Airline Measures Passengers’ Waists, Tells Them They’re Too Fat to Fly Business Class

Thai Airways is in the news yet again for weight-related discrimination, this time for denying three women their seats in business class after saying they were too big for the seats and measuring them in public view of other passengers; it echoes a 2018 incident where the airline “banned fat people.”

In 2018, news stories around the world said Thai Airways “banned fat people” due to a size restriction on their Dreamliner 787-900 business-class seats. Passengers with 56-inch or larger waists were not allowed to sit in the seats due to an integrated airbag.

Now, Thai Airways is in the news again for denying three women—Huhana Iripia and her two daughters, Renell and Tere—their business class seats and allegedly humiliating them in front of other passengers.

The Incident

Iripa’s daughters had gone to Thailand (with their mom as moral support) for weight-loss surgery, flying economy on the way there and paying $2,650 for business class seats on the way back. But on the return flight, they were denied seats in business class for being too big and were publicly measured with a measuring tape.

“We went up to business class check-in and the member of staff on the desk looked at us and said ‘sorry you can’t,’” Iripa told the NZ Herald. “The next thing, there were about five members of staff all around talking in their native language, shaking their heads and looking at us as if we’d committed a crime. A staff member then came forward and started saying ‘no, you’re too big, you’re too big.’ She then pulled out a measuring tape and wrapped it around my daughter Renell, moving her arms outstretched, before trying to do the same to me and Tere. At this point, I broke down in tears. Everyone was just standing staring at us. The whole thing was disgusting.”

The Airline’s Response

According to Iripa, Thai Airways’ response was less than ideal. The airline apologized and offered only $450 refund for each of them instead of the full business class price.

“The new 787-900 Dreamliner aircraft used on flights between New Zealand and Thailand is fitted with integrated airbag seatbelts in business class,” Thai Airways International New Zealand spokesman Wayne Cochrane told the NZ Herald. “The extension seatbelt normally used to accommodate oversize passengers cannot be fitted to the airbag seatbelts; therefore passengers not able to fit the standard airbag seatbelt cannot be carried in business class. As this issue involves passenger safety, I am sure you will understand that we cannot compromise on this.”

Flight Centre to the Rescue

The family booked their trip through the Flight Centre travel agency, which offered the three of them a full refund of their tickets. The women were not told about the seat restrictions when they booked through the agency.

“I was shocked to hear of Huhana’s experience,” Flight Centre general manager product Victoria Courtney told the NZ Herald. “We have apologised to her directly and refunded her in full. We are now reviewing our processes to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”