'Petite' woman thrown off plane to make way for obese teenager who needed two seats

'Petite' woman thrown off plane to make way for obese teenager who needed two seats

www.dailymail.co .uk

A slim passenger was ordered off a crowded plane so that an obese teenager could have two seats.

The 8st woman said she was ‘stunned’ when told to leave the last available seat on a Southwest Airlines flight from Las Vegas to Sacramento, in the U.S.

Cabin staff then gave it to an overweight 14-year-old girl who was travelling alone.

(visit the link for the full news article)

First things first, if my self inflicted ill health caused me to require TWO plane (or any other public transport) seats, then I think I should be billed for 2!

I'm not being mean here, I am stating a fact. In the UK, you must pay for dogs to board a bus, as they consume an extra seat, but nothing is said when someone is so large they consume 3 seats, which we pay for in elevated fares.

Weight on planes is actualy a physical issue, the heavier the load, the more fuel the plane needs, the more money it costs to fly. Anyone who requires more than one seat for themselves should be billed accordingly.

I think this issue is getting out of hand all over the world, we're becoming so afraid of hurting othr people's feelings that we are contributing to the problem.

There is NO way a 14 year old girl should be large enough to consume two aeroplane seats, where are her parents? Are they the ones allowing their daughter to grow to this size? She's a minor, which means whoever is charged with her care is just as responsable for this as the girl herself.

If people like this were told the truth, that alongside all the obviousl health risks and an impending early death, they don't look very nice, there might be some tears, but there would also be more of a drive to do something about it.

I feel sorry for the poor woman who was thrown off the plane! All so some obese kid's feelings were not hurt. Well wake up call, the world doesn't stop moving because you can't stop eating.

These are my opinions, I am very skeptical of a genetic cause of obesity, anyone can be obese, anyone can be thin, it is simply a matter of lifestyle choices.


www.dailymail.co .uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

In Canada they've ruled that they CAN'T charge for 2 seats to obese people because it's discriminatory.

Just saying.

Airplanes should make ``special areas`` for obese people... Some of them are basically handicapped...

And this is sad that a 14 years old is already that size...

[edit on 28-7-2010 by Vitchilo]

WOW, This is horrible, If i were that slim girl, I would have refused to move and told them to go *snip* themselves, or give me my money back right here right now.


Mod Edit: Profanity/Circumvention Of Censors – Please Review This Link.



[edit on 7/28/2010 by maria_stardust]

Obese people can indeed be that way due to genetics. We cannot assume that this girl is just lazy and loves junk food. That said, I am baffled that a paying customer could be kicked off the plane. Did she buy her ticket in advance or was she on standby?

Edit: One of the comments on the site claims the woman was on standby. In that case, fine. There was no seat available for her. The girl is only 14; the airline cannot just dump her off the plane and leave her in the airport.

[edit on 28-7-2010 by InvisibleAlbatross]

Originally posted by Vitchilo
In Canada they've ruled that they CAN'T charge for 2 seats to obese people because it's discriminatory.

Just saying.

Airplanes should make ``special areas`` for obese people... Some of them are basically handicapped...

And this is sad that a 14 years old is already that size...

[edit on 28-7-2010 by Vitchilo]

They're handicapped through their own doing, perhaps they should have a 'disabled' area that would allow them to sit without having to kick people off planes, I do not agree with this. I also do not agree that one can consume an extra seat free of charge, while everyone else pays for it.

Originally posted by InvisibleAlbatross
Obese people can indeed be that way due to genetics. We cannot assume that this girl is just lazy and loves junk food. That said, I am baffled that a paying customer could be kicked off the plane. Did she buy her ticket in advance or was she on standby?

I'm not sure, but either way, if someone is going to take up two seats, because of a genetic reason or not, they should pay, otherwise everyone else will, and that is not right.

The company’s usual policy is to ask passengers to volunteer to give up their seat, but the girl was too embarrassed. ‘Normally, if the passenger were an adult, she would be required to purchase an extra ticket but we did not want to leave the 14-year-old stranded,’ the spokesman added.

In an ironic twist, Southwest Airlines came under fire earlier this year after removing film director Kevin Smith from a flight for being 'too fat'.

Just more Political Correctness at work...

Though the girl was a minor, apparently without an adult flying with her, so I can see where the airline might choose not to make her purchase another ticket.

Does not excuse the omission of ASKING for volunteers, though. However, I did read in another article that the woman (who did pay full price) was actually flying stand-by on this flight, so 'eh.... bad decisions all around.

I think there is a bigger issue here than weight. The woman who was thrown off this flight was an adult. The kid who took the seat was only 14. The article also mentioned she was alone, so then we have two options. Either have an adult alone, or have a 14 year old girl alone. I think that the airline chose the responsible option, and it is just a sad consequence that this flight happened to be so overbooked that somebody had to be ejected.

wow, I would have caused the biggest scene, probably would have wound myself up in handcuffs. Or maybe I would have suggested they put the fatty down were all the luggage is, I'm sure there's some room down there

Originally posted by LadySkadi

The company’s usual policy is to ask passengers to volunteer to give up their seat, but the girl was too embarrassed. ‘Normally, if the passenger were an adult, she would be required to purchase an extra ticket but we did not want to leave the 14-year-old stranded,’ the spokesman added.

In an ironic twist, Southwest Airlines came under fire earlier this year after removing film director Kevin Smith from a flight for being 'too fat'.

Just more Political Correctness at work...

Though the girl was a minor, apparently without an adult flying with her, so I can see where the airline might choose not to make her purchase another ticket.

Does not excuse the omission of ASKING for volunteers, though. However, I did read in another article that the woman (who did pay full price) was actually flying stand-by on this flight, so 'eh.... bad decisions all around.

As you can probably tell, I am not politicaly correct, I am honest. People can interpret this whichever way they like.

Someone else might have been willing to give up their seat, but no, the thin woman was removed from the flight, almost as if she had done wrong, which is NOT on.

they should make the plane seats bigger anyway, not all people are 10 stone ..

Originally posted by The Chez
I'm not sure, but either way, if someone is going to take up two seats, because of a genetic reason or not, they should pay, otherwise everyone else will, and that is not right.

You're assuming a lot here Chez. If she has a thyroid condition, she should be scorned and punished for something beyond her control? Maybe she is a gamer that plays all day and scarfs junk food BUT if she has a thyroid problem there's nothing she can do about it. I don't know if they prescribe meds for someone that young. I'll reserve judgment on this one.

Originally posted by BiGGz
wow, I would have caused the biggest scene, probably would have wound myself up in handcuffs. Or maybe I would have suggested they put the fatty down were all the luggage is, I'm sure there's some room down there

I agree whole heartedly. If your bags go over your personal weight limit, you are quite rightly charged to put them on the plane. The same rule should apply to bodyweight.

reply to post by The Chez


Perhaps she was the only one to be flying stand-by on that flight?

Just a thought...

In all, I'm in agreement that two seats (if occupied) should be purchased.

I am not, however, in agreement that a minor should be left alone.

Originally posted by intrepid

Originally posted by The Chez
I'm not sure, but either way, if someone is going to take up two seats, because of a genetic reason or not, they should pay, otherwise everyone else will, and that is not right.

You're assuming a lot here Chez. If she has a thyroid condition, she should be scorned and punished for something beyond her control? Maybe she is a gamer that plays all day and scarfs junk food BUT if she has a thyroid problem there's nothing she can do about it. I don't know if they prescribe meds for someone that young. I'll reserve judgment on this one.

I know lots of people with a thyroid problem, both over and under, and they don't need two plane seats, infact they're not even fat! There's a lot of excuses, and 'it's not her fault', but sadly, I don't buy 99% of them.

Originally posted by LadySkadi
reply to post by The Chez

 

Perhaps she was the only one to be flying stand-by on that flight?

Just a thought...

In all, I'm in agreement that two seats (if occupied) should be purchased.

I am not, however, in agreement that a minor should be left alone.

I'm also not in agreement a minor should be big enough to need two seats, sorry but I had to!

I do agree though, it may well have been more of an issue with leaving her alone, and I think I would have sacrificed my seat so a kid could travel first, but I would not have been happy knowing they were also getting one seat free.

I do allot of flying,.. I see way to many FAT people on planes,.
Nothing worse that sitting next to somebody that invades your space cause they are way overweight.
I have givin my seat up for lots of reasons like the plane was full and a elderly couple had one of their seats overbooked,.. of which happens all the time. I do it for deserving people.
However this fat teenager thing would really piss me off and since the airline knew she was alone, I think it was way wrong of them to shove the one that already had a seat aside.
what a crock-o poo poo

Originally posted by The Chez
I know lots of people with a thyroid problem, both over and under, and they don't need two plane seats, infact they're not even fat! There's a lot of excuses, and 'it's not her fault', but sadly, I don't buy 99% of them.

Sorry but I have to call BS on this one. Sounds like you have a problem with people that aren't fit and trim. I didn't say she had a thyroid problem but I'll wait on that as opposed to castigating what could be a major medical condition.

Originally posted by fatdad
they should make the plane seats bigger anyway, not all people are 10 stone ..

What's up with that weight system anyway? Seriously? Weighting people in STONES? Ain't that kinda prehistoric or something?

People from the UK, it's 2010 outside your island... better wake up.