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Australian man "crushed" in economy seat 14 hours sues AA for injuries

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Australian man "crushed" in economy seat 14 hours sues AA for injuries

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Old May 5, 2017, 1:36 pm
  #31  
 
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Originally Posted by Ber2dca
In any event, occasional litigation is cheaper than making any changes to seat configuration or introducing 'obesity tests' (which would be bad PR).
Especially if said litigation is baseless.
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Old May 5, 2017, 1:57 pm
  #32  
 
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His flight was in December, 2015. why would he take so long to file?
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Old May 5, 2017, 2:08 pm
  #33  
 
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Originally Posted by enviroian
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.
From the article posted above:

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.
Seems like he did try to address it, but the staff chose not to help him.
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Old May 5, 2017, 2:24 pm
  #34  
 
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Originally Posted by enviroian
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.
Yes, he ask for a different seat. Read what he said.
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Old May 5, 2017, 2:33 pm
  #35  
 
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He claims that cabin crew refused to move him or rearrange seating arrangements despite his repeated requests.
Was the flight completely full - every seat occupied and no other seat to move to?

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?
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Old May 5, 2017, 2:38 pm
  #36  
 
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He asked to sit in the "crew seats" and was denied.
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Old May 5, 2017, 3:03 pm
  #37  
 
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Originally Posted by josmul123
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
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Old May 5, 2017, 3:14 pm
  #38  
 
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Originally Posted by skylady
He asked to sit in the "crew seats" and was denied.
Do you ever have to deal with this kind of issue? Does AA have a policy for how they address this?
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Old May 5, 2017, 3:23 pm
  #39  
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Originally Posted by divrdrew
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>
ADA doesn't apply to air travel
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Old May 5, 2017, 3:24 pm
  #40  
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Originally Posted by skylady
His flight was in December, 2015. why would he take so long to file?
Maybe they were hoping for a settlement without a lawsuit
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Old May 5, 2017, 3:25 pm
  #41  
 
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Originally Posted by ijgordon
I don't think anyone's shaming them into not flying. Into buying two seats or PE/J/F? Sure.
On the other hand, people here certainly ARE shaming the airlines about the ever shrinking width/legroom (rightly so IMO!)
Without calling out individual members, I was referring specifically to the idea of a person sizer at the gate and some of the language used around that idea. I wholeheartedly agree that shaming the airlines for squeezing people into planes like cattle is justified.

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).
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Old May 5, 2017, 3:26 pm
  #42  
 
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Originally Posted by deeruck
Do you ever have to deal with this kind of issue? Does AA have a policy for how they address this?
This. Does anyone know AA's official policy with respect to POS? If so can they post it?
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Old May 5, 2017, 3:27 pm
  #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.
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Old May 5, 2017, 3:33 pm
  #44  
 
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I believe it is a case by case basis. On the ground, we would call the local complaint resolution officer. Once in the air, not much can be done if no seats are available.
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Old May 5, 2017, 3:35 pm
  #45  
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Originally Posted by GotCalcio4
This. Does anyone know AA's official policy with respect to POS? If so can they post it?
(As I read this, they can intrude into your space 1 inch on the side of the armrest where you are, I think that is an inch and 1/2 an armrest too much.)

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
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