Passenger of size: actual injury claim from adjacent passenger
Nov 17, 2018, 1:39 am
#61
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Personal experience with 787 was in Y for 14 hours with athletic middle seat person and touching shoulders the entire flight when seated. It drove me away from this “dream” liner nightmare forever. Fortunately Premium Economy has arrived and that’s almost a guaranteed solution for me now.
Nov 17, 2018, 2:21 am
#62
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It's not only a lower body issue, the average shoulder width for males (measuring all the way across, as opposed to from joint to joint) is over 17 inches, and is about 17 inches for women. In a 17 inch wide seat, plenty of people spill over at the shoulders, and if it's someone with an athletic build in the middle seat, they can fit their hips in the seat no problem, but every time they move it's a bit of a game to avoid their elbows.
Nov 17, 2018, 2:43 am
#63
Join Date: Mar 2005
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What's your source for those numbers? I am very interested in a source for basic anthropometry numbers (i.e. body dimensions and movement ranges) for the present day over an average population. Most of the ones I can find, especially for aviation use, come from the 1970s and from military or NASA studies whose population is not representative of the travelling public.
Measured average height, weight, and waist circumference for adults aged 20 and over by CDC
- Men:
Height in inches: 69.2
Weight in pounds: 195.7
Waist circumference in inches: 40.0* (101.5 centimeters) - Women:
Height in inches: 63.7
Weight in pounds: 168.5
Waist circumference in inches: 38.1* (96.9 centimeters)*Unpublished figure. Derived from converting published figures listed in centimeters to inches.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_03/sr03_039.pdf
Nov 17, 2018, 2:55 am
#64
Join Date: Feb 2015
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I think a problem more hazardous, particularly in single aisle planes, is careless pax with rucksacks or over the shoulder bags happily bashing everyone as they walk up the aisle while boarding. I normally choose an aisle seat and have had to start leaning into the middle seat during boarding to avoid being hit. I have also been caught by flying elbows as pax put their coats on after landing without checking if anyone is behind them. I don't know if people are becoming less spatially aware but it seems worse than before.
Nov 17, 2018, 3:34 am
#65
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[QUOTE=Nicc HK;30437903][QUOTE=Badenoch;30436552]His second mistake was not taking a picture of the large passenger which would go a long way to helping his case in the public forum
Be careful on this one, if the passenger in question objects or you post on a public forum without permission this can raise legal issues, especially in the EU.
Agreed. I generally find it unacceptable to take pictures or video footage of someone without their permission unless for example they are breaking the law or committing a crime.
Be careful on this one, if the passenger in question objects or you post on a public forum without permission this can raise legal issues, especially in the EU.
Nov 17, 2018, 6:24 am
#66
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There is a report now trending on the BBC website on this. Core details are as above, however one snippet which made me think this isn't a straightforward case (since it was presumably a 9-a-row 777-200 aircraft, which is fairly generous for longhaul economy seating) - the neighbouring passenger who allegedly hurt the claimant here did not need a seat belt extender. Which suggests someone not so far down the Bell Curve.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-46233158
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-46233158
One topic that has always fascinated me is why seat belts down the back are appreciatively shorter than those at the front...
Nov 17, 2018, 6:38 am
#67
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Nov 17, 2018, 6:39 am
#68
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While this may not work on every aircraft and flight, if there was a real space problem I am sure the crew would let you use the jump seats (in cabin) - two years ago on an LHR-MIA flight the seat next to me seemingly was the only empty CW seat and I woke up to a little girl that had fainted in coach to be placed there - with her mom standing next to her seat. The gentleman in me apparently needed another 10 minutes to wake up - before I offered the mom my seat and made my way to her coach seat. I was there for maybe 5 minutes when an FA showed up and suggested I use the jump seats with unlimited leg room and quite some width. They let me stay there during turbulence as well (buckled up of course) - and only asked me to sit there for landing eventually.
Nov 17, 2018, 7:16 am
#69
Join Date: Dec 2017
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[QUOTE=Nicc HK;30437903][QUOTE=Badenoch;30436552]His second mistake was not taking a picture of the large passenger which would go a long way to helping his case in the public forum
Be careful on this one, if the passenger in question objects or you post on a public forum without permission this can raise legal issues, especially in the EU.
In the U.K. it is generally legal to take photographs and film in public places. The rules of the airline have to be taken into account when determining what is permissible. Civil action might be a possible route - in certain circumstances.
Be careful on this one, if the passenger in question objects or you post on a public forum without permission this can raise legal issues, especially in the EU.
Nov 17, 2018, 7:57 am
#70
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I sat on a full easyjet short haul flight in row one recently. There was no bulkhead and I was in 1A. The last two pax appeared moments before the doors closed and sat next to me. 1B was occupied by a hulk of a man spreading into my seat. His partner was a standard slim guy in 1C.
I asked if they would not mind swapping seats with each other when it became apparent I would only be able to occupy 80% of what I paid for. Unfortunately they refused to swap as the little guy "would not sit next to anyone else on public transport".
I sucked it up ( well in mostly ) and leant on the window trying to get away from 1B's overflow. I did hear that their cases missed the flight. Karma is a ......
I asked if they would not mind swapping seats with each other when it became apparent I would only be able to occupy 80% of what I paid for. Unfortunately they refused to swap as the little guy "would not sit next to anyone else on public transport".
I sucked it up ( well in mostly ) and leant on the window trying to get away from 1B's overflow. I did hear that their cases missed the flight. Karma is a ......
Nov 17, 2018, 8:02 am
#71
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I sat on a full easyjet short haul flight in row one recently. There was no bulkhead and I was in 1A. The last two pax appeared moments before the doors closed and sat next to me. 1B was occupied by a hulk of a man spreading into my seat. His partner was a standard slim guy in 1C.
I asked if they would not mind swapping seats with each other when it became apparent I would only be able to occupy 80% of what I paid for. Unfortunately they refused to swap as the little guy "would not sit next to anyone else on public transport".
I sucked it up ( well in mostly ) and leant on the window trying to get away from 1B's overflow. I did hear that their cases missed the flight. Karma is a ......
I asked if they would not mind swapping seats with each other when it became apparent I would only be able to occupy 80% of what I paid for. Unfortunately they refused to swap as the little guy "would not sit next to anyone else on public transport".
I sucked it up ( well in mostly ) and leant on the window trying to get away from 1B's overflow. I did hear that their cases missed the flight. Karma is a ......
Nov 17, 2018, 8:05 am
#72
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I would set aside the social niceties regarding "permission" and take pictures as evidence. Should publicizing the matter be required the face of the offending passenger would be blurred before posting the pictures on-line or sharing them with the news media. The point isn't to shame them but to demonstrate the impossibility of taking my seat due to their size.
Nov 17, 2018, 8:33 am
#73
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We will have to agree to disagree on this one. To stand a few feet away from someone and start snapping away like the paparazzi without seeking permission or providing any explanation risks confrontation or worse. The people in the photograph wouldn't know your intentions of blurring out faces etc. unless you explained this in advance.
Nov 17, 2018, 9:45 am
#75
Join Date: May 2018
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If I sit in an economy seat I generally have to angle my legs to one side, widen them about 12 inches or raise them up against the back of the seat in front, otherwise I simply do not fit. I can tolerate it on a short flight, but on long haul aircraft with modern IFE, there's often a box under the seat in front containing all the electronics for the IFE, and it forces me to contort into one position.