Here's one for the Dr. Laura crowd -

I was flying PIT to DFW, seat 10F. Just before boarding, I checked to see that 10E was open (if not, then I would burn the upgrades). Yes, 10E was open, so I got on the plane and headed for 10F.

After settling in, a young man (12-14 years old) sits down in 10E. Turns out that he was travelling with his two sisters, who were quite obese. The three of them had bulkhead - 7D, 7E and 7F. The sisters took 7D and 7F and sent little brother back to find an open seat (10E).

What would you do in this situation?

(1) send the boy packing back to 7E where he belongs?

(2) welcome him to the wonderful world of row 10?

At first I was a little ticked off (at the sisters, not at the boy) but he slept the whole trip, and I watched "Almost Famous".

SteveH

Personally, I think you did the right thing in allowing the boy sit there and more than that, watching 'Almost Famous'. Its a nice movie. If there is someone keeping a score on deeds of kindness and understanding of others, you defenitely have added a few points there! Feel good and keep up the goodness in you

One question that came to mind: What happens when a VERY VERY obese person tries to board? Are they entitled to a first class seat as a "reasonable accomodation" under the ADA?

Didn't we already go thru all this a few months back and then had a bunch of people whining about "its not their fault?" I don't think we want to go there again, really

I think you did the right thing. Unless you buy two seats they really aren't yours. While I greatly appreciate AA blocking seats next to me I don't expect it. I've also found some very interesting people to talk with when these "blocked seats" were used.

I thought there was a court case not too long ago where an obsese woman sued Southwest for making her buy two seats because she could not fit safely into one. I guess the suit was over discrimination.
Luckily she lost.

(whlinder and I were thinking alike at the same time-sorry for the duplication)

I remember reading recently that there was a ruling in some court that an airline was within it's rights to charge a very obese person for a second seat if one seat could not accommodate them. Whether or not this is a good business /PR decision is another question.

[This message has been edited by Leisuremiles (edited 07-02-2001).]

There was a thread a few months back, I believe in the United section, that basicailly said that the general policy was any seats open when the door was closed became available to anybody in that class of service. The discussion there was over non e+ people coming up and taking an e+ seat.

Saying that, I'm not sure you could have asked him to leave, I think it depends on the policy of that airline.

If you really needed the space to work or something, and the cabin was empty enough for him to sit somewhere else other than between his two sisters, you could have said something to him or to an FA (nicely, in either case) to that effect. However, absent a real necessity or some such, you're pretty much stuck. You did the right thing. I've been in similar situations and reminded myself that it's only three hours (or whatever) out of my life.

Also, I used to be in the "make 'em buy two" crowd - until I got the last seat ORD-BOS on a winter day full of delays and cancellations. (Any hope of retaining my first-class seat, from one of those cancelled flights, had long since disappeared.) If the fellow next to me had been made to buy two seats, as his size might have called for, I wouldn't have been on that plane. Being squeezed for a couple of hours was MUCH better than waiting for the next flight! I wasn't squeezed nearly as much as he was. Since then I've been more sympathetic.

Something similar happened to me on an international AA flight. Just after departure, a couple with three young kids but only four seats moved to take the two middle seats next to my aisle seat. I didn't say anything, but the FA noticed and stopped them and asked me if this was ok. I said yes, as I have young kids of my own, and know that travelling with them is hard work, and expensive. The FA then spent the next few minutes looking around, and found another aisle seat further back with an empty seat next to it, which I took as it was a long flight.

So I guess the moral of the story is fly AA!

Middle seat blocking increases the probability you have an empty seat next to you. It does not guarantee an empty seat.

Since AA doesn't charge you for seat blocking, you should not expect it to be always empty.

I had a similar situation on a transcon flight in the 3-seat middle section. I made sure the seat in the middle was empty, and then just before takeoff, the guy on the other side offered his seat and the middle seat to a woman and her child in one of those car seats. So there went the empty seat seat next to me. Oh well. (BTW, does anyone thing he should have at least asked me? Not that I would have said no, but it would have been nice to be asked.)

Why bring Dr. What's her name into this? She didn't invent common sense (as is evident by the fact that she rarely uses it).

Clearly, it isn't just a delicate decision, it's a difficult one--primarily due to the absence of something win-win.

When I happened to be seated in a window seat recently, & the person next to me happened to occupy well over half of my seat (the lead FA had one hell of a time trying to get my tray table out of the armrest), it was the most cramped, uncomfortable "seating arrangement" I've ever experienced on a plane. I couldn't relax NOR could I "do" anything. I had my right arm effectively "quarantined" to a "smashed" position next to the rest of my body. I had to turn partially sideways to attempt to gain any relief (& subsequently angle my arm in such a way [in some sort of "escape" attempt] that the area around the socket ached after I deplaned).

Another bothersome factor was a psychological one: I'm not fond of having the body of a complete stranger pressed against my body--let alone for 2 hours.

I empathize w/ the situation that is faced by those for whom a single seat does not suffice (& this happens to include many who are non-obese). It's an unfortunate reality that depending on the aircraft, & the given carrier (& whatever modifications they may or may not have made to the configuration), getting a non-obese body in a coach seat can be a challenge (frankly, I don't know how some of the very tall passengers--& specifically those w/ long legs--can handle the sustained contortionistic technique seemingly "required" for meeting all relevant constraints in the situation).

I don't know WHAT the answer is. What I DO know is that if I was that other person, I know I'd want to be treated w/ respect...I also know that it's difficult not to be frustrated by having a cramped space made nearly unoccupiable by someone else.

The overall reality is an unfortunate dilemma...

On a recent NRT-JFK flight, the FA said that there were 3 class sections on the plane (first, business, coach), that they would be closing curtains, and they would appreciate people staying within their respective sections to help 'minimize traffic' (her words).
Obviously there must have been lots of problems with business (and some FC) passengers coming to the back of the plane to take advantage of the 5 bathrooms in coach!

Jeff