Jetstar: 160kg passenger's flight fury

[samanthas]

Hi All,

I am the person to which this is about, and would like to set the story stright.

1. My employer purchased the first ticket, as a favour to me to save time, as I normally fly to Brisbane and drive to the Goldcoast.

2. I am a Qantas FF (Gold) and VB Velocity

3. Yes I am a transgender person

4. Yes I am overwieght, due to a hernia operation that went wrong and due to contracting golden staph, I need to wait another 2 years before it can be surgically repaired to avoid a staph re-infection

Now this is what happened...

My employer booked me a flight on Jetstar on there new service to the Gold Coast as a fsvour, as I normally drive from Brisbane, on or around the 15th January 2009

I am aware that I am a big woman (I weighs 143.5 kg)

On the 15th and twice on the 18th of January I made enquiries via the Jetstar call centre as to whether I would need to purchase an extra seat.
(I normally upgrade to Business Class with Qantas with points, should there be no seats available). I was told on the first call, I could be sat in the exit row, and when I explained that I couldn't sit there due to my size and medical problems, the call centre operator said she could “get around it” (”it” referring to the airline policy regarding seating in the exit (over the wing exits))

I sought reassurance from call centre staff about the issue on several occasions after making the initial booking and I was told each time that
"As this is a new service, it will not be full, so there is no need to buy an extra seat" but to call back 2 hours before I fly to buy excess weight allowance.

On the Saturday before the flight, I checked online and noticed the flight was getting full and I rung the call centre and was told that I had to book another seat “for other people’s comfort”. Which my partner promptly did for me.

I was more pissed at the fact while we where on hold for the supervisor, the cost went up about $60.00 and Yes I was pissed off to find out the days before my trip that I had to fork out for another ticket, which I had been told not to worry about previously.

I was livid when I logged on to the Jetstar website to check my seat allocation only to find out that they had me sitting in 2 diffent seats located in different rows. (they then did this again on my return leg, but simone from jetstar promptly fixed this up)

I did not bring this to media attention because I didn’t want to pay for two seats. For the record I was the one who brought my size to the attention of the airline in the first place. I asked them repeatedly if I was required to purchase two seats and they told me not to worry about it,
I only did as they advised.

My complaint is that Jetstar changed their tune in relation to the extra seat at the very last minute and that the two seats purchased were not together despite the second ticket being booked by a supervisor in the Jetstar call centre.

Now for the record
Simone (Media Liason) offered an apology on behalf of Jetstar in relation to this (twice... as they screwed it up again), and that I was offered a refund for the second ticket in this matter, which was gratefully received.


Thanks

Samantha Scafe

 

[russ]

Hi Samatha, thanks for your articulate post. It seems clear to me that you did everything you could to manage the situation. What a pity that people jumped to conclusions and misinterpreted the issue. Happy flying!

 

[Oakdene]

good on Jetstar!

I'm tall, heavy boned and overweight, some would say obese, but nowhere near 160kg. Ms Samantha must have a considerable volume. I sympathise with Ms Samantha as I know how hard it is to lose weight. But, it is very uncomfortable to sit next to someone who is grossly obese. Neighbouring passengers pay the same fare as Ms Samantha, so they have the right to a certain degree of comfort and I'm sure Ms Samantha would also be more comfortable. I don't believe it is discrimination, I believe that Jetstar were just being practical. Theoretically, the person next to Ms Samantha would also be able to claim discrimination having Ms Samantha's bulk next to him/her.

Ms Samantha, if you read this, make a positive out of it and go and see a dietitian - you and your fellow passengers will all feel more comfortable.

 

[kkutasi]

If it does come down to charging very overweight pax for two seats, then I fully expect to also see really skinny pax sitting two to a seat.

On a serious note if a pax is built such that they spill into another person's seat then that is not acceptable and they should either book a premium cabin or two (or three :shock seats. I do have sympathy but...

Tuapekastar has hit the nail on the head here. Consideration must be made to the needs of other paying passengers... And let's not forget, weight problems are a self-inflicted problem and little sympathy should be extended.

I have twice had negative experiences having to sit next to morbidly obese passengers, so i have no problem with airlines charging for two seats to ensure the comfort of others.

Fortunately the first time it was only SYD-MEL, but it was the most painful 90 mins in history. His muffin top flowed over the side and spent the trip warming up my lap. and he didn't give a stuff.

Another time was a flight from SYD-HKG. From the moment the pax sat down, i could see it was just never going to work. It was like fitting an elephant into an Aston Morris... Luckily for me, as soon as we had reached cruising altitude, he started complaining loudly to the attendants that he didnt have enough room. and as it was a full flight, he therefore insisted on an upgrade to J.

They ended up swapping him with a pax in an exit row, so it made me happy, and presumably satisfied him somewhat also. But it seems totally unfair that someone who is so undeserving should be able to demand a better seat than those who aren't ridiculously overweight.

 

[oz_mark]

On a serious note if a pax is built such that they spill into another person's seat then that is not acceptable and they should either book a premium cabin or two (or three :shock seats. I do have sympathy but...

More related to this case I think, is that if a COS attempts to buy a second seat it is not appropriate for the airline (Jetstar) to say don't bother the flight won't be full.

 

[Will]

And let's not forget, weight problems are a self-inflicted problem and little sympathy should be extended.

Whoa. Hold up. I know that some people have implied - but no one yet has voiced - that somehow obesity carries with it a whole heap of morality-loaded baggage, like laziness, or gluttony.

I do appreciate your honesty in showing your real feelings, but have to object to your statement about weight problems being self-inflicted. I know it's an easy claim to make, but I guarantee you it is entirely unsupported by the evidence. Many people who are overweight/obese have supra-individual factors at play, including genetics, formative experiences, and social environments. Look up some decent studies in medical journals about the associations between genetics and obesity, to give you just a start in comprehending the complexity and magnitude of the problem.

 

[Will]

good on Jetstar!

Ms Samantha, if you read this, make a positive out of it and go and see a dietitian - you and your fellow passengers will all feel more comfortable.

And please, snide "helpful" comments like this are completely counterproductive, and totally rude.

 

[Motorsportnut]

Russ Mark and Will

Thank you for taking the time to read and understand what has happened here.

Okdene and Katusi even after Samantha has made the effort to explain the story in detail you have still chosen to ignore the facts and go off on the fat person stereotype tangent.

Samantha made every attempt possible to do the right thing for other passengers from the outset and it was people in their call centre that gave wrong advice.

Mark I remember Sam saying to me back when she was first told dont worry that it concerned me when the situation changed. I know that her partner dealt with the call centre in the latter stages and she was plenty of retreating.

For anyone complaining I have been through the fat experience on this thread remember...... Sam was thinking of YOU when she wanted to book the extra seat in the first place. She resented having to pay double when it became apparent that she was given wrong advice that was what the story was about anyone would be pissed in these circumstances.

She has taken the time to post here (the only forum she has done so to my knowledge) and people are still not getting it. Shake my head in disbelief.

 

[JohnK]

Whoa. Hold up. I know that some people have implied - but no one yet has voiced - that somehow obesity carries with it a whole heap of morality-loaded baggage, like laziness, or gluttony.

It is real easy to say that a person is overweight because they eat too much and don't exercise.

Absolute rubbish. My mother is overweight but it has nothing to do with how much she eats or lack of exercise. She has been on prescription medication for many years and one of the side effects is weight gain. In fact I have had similar issues for a number of years as well. Now I can assure you that my mother does not overeat and she is one of the most active people I know.

 

[kkutasi]

It is real easy to say that a person is overweight because they eat too much and don't exercise.

Absolute rubbish. My mother is overweight but it has nothing to do with how much she eats or lack of exercise. She has been on prescription medication for many years and one of the side effects is weight gain. In fact I have had similar issues for a number of years as well. Now I can assure you that my mother does not overeat and she is one of the most active people I know.

'overweight' is completely different to 'morbidly obese'.

i am overweight, and even lost 30 kg in recent years, so i was fairly large beforehand. But even then i still didn't flop my guts over into anyone else's seat.

Nonetheless, your point about certain people having no control over their size is a valid one. Yet do neighbouring passengers have to suffer as a result? it's not fair to them.

We all got rotten deals in life. Some lose an eye, some have schizophrenia and others have weight problems they can't control. So deal with it. Buy two seats if that's what it takes to not inconvenience other pax.

 

[tuapekastar]

More related to this case I think, is that if a COS attempts to buy a second seat it is not appropriate for the airline (Jetstar) to say don't bother the flight won't be full.

Do agree. My statement was more general around the COS/2 seats situation, and less about the case in question. In this case JQ appears to have mucked the passenger around more than once, after she attempted to do the right thing, and that is equally unacceptable.

 

[Stork]

It doesn't, unless they were a Canadian Airline I would guess

Its an interesting issue - and has implications for other passengers too.

What happens at the moment for passengers that are really tall & cannot comfortably sit in a normal seat?

Im actually surprised a second seat was needed - they are pretty generous width & an extension belt will suit most big people.

Thanks, Natt: just what I was thinking. I'm 201 cm (6'7" in the old money), and I can't fit comfortably into the economy seat on most planes (there's a lot of variation between international airlines, less so with the domestics, so I'm not sure that there is a 'standard' seat). The standard airline response is (a) 'nothing we can do about it', and/or (b) 'would you like to buy a more expensive seat which will have more leg room?'. My tactic is to try for an exit row seat, but airlines will generally not let you book these and have all sorts of obscure and inconsistent ways of allocating them. Virgin Blue and Singapore have recently done the honest thing on these seats and will sell you one for a (quite reasonable) extra fee. But in every case, the rule is 'if you don't fit the standard size, you'll have to pay a bit more'. This is the rule for a whole lot of things I buy, from clothes to cars, so it doesn't particularly worry me if it's applied to plane bookings. But if fat people have a Human Right to extra wide seats, then tall people have just as good a right to extra long ones.

See you in court !

Stork

 

[russ]

Buy two seats if that's what it takes to not inconvenience other pax.

Have you even bothered to read samanthas' post above? She even put the important bit in red for you!

 

[kkutasi]

Have you even bothered to read samanthas' post above? She even put the important bit in red for you!

yes i did. and it would appear she has been misrepresented in the media (what a surprise!) and she receievd poor customer service from JQ. In fact, what Samantha says actually sounds extremely reasonable.

my comments however were not directed at her. My comments were more related to the general concept of some pax needed to purchase two seats. Samantha doesn't seem to have a problem with it, but some others in this forum strangely do.

 

[JohnK]

'Nonetheless, your point about certain people having no control over their size is a valid one. Yet do neighbouring passengers have to suffer as a result? it's not fair to them.

I agree, more so after a recent experience on a DJ flight, the neighbouring passengers do not have to suffer.

What irks me is the people posting on this thread that being overweight, or obese, is due to overeating and losing weight is as simple as eating less and exercising. It is not that simple.

 

[NM]

I know we often tolerate threads going off-topic here at AFF, and I as guilty as anyone for the misdirection many times . However, I am closing this thread for now due to the direction it has taken. The passenger involved has made it clear she was willing to pay for two seats and in fact did so. The source of her complaint was the airline's inability to provide consistent information and then to allocate those seats together.

If you want to discuss the comfort of passengers seated next to other passengers, then please do so in a different thread, such as this one.

If anyone has more information of comments to be added to this thread that are relevant to the original topic, please PM a moderator and request the comments be added or the thread re-opened. You can also contact the mods by clicking the "report post" button and include your comments.