15 replies to this topic

[Wino]

This fat flier received an apology and a $100 voucher.

LOS ANGELES – Kevin Smith says he's "way fat," but that shouldn't stop him from flying.

The director and actor says a pilot ejected him from a Southwest Airlines flight from Oakland to Burbank, Calif., saying he didn't fit properly in a single seat.

Smith raised a stink about the incident on his Twitter page Sunday, saying "I'm way fat, but I'm not there just yet," and "If you look like me, you may be ejected from Southwest Air."

He posted a picture of himself sitting on the plane with his cheeks puffed out.

Southwest says it "Customer of Size" policy require travelers must be able to fit safely and comfortably in one seat or make other arrangements.

After a storm of angry online comments from Smith and his fans, the airline issued an apology first from its own Twitter account and later in a statement on its Web site titled "Not So Silent Bob," a jovial jab at the Silent Bob character Smith plays in many of his films.

"We would like to echo our tweets and again offer our heartfelt apologies to you," the statement said.

The airline said it also accommodated Smith on a later flight, gave him a $100 voucher and apologized by phone.

Both Smith and the airline acknowledged that he had bought two seats for his original flight from Oakland, where he had spoken at the Macworld Expo conference.

But he was flying standby in order to catch an earlier flight, and only one was available.

Smith insisted that he was still able to put both armrests down and buckle his seat belt, which is Southwest's standard.

Smith is the director of the new Bruce Willis movie "Cop Out," and previously directed the films "Clerks" and "Chasing Amy."


Kevin Smith oversized? ejected from flight - Yahoo! News

[lvdkeyes]

Good for him.

[graymo]

If it's a safety issue perhaps the airlines could apply similar standards to its crew, some of which would be found wanting in an emergency situation...
Air France recently decided to start charging double to anyone who can't 'comfortably' fit into a single seat however, Southwest had no excuse as
Silent Bob was already seated as per their own regulations. Their excuse (sorry, statement) that he "usually booked two seats" is lame and assumes
that he needs them; if that was the case why let him on the plane in the first place with only one seat available...

[Beer Chang]

I don't think it's unreasonable that an obese person be required to purchase two seats. Doesn't the person sitting next to him have rights too?

[graymo]

Absolutely, couldn't agree more if that were the case - seems though that 'Bob' fitted...

[Beer Chang]

A friend of mine is a FA and at his airline the GA is supposed to handle the situation. So if the situation arises before the flight he gets the GA to come on the plane and sort it out cause it's not his job.

Guess Bob is on the cusp, a close call.

[graymo]

On the edge of his seat...!

Here's another incident; Virgin Airline this time.


My link

[Beer Chang]

The injuries this woman suffered would seem to be worth quite a bit more than 13K pounds, pardon the pun.

[graymo]

Yes, the judge certainly wasn't pulling his weight when he handed down such a light sentence...

[Beer Chang]

I was waiting on a baht bus about to depart from Patatya to Jomtien and they told my rather hefty friend he'd have to pay double so we just got off and flagged one down. Got there faster.

More and more I'm declining to sit and wait on a baht bus that won't move until 12 are sitting down with 2 others hanging off the back.

[rucus7]

Relaxed muscle is often confused with fat. (My wife buys that story)

[Bob]

Beer Chang, on 16 February 2010 - 04:10 AM, said:

I don't think it's unreasonable that an obese person be required to purchase two seats. Doesn't the person sitting next to him have rights too?

I'm with you. I really don't care what a fat person does - so long as he/she doesn't invade the space I paid good money for.

There is no way, in my opinion, this guy could fit into a regular seat and not infringe on the passenger(s) next to him.

[Beer Chang]

Fatties should pay extra and crying babies shouldn't fly for free.

[Wino]

Beer Chang, on 16 February 2010 - 08:26 PM, said:

Fatties should pay extra and crying babies shouldn't fly for free.

As a cranky old man, I tend to agree. On the flip side, I was in an aisle seat on a crowded plane with non-assigned seating. Wouldn't you know a fat woman chooses the middle seat next to me. I saw it coming and was not pleased, but it turned out ok. She was an interesting person and we had a lovely chat. She told me she had her stomach tied and had lost many pounds already. I was thankful of that. As far as the crying babies, let's hope mama has plenty of milk or a pacifier.

[graymo]

With budget airlines coming up with ever more ingenious(?) ways of turning a buck (shrinking baggage allowances, Ryan Air's toilet charge or the 'standing seats' idea for example)
the 'stout' passenger looks like just one more way for airlines levy a surcharge. Would be interesting to see how they might apply that to wailing children though - perhaps per decibel?!

There are some amusing business possibilities here however...

PS. Is "Sorry Sir/Madam, you're carrying excess baggage" a PC way of telling a passenger that they're overweight...?

[Beer Chang]

Kids under two fly for free I think. Charging full fare for babies is a good place.