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Passenger Kicked Off Horizon Air Flight For Being Too Tall

Passenger Kicked Off Horizon Air Flight For Being Too Tall

Old Apr 7, 2011, 4:58 pm
  #46  
 
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Put yourself in someone else's shoes

Good to see people are thinking from both perspectives and commenting accordingly. I did raise an eyebrow at a few comments though. Perhaps the customer was telling the truth? He may well have been agitated, obnoxious or even rude. I'm condoning poor behaviour, I can relate to the circumstances. I recall one flight in particular where I got very agitated with staff, I felt they didn't show any empathy to my situation. In fact, they made no effort to care at all - it was the worst service I've ever had from that airline, I fly with them regularly. On reflection, perhaps my agitated behaviour didn't help the situation either.

My experiences with flying - I am 6ft 9 (skinny), most of my height is in my legs, there are a number of planes where i cannot fit into a regular seat unless I wedge my knees into the seat in front (uncomfortable for me and unbearable for the person in front as they have a hard lump in their lower back for the entire flight) or splay my knees either side of the seat in front (which means encroaching into the space of people either side, or into the aisle). Either option is unpleasant, but I can manage it on a 1 or 2 hour flight, 3 or 4 hours max if i really focus and move a round of lot. Anything longer and I start going nuts. Airline staff have tripped over my feet and bumped my knees on plenty of occasions, though I was never asked to leave the plane thankfully. I have also had food carts rammed into my knees, often without apology. It's not my fault I cannot fit into the seats.

I'm not sure some people appreciate how uncomfortable it is living in a world built for one size fits all, when you don't fit into the one size category. I cannot diet or exercise to adjust my size - height is totally out of my control. All I can do is keep fit to minimise the discomfort of constantly sitting in unergonomic furniture (back, knees and ankles). If you are between 5 and 6ft tall, most things in this world fit you. Imagine if everything was built to accommodate 4 to 5ft tall people? How comfortable would you be on a plane? Would you happily purchase two tickets so you could place your legs to the side? (Which I do on occasions when the plane isn't full and helpful airline staff have managed the seating to accommodate me - but you still change position every 20 minutes or so because it isn't comfortable) Could you afford to do that? Should you have to?

I understand the economic theory, the more seats on a plane the cheaper the flight for the customer (or the bigger the profit for the airline - depends on your outlook). I believe in customer service as well. Personally I resent airlines that sell their exit row seats for an additional charge. It means they don't have to care about seating people who don't fit in regular seats.

Why shouldn't exit rows be reserved for people who need them? What happened to looking out for each other? When an old person gets on a bus I still give them my seat even though I'm in my forties and there are younger people around me. And even though I am uncomfortable on some buses because the roof is too low. Or should I adopt the mentality, too bad, I bought my ticket - they should have got on earlier.
If I had an exit row seat on a plane and I saw a person taller than me wedged into a regular seat - I'd swap because it is the right thing to do.

And my last point? If the person was disabled or injured (broken leg) would they have been kicked off? or would that have caused outrage? I know height is not a disability but it is a liability, especially when the physical environment is not accommodating. Worth thinking about.
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Old Apr 7, 2011, 5:38 pm
  #47  
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Originally Posted by Just a tall guy
If I had an exit row seat on a plane and I saw a person taller than me wedged into a regular seat - I'd swap because it is the right thing to do.

.
I happen to know a lot of people who would switch with a very tall person if asked politely if they could do so. I also believe a lot of people on here would indeed do the same if asked politely. That would however exclude seat poaching and then asking when you get to your seat and find somebody already plopped in it because that assumes you wont care and to me shows complete disrespect by the seat poacher
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Old Apr 7, 2011, 6:23 pm
  #48  
 
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If all of the polite asking goes nowhere, to what extent could the FA (or GA or whoever) force someone in the exit row to move? Does the COC guarantee a passenger the "right" to their specific reserved seat? I would think that QX has the right to move passengers around.

It seems odd that QX would rather force someone off the plane and have a seat go empty than inconvenience an exit row passenger (maybe even anger them) but get the revenue. While being tall is not legally a handicap, it sounds, from the stories told above, that it's a handicap in some situations - accommodating them in an exit or bulkhead row doesn't seem unreasonable to me.
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Old Apr 8, 2011, 8:26 am
  #49  
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I'm going to repeat this again - apologies, but I'm finding it necessary. I was on a flight where a nearly 7 foot guy got booted from his exit row to a regular QX seat for weight re-settlement.

He did not grumble, whine, or complain at the announcement (nor flag the FA for an exemption).

He looked pretty squished in his seat, but seemed not to be anywhere near "agony" status.

He did not "need" to have his limbs in the aisle at any point.


It is my opinion the fellow in question was booted for his (passive-aggressively hostile) attitude. I am now curious ... would you folks consider giving up your exit row QX seat, if such a passenger asked you nicely (or the FA on his behalf)? I probably would.
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Old Apr 8, 2011, 9:06 am
  #50  
 
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Originally Posted by Points Scrounger
He did not "need" to have his limbs in the aisle at any point.
This may seem obvious, but: Just because two people are the same height doesn't mean their legs are the same length. You can have a very tall person be able to fit (uncomfortably) in a space, and someone of the same height be unable to fit at all.

I'm around 6'5" and can't buy either pants or shirts off the rack and have them fit because my inseam and upper body are both slightly too long for standard sizes. I know others the same height who have issues with the pant length, but have no trouble with regular T-shirts.
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Old Apr 8, 2011, 9:48 am
  #51  
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That did occur to me; your point is taken. However, the passenger was responsible for deciding "Am I willing (able) to make the trip in a regular seat if it comes down to it?" Apparently, he never accepted that he might just have to do so.
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Old Apr 8, 2011, 11:06 am
  #52  
 
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Originally Posted by Points Scrounger
I am now curious ... would you folks consider giving up your exit row QX seat, if such a passenger asked you nicely (or the FA on his behalf)? I probably would.
If someone asked me nicely and had a legitimate issue, I wouldn't have any problem trading for a like seat (ie window for window). Mind you, I'm 5'8" and fit just fine in the regular seats, but prefer the comfort and space of the exit row (and now make a point of maintaining status to ensure that I can get that extra level of comfort).
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Old Apr 8, 2011, 4:23 pm
  #53  
 
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Originally Posted by Points Scrounger
I am now curious ... would you folks consider giving up your exit row QX seat, if such a passenger asked you nicely (or the FA on his behalf)? I probably would.
Provided I was asked nicely, of course I would. I'm [only] 6'1", so I can fit in any seat, but know that regional aircraft, especially the Q400 and CR2, can feel really cramped, even more so if in the window seat.

I agree that the ability to preselect exit row seats is one of my favorite things about having status. In addition, one needs to pay attention to the aircraft type. For my next trip, DL suggested an itinerary that involved 2 CR2s and a CR7 connecting to a 75X. Instead, I chose an itinerary with 3 D95s and a 75X.

I remember an episode of Airline where a 15 year old was 6'6" and politely asked if he could have a seat with extra legroom. Since he was old enough to sit in the exit row, the GA's let him board early and get a seat in the exit row. While QX does have assigned seating, I am surprised that they didn't make an accommodation for the passenger. I know that there's likely more to this story, but still find it odd that this type of incident happened.
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Old Apr 10, 2011, 7:52 pm
  #54  
 
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Who else will Alaska kick off or call an alert for!

I think they need a top to bottom refresher course in dealing with people, religious groups etc
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Old Apr 11, 2011, 3:57 am
  #55  
 
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Originally Posted by edgewood49
Who else will Alaska kick off or call an alert for!

I think they need a top to bottom refresher course in dealing with people, religious groups etc
Yes! Two sensationalized incidents clearly indicate a complete and utter lack of sensitivity and good judgement throughout the company.
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Old Apr 11, 2011, 4:38 am
  #56  
 
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Originally Posted by Points Scrounger
Not having been there, but seeing how a very tall guy managed, I'm of the opinion this was a passive-aggressive reaction to the denial of an exit row seat; he was hoping that they'd bump someone for him.
As someone who is quite tall (6' 4", but very long in the leg and with fairly muscular legs which means I probably have the same issues as someone a bit taller but skinnier) and thus pays for speedy boarding/extra legroom/whatever it annoys me when similar passengers get on late and expect to be accommodated by people moving out of the exit row seats. If you want to guarantee an exit row, pay speedy boarding yourself. If it's not available, pick a different flight or find a way to cram yourself in - it's possible for most people, just not comfortable.

Was the flight full? Perhaps he could have taken a middle and "spread" into the seat either side if both were empty?

That said, I'm finding that on easyJet these days the exit row middle is the last seat to go (nobody wants to sit between two huge blokes just to get an extra couple of inches of legroom)...

Neil
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Old Apr 11, 2011, 4:40 am
  #57  
 
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Originally Posted by N830MH
He can't fitted it in. He must leave from the aircraft without knowledging from the airlines. Because it was too tall. Unfortunately, he will have to do something else. He should have to put on another airlines for next time. I realizing that I know Q-400 is too small to fitted him in.
Depends whose Q400. Baboo's (Switzerland) ones have loads of legroom. So you can't know by aircraft type. And pitch doesn't tell you everything, either - I can fit better in easyJet's normal seats than Ryanair's (though neither is comfortable), yet the latter supposedly has an extra inch of pitch over the former.

Neil
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Old Apr 11, 2011, 4:41 am
  #58  
 
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He flew Horizon Air, there's the problem!
He should have flown Vertical Air instead.
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Old Apr 11, 2011, 4:43 am
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Originally Posted by rjque
Definitely not obese, as extra legroom does not help there. Tall? Perhaps. I'm not talking about generally tall people like me (I'm 6'4"), but how many people are there who are close to 7' tall? It would probably be a very minor accommodation.
The thing that makes the difference is upper[1] leg length vs. seat pitch, not just height. Someone who is 7' and long in the body will fit in a given airline seat more easily than someone who is 6' 6" and long in the leg.

[1] Lower leg length can make a difference if the seats are raked backwards, less so if they are very upright, but it's normally possible to compensate for this by crossing your legs under the seat. Though it doesn't half give you cramp if you have to do that on an overnight long-haul...

Neil
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Old Apr 11, 2011, 4:46 am
  #60  
 
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Originally Posted by Marsden
In the old days I could usually snag an exit-row or bulkhead seat with extra legroom thanks to friendly and understanding ground staff but nowadays these seats are generally reserved for any given airline's frequent flyers.
Now *that* annoys me. I don't mind that much paying for the extra space, as that provides a discouragement for others to take it if they don't need it. I don't mind putting in the effort to check in early to get it either. But I don't like the idea of it being reserved for FFs only.

Neil
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