough!

 

[ozbeachbabe]

I saw this happen about 8 years ago. PER-Tanami/Coyote Gold mine-site. Flew on a Skippers charter plane (Cessna, l think). Old mate was too big, he had to fly to Newman (on QF l presume) and hitch a ride with a truck.

I can imagine that particularly in hot weather.

AirNorth used to weigh everyone ex DIL to DRW whether it was the Metro or the Brasilia. Sometimes the East Timorese staff who were doing the checkin would giggle amongst each other & whisper the word "bot" which is apparently tetum for "big".