DCNatFan

Thought if anyone knew to to handle this situation it would be the experts on this site. Last week one of my coworkers was on a US Air flight from DCA-CLT with a connecting flight to IAH. On the DCA-CLT a very large passenger was seated in the middle seat and had to lift both arm rests to "fit" into his seat. My coworker was only able to sit on about 3/4 of his seat. He has contacted US Air customer service numerous times but keeps receiving the same response - see below. Anyone else ever have this situation and if so were you able to resolve.

Thank you again for contacting Customer Relations at US Airways.

On behalf of US Airways and the entire Customer Relations team, please accept our sincere apology again for the travel difficulties you experienced.

We regret to hear that our attempt at resolving your concern was not to your satisfaction. As customer satisfaction is our main focus, we want to make certain the decisions we make are based on research, facts, policies and procedures, along with customer perceptions.

We apologize that the circumstances caused your discomfort. Although passenger’s enjoyment is one of our main concerns, we are not responsible for the negative situation caused by other passengers, or actions of other passengers. Many unintentional occurrences happen during flights, and it is unfortunate that you and another passenger were involved in this situation.

Aviation regulations do not require airlines to pay compensation for passenger’s discomfort caused by other passenger. Regretfully we are unable to honor a request you have made for compensation, or a refund of the ticket.

Your concerns have been thoroughly documented and your comments have been shared with the appropriate management teams to help us improve our service.

Your file was reviewed again and we found no reason to alter our original resolution. Please accept our apology for any inconvenience experienced on this occasion. We sincerely hope we have an opportunity to restore your confidence in our service.

zoobtoob

Should have raised a fuss (quietly) on the plane itself with a FA and expressed concern then.

Ask to be re-seated citing concerns re evacuation speed in case of emergency.

DCNatFan

He did quietly ask to be reseated but it was a sold out flight - no open seats.

aztimm

There's a wealth of information about this subject in this thread:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/us-ai...er-sizing.html

MD/DC Flyer

Not to beat a dead horse - but the arm rest goes up only if:
1. The seat next to me is empty.
2. The seat next to me is occupied by a family member.

That is it. Be polite but instant.

In this case asking for compensation will do no good; the issue had to be resolved inflight.

cwe84

If there were no other seats the CS agent could have booked your friend on the next available flight.

As others have said handle it before departure. The FAs should tell you to see the GA for reseating or other options.

bevoinva

Just curious but would they ever re-book the passenger who wasn't able to fit in their seat? The other passengers shouldn't be penalized by having to take a later flight.

Superguy

WN and UA would have charged him for another seat.

Why couldn't the person buy 2 seats? Don't care who you are ... if you can't fit into one seat and you jump into another person's space, then that person should buy 2 seats to ensure there's ample room.

Biggie Fries

A lot of logic to what you are saying, but that does not seem to be the logic that has been shown to obtain in cases such as these.

If I had to guess, I would say that this is because US feels that they have more "exposure" if they act against an individual who might complain and eventually be construed as being in a protected class than if they inconvenience a few run-of-the-mill, "classless," consumers/customers/passengers.

Like I said, just a guess, not based on expertise (I do not do law or corporate risk management), nor is it a political opinion. Just the way I have come to understand it, given that, like you, my first thought would be, "Why do I have to take a later flight"?

tommyleo

Has anyone successfully used this type of opportunity to refuse to sit in 3/4 of a seat and claim "Involuntarily Denied Boarding"?

dcpatti

I think the offical way it should be handled is that the oversized passenger is rebooked to the next available flight with 2 seats, although I don't know if that passenger then needs to pay for the second seat or not.

But that is just what should happen, and isn't what actually happens in reality.

Part of it is because the GA's are under constant pressure to get the flight out on time, and having to stop an oversized passenger at the gate puts that on-time departure in jeopardy. Part of that is because FA's, being human, are likely to avoid conflict when possible. So while theoretically, the FA should be checking that the seated passengers all fit within their seats, if no one is complaining, the FA is less likely to actually do anything about it.

The passenger who finds himself/herself crowded out simply must stand up for themselves, and insist that the GA and FA resolve the problem before the doors close. Once you're up in the air, there is nothing that can be done about it. Not wanting to jeopardize the on-time departure, the GA and FA will likely just say "the flight's full" if it's truly full, and not offer to IDB the crowded passenger or offload the oversized passenger, but the crowded passenger should not just accept that.

The key is in being firm but still polite, and being tactful.

apeortdz

When buying a ticket online, would it help if airlines put a checkbox that said "I can easily fit into one coach seat" and made you tick the box prior to purchase? Then if you spill over your seat when in the aircraft, they would have a reason to offload you and rebook you on the next flight with an extra seat.

PTravel

Doesn't matter. He should have (without raising his voice or giving attitude), said, "US is unable to provide me with a seat that I can safely sit in. If you cannot do so, then please confirm this is an IDB."

Don't take the seat, even if it holds up others from boarding. Don't leave the plane.

If the FA keeps insisting, ask for the purser and then the pilot. If none of them will assist ask for the Station Manager. Say polite and calm, but be firm.

The Passenger of Size is the one who should be re-seated or removed, not your friend.

Allan38103

The response from the airline looks a lot like a form letter. After the fact, that's about the best you're going to get.

Once the plane door closes, the GA is out of the picture. The FA is now the one to deal with questions such as seating. Flight was oversold, so FA had no option there. After the fact, no help here, either.

Sadly, the time to deal with it is BEFORE the door closes. Afterward, the best you will get is a form letter.

Flyingfox

Should insist to the passenger that the armrest stays down, and if he/she does not agree, see the FA about it.

It would seem to me that having someone physically touching you for the duration of the flight would not be considered comfortable or neccessarily hygienic. I think most people wouldn't mind an arm up against another passenger's arm (at the armrest), but a torso/hips/legs etc. would seem to be a bit much. I also don't think many parents would like having their child/teenager seated next to someone who is going to be that physically close.

If you wait to say something later I doubt you will get any sympathy from the airline.