Newsstand - couple told plane could not take off b/c they were too big

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1066989/The-airline-diet-Couple-lose-12st-plane-heavy.html?ITO=1490

i understand that some people struggle with weight and might have health conditions that preclude them from maintaining a lower weight, but if you can lose 1/3 of your weight (in a healthy manner), it seems that you would have done it sooner...

What's an "st" and what type of aircraft?:confused:

"st" is Stone. They lost 12 stone. A stone is 14 pounds I think.......

Similar thing happened to me a long time ago when I was in the military. We were flying in a U-21 which is similar to a Beechcraft King Air A90. Our flight plan took us over a certain mountain ridge, and I suppose the pilot was concerned about weight distribution as opposed to weight allowance. A couple of us had to switch seats. None of us were overweight, but I guess all the skinny guys tend to sit together; the plane was already cramped as it was.

I didn't give it a second thought. If moving to another seat spelled the difference between flying over a mountain ridge rather than into it, then so be it.

Reading the article, it says the husband had to change seats, not that they were kicked off for being too heavy. So I think it was just a balance issue rather than being too heavy per se.

I wonder if the FA actually did make an issue of their weight, or just said that for weight and balance issues one person needed to move and the couple took "weight" as meaning "you're too fat!"

It was probably easier and more timely to move one heavy person than 2-3 average persons.

I've been asked to move seats in the past also, along with a few people around me, as a weight distribution measure (not very full EasyJet flight)

Perhaps if I was uncomfortable about my weight I would have taken it personally. I guess it's down to tact by the Flight Attendants, there's no indication that the air crew had been rude or insulting. It just seems that the couple were already self-conscious about how heavy they were and took the experience as a signal to change something about themselves they were sensitive to others pointing out.

If they feel healthier and happier as a result of their dieting, I can only congratulate them ^

Used to happen regularly when my brother piloted beechcraft islanders for South Pacific Island Airways in Samoa in the 70's. The plane was a 10 seater, but some of the runways are short grass strips along the beach, and well-to-do Samoans can be large. On occasion he could barely lift off with just 7 pax.

The only thing shocking about this article is number of FTers on this thread who have never been on a flight where the FA moved pax around to re-balance it. This isn't reddit or digg or fark.

I'm glad the couple in question lost a lot of weight (they look great in their photo), but if they fly enough, it won't be the first time they are asked to move around the cabin even if they are slimmer.

Weight and balance happens all the time. I recently moved on a CRJ and many times have moved on smaller planes. It can happen on larger planes, too. There is a recent thread in the CO forum about a 737-800 that had people moved around for W&B issues. Check out post #10 in the thread for some enlightening info from a pilot.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=841560&highlight=balance+weight

This happens on regional jets all the time. It's routine and no big deal.

I have moved on a Dash-8 and I have moved on a 9-pax 73X flight in summer (hot, but not high). Not a big deal at all.