Man told he is too fat to fly

[nick]

A 32 stone man who was on his way to say goodbye to a dying aunt was thrown off a transatlantic flight for being too fat.

Sandy Russell was escorted off the Air Transat plane from Gatwick to Toronto by a stewardess last Saturday.

He was then offered another flight for the transatlantic journey – but only if he paid for two full-price tickets.

The 32-year-old said he could not afford the £928 charge and his aunt died of bowel cancer in Canada two days after he was due to see her.

He told the News of the World: "I was absolutely devastated. I hardly cry, and there I was reduced to tears out of frustration and humiliation in the middle of the airport."

Mr Russell was escorted off the plane because his 52-inch girth meant that the armrest could not be lowered for take-off, as demanded by the airline's regulations.

Mr Russell, from Wolverhampton, said he is angry that the airline did not explain to him before he boarded that his size could be a problem.

"The worst thing is, my aunt has died now," he said. "By the time I got home from the airport, she was too ill to talk on the phone, so I couldn't even say goodbye to her.

"I'm not small, I don't deny it. But that doesn't mean I should be treated so disrespectfully."

Air Transat agreed to refund Sandy's ticket price "as a gesture of goodwill." A spokesman said: "We can't ask people their measurements before they book a flight – it's a breach of their human rights.

"In this case, the armrest would not go down and separate Mr Russell from the lady beside him – and he was taking up more than a third of her seat."

Tam Fry, spokesman from the National Obesity Forum, said: "The overweight passenger should really be offered the next flight which has spare seats available, or be upgraded to a wider seat.

"This is what happens in the States and I don't think it will be long before it happens here."


Source here (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/7841489/Man-on-way-to-see-dying-aunt-told-he-is-too-fat-to-fly.html)

[Kaius]

Thats out of order. They could have at least let him off on that one occasion to see his aunt one last time.

[Continuum]

It's a very important moment. They should've let him ride because his aunt is going to die sooner. Poor guy.

[nick]

mhm, well I can see the sympathy angle, but at the same time if the guy takes up 2 seats in the plane it seems fair enough that he should have to pay for 2 seats.

[Cloud]

mhm, well I can see the sympathy angle, but at the same time if the guy takes up 2 seats in the plane it seems fair enough that he should have to pay for 2 seats.

i agree
if hes squishing the woman next to him that isnt fair on her whos payed for her ticket for the full seat when shes only getting 2/3s of it

and i dont see why he should get upgraded for being fat, "wuheey your huge you get perks because of it" isnt the best way to get people to lose weight

Rather than asking the size of the person they should list the width of the seats so that the person can comply and buy tickets accordingly for that

[Whisper]

he should have to pay more.
if you take up more than your own seat
you pay for an additional one
simple as that

it should have been handled better tho
they should have told him his size could be a problem when he checked in

[ryker]

That is very very unfair now!

[MyNameIsJack]

adfadsfa

[Φρανκομβριτ]

Honnestly? Unfair? The amount of money we pay for airline tickets is ridiculously cheap. To just give him another seat is absurd.

This man OBVIOUSLY knew he wasn't small enough to fit in to an economy seat, so he should have bought a second seat, or bought a business class seat, or first.

It is NOT the airline's fault that this man is the size he is, nor is it their responsibility to accomodate him, no matter what the circumstance is. If you make an acception for one person, you have to make it for everyone.

If you were 500lbs, would you book an airline ticket, and expect them to give you a free second seat?

Study the airline sector for a bit, and maybe you'll understand this subject a bit better.

[Malcolm Tucker]

Honnestly? Unfair? The amount of money we pay for airline tickets is ridiculously cheap. To just give him another seat is absurd.

This man OBVIOUSLY knew he wasn't small enough to fit in to an economy seat, so he should have bought a second seat, or bought a business class seat, or first.

It is NOT the airline's fault that this man is the size he is, nor is it their responsibility to accomodate him, no matter what the circumstance is. If you make an acception for one person, you have to make it for everyone.

If you were 500lbs, would you book an airline ticket, and expect them to give you a free second seat?

Study the airline sector for a bit, and maybe you'll understand this subject a bit better.

My thoughts exactly. They aren't required to give you an extra seat for nothing when both seats can be sold for profit. Sure, it's sad he missed it, but Air Transat didn't do anything wrong. They were following Aviation Regulators' regulations for maximum safety of the aircraft and passengers, and they also did what was best business wise.

[The Dark Lord]

Quite right, he is obese and he shouldn't be. He is repulsive if he is so fat that he can't go on a plane. Why is he so fat? Why doesn't he do something about it? If he hadn't wasted so much money on food then he could have bought a 2nd seat.

[YesterdaysNews]

Quite right, he is obese and he shouldn't be. He is repulsive if he is so fat that he can't go on a plane. Why is he so fat? Why doesn't he do something about it? If he hadn't wasted so much money on food then he could have bought a 2nd seat.

^this is out of order.


But I agree, it wasn't the airlines fault. He should've paid the money for a larger seat. My grandpa is a big man and when he does fly, he'll pay the little bit more to be comfortable.

[Jess]

so unfair. he just wanted to see his dying aunt :(

[Malcolm Tucker]

It's not unfair. It's business. It's how the airline industry works. The arm rest HAS to be down for take off. If the passenger can't do this because of his weight then he must either not fly or pay more to get a second seat. Especially at the last minute. The airline did nothing wrong here. It's not unfair. Sure, the situation was tragic to say the least, but that doesn't make it wrong what Air Transat did. Every other airline would have done this.

[Sith Lord 13]

It's not unfair. It's business. It's how the airline industry works. The arm rest HAS to be down for take off. If the passenger can't do this because of his weight then he must either not fly or pay more to get a second seat. Especially at the last minute. The airline did nothing wrong here.

They did. They should have informed him when he was booking his ticket. They should inform every passenger when booking about this size requirement. Otherwise, they should have given him either a free upgrade or a free second seat. How was he supposed to know their seats were that narrow when he was booking?

[Antares]

If he needs two seats to fit, then he should buy two seats.
/Thread.

He is responsible for knowing the airlines policy as it is highly publicised and even if he didn't know he should have asked questions.
When the FA told him that he would have to buy another seat, then he should have complied or not flown.

Him having a dead aunt doesn't matter in respect to the real problem here.
He needed to buy two seats if he didn't fit.'

Esp when you way nearly 500 lbs.
Maybe he should have flown first class...the seats are bigger :P

They did. They should have informed him when he was booking his ticket. They should inform every passenger when booking about this size requirement. Otherwise, they should have given him either a free upgrade or a free second seat. How was he supposed to know their seats were that narrow when he was booking?

How could he not know!?
I mean...if he has flown in the past...I think he knows how slim they are.

Second...if he booked it not in person, then how could they know he is 500 lbs.

These are all excuses.

Its simple, if you can't fit in one seat, you need two seats. If you need two seats, you have to pay for two seats.

[Malcolm Tucker]

Passengers who are Obese
"For your comfort and safety we highly recommend that a Club Class seat be purchased through your travel agent. If a Club Class seat is unavailable, you may have to buy two (2) Economy class seats and the armrest between the seats will be placed in the vertical position. A seatbelt extension will be available, and the cabin attendant will provide you with assistance during boarding. Our Information and seat selection service agents will be pleased to help select the most comfortable seating for your journey. Bulkhead seating and emergency exit row are not recommended, as the armrests do not lift."

Taken from here (http://www.airtransat.ie/en/gammes.aspx?langid=en&parentid=53&type=voyageur&id=18).

Information about Air Transat's seats and cabins.

Airbus A310, aircraft operated between LGW and YYZ (http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Air_Transat/Air_Transat_Airbus_A310-300.php)
Airbus A330-200 (http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Air_Transat/Air_Transat_Airbus_A330-200.php)
Airbus A330-300 (http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Air_Transat/Air_Transat_Airbus_A330-300.php)

[CaptainObvious]

They did. They should have informed him when he was booking his ticket. They should inform every passenger when booking about this size requirement. Otherwise, they should have given him either a free upgrade or a free second seat. How was he supposed to know their seats were that narrow when he was booking?

A little used technique I like to call "common sense".

It's a shitty situation, it sucks that his aunt died, but at the end of the day the airline did nothing wrong.

[The Dark Lord]

so unfair. he just wanted to see his dying aunt :(

Why is it unfair? He needed 2 seats and refused. The airline were fair and gave him the chance. If he is unwilling to spend money then it is not the airlines fault

[Awesome]

You ain't going to get treated fairly when it comes to airlines. They have to much to be doing, not telling people how big the seats are. You should know if you can fit in a seat smaller than an average theater seat.

[Happy Turtle]

AirTransit was following procedure. If he was that big, he should buy two seats. Giving him an extra seat just because he is too large for the one seat he payed for would be a bad business stratagy.

[Memory]

Take away all the emotional dead aunt stuff and you will see that the airline personel where right in the decision. He should have factored his weight into the trip. If he didn't want to pay, that sucks for him.

[Shortkid]

I feel bad that he didn't get to see his aunt. But I've had to sit next to a really overweight guy on a plane and that was terrible. He should look at it this way: There are a lot of extra costs to being overweight (like healthcare, etc) and the extra plane ticket is just one of them.

Chris

[Ryhanna]

Quite right, he is obese and he shouldn't be. He is repulsive if he is so fat that he can't go on a plane. Why is he so fat? Why doesn't he do something about it? If he hadn't wasted so much money on food then he could have bought a 2nd seat.

No, thats just not right... Don't say stuff like that.

He's overweight, he would have known (unless ge'd never flown before) that the seat weren't large enough for him.

It's not fair he didn't get to see his Aunt, no, but it also isn't fair for him to snatch another seat free of charge. The airline was right to pull him off.