Australian man "crushed" in economy seat 14 hours sues AA for injuries
#31
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#33
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 3,698
This. I can't come to grips why he didn't say something. I can understand if he was flying ord-dtw for example but this flight?? I would have 1. asked for a different seat 2. if full ask to be re-accommodated on another flight that I'd be able to make full use of the seat.
Michael Anthony Taylor, 67, of Wollongong, is suing American Airlines after cabin staff rejected his pleas to change seat after he found himself squashed between two obese fellow travellers.
#34
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: DFW
Programs: AA,DL
Posts: 575
This. I can't come to grips why he didn't say something. I can understand if he was flying ord-dtw for example but this flight?? I would have 1. asked for a different seat 2. if full ask to be re-accommodated on another flight that I'd be able to make full use of the seat.
#35
Join Date: Mar 2015
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He claims that cabin crew refused to move him or rearrange seating arrangements despite his repeated requests.
Was Y fully occupied but seats available in MCE, and he was offered to move into an empty MCE seat by paying the fee, and he refused to pay?
Did he ask to be upgraded to business, and was denied?
Did he ask to sit in the jump seat and was denied?
#37
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: LHR, HKG
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Posts: 315
This thread is about a lawsuit, yet it very immediately spiraled into a conversation about how to successfully shame obese people into not flying. Some of the suggestions in this thread are shameful. Pre-conceived notions about obese people and plans to treat them differently than other passengers are offensive, and I don't think they belong here.
I think a lot of these suggestions are reasonable. It's not like we're planning to charge pax by weight. It's not discriminatory at all.
If you can't fit between both armrests, you should buy a second seat in Y- or fly in Y+/J/F. It's simply not fair to the passengers around you if you take up too much of their space. It doesn't matter whether you're simply obese or a 6'7 linebacker.
It's obviously embarrassing to put a seat at the gate or at check-in to see whether someone can fit, but it's less embarrassing than to deny boarding once someone is on the plane and realizes he/she can't fit.
Airlines should be sensitive in their approach with pax of size, but still...I'd be pretty pissed if I ended up like this guy:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/passenger-f...ry?id=15017545
Last edited by leungy18; May 5, 2017 at 3:07 pm Reason: grammar
#39
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Didn't Southwest try that a few years back with the seatbelts? I don't recall exactly the situation, but there were some issues with oversized pax around 10-12 years back.
Big problem here is that as soon as the airlines try to force them into purchasing a second seat, they will cry discrimination based on the ADA act. <snipped>
Big problem here is that as soon as the airlines try to force them into purchasing a second seat, they will cry discrimination based on the ADA act. <snipped>
#40
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#41
Join Date: Dec 2007
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If the situation was as bad as this man claims (And to me, this screams money grab), the airline did not follow proper procedures (either by making these passengers buy an XTRASEAT or reseating the man). There's already a system in place for handling this situation tactfully that doesn't involve grading the cattle before boarding them (Referring of course to passengers being packed in, not to people of specific sizes).
#42
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#43
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He knew he was being squashed when the boarded and sat down. That would have been the time to take action, not after being in the air. In that kind of situation I would have point complain to the FA and GA as AA clearly has a policy regarding passengers of size.
#45
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Customers that need extra space
For the safety and comfort of all customers, if a customer’s body extends more than 1 inch beyond the outermost edge of the armrest and a seat belt extension is needed, another seat is required. We encourage customers to address all seating needs when booking.
When you call to book, Reservations will make sure you get 2 adjacent seats at the same rate.
If you didn’t book an extra seat in advance, ask an airport agent to find out if 2 adjacent seats are available.
You may be offered a seat in a higher class of service that may provide more space; in this case, you’ll be responsible for the fare difference.
If accommodations can’t be made on your original flight, you can buy seats on a different flight at the same price as your original seats.
https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/...jsp#extraspace