According to multiple sources, including a couple linked upthread, Delta offered to check the item as luggage regardless of its dimensions.

Can DL even deliver on such offer without running afoul of rules/regulations legally applicable to DL for that flight when it comes to checked luggage?

There is a scene in the video at about 6:50 with the bear and the vlogger walking along ini an alley together. Unless the vlogger is six-foot-six, that bear was not nine feet long. It appeared to me to be about seven feet long. Yes, it was mighty wide, but at seven feet in length, combined with its stuffed and flexible nature, I'm sure it could have fit into an airplane seat next to the vlogger. It would have required some compression with the seat belt, and might have fit better upside-down, but it could have worked.

All that being said, however, I'm not convinced that TSA has any fault here. DL is the entity that prohibited the bear from getting on the plane. TSA was seen in the video at about 3:45 actually screening the bear by passing it through the WTMD.

It rankles me to not pile on the TSA, but in this case, they weren't the jerks.

I hesitate to say that DL was being a jerk in this instance, either. Sure, I think the bear could have fit on the plane, but it's DL's plane, and if they have size limits on carry-on items, even those you buy a seat for, then I can't fault them too much for simply sticking to their policies.

The vlogger, on the other hand, seems to be a professional goofball whose only aim with this stunt was to make a video that got a lot of click-throughs. He fully expected to lose the bear, he said so right at the beginning of the video, so my heart isn't exactly bleeding for the loss of his bear.

Fitting into the seat isn't the only issue at play here. As I understand it, the bear needed to be able to fasten the seat belt using no more than one seat belt extender, and lower the armrest. If either of these could not be accomplished, it should be allowed to purchase another seat, if available, or wait for the next flight.

Correct, that's the rule for a COS, at least on WN. I believe most other carriers have the same or similar rules.

As I said, it shouldn't have been a problem to compress a stuffed bear with the seatbelt and get the armrest down, particularly if the bear were put into the seat upside-down.

I must say, one of the most shocking parts of this entire fiasco is that a seven-foot stuffed bear was abandoned right outside of a TSA c/p, and nobody triggered a panicked stampede a la JFK, or called for a terminal dump. I guess everyone who saw something said nothing.

But if he were upside down, how could he fasten the seat belt so that it was low and tight across his lap? And could he reach the buckle to release the seat belt by lifting the top of the buckle?

And what would happen if cabin pressure changed and an oxygen mask dropped from the panel above him? Would he be able to grasp the mask, extend the tubing to its full length, place the mask over his nose and mouth, and breathe normally, adjusting his own mask before helping others?

There are all sorts of problems associated with upside-down seating.

It's not wider than some of the "people of size" on some of the flights I've taken.

In the event of emergency. You wouldn't need to affix the bears oxygen mask. So there's that.

The humor in this thread is almost unbearable......

In case of an emergency, the teddy bear may need Doc McStuffins. But since the TSA seems to have so many employees who think they know the medical and related special dietary needs of passengers, the teddy bear is in good hands wherever the TSA is on duty. That is until the announcement of "see something, say something" prompts an alert about an unattended teddy bear and they call the bomb disposal team to blow up the teddy bear. RIP, Teddy E. Bear.

I hope I wouldn't be abandoned in an airport, especially LAX

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