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

reply to post by The Chez


That fat cow should have been forced to buy 2 seats. And in this case, pay for the smaller woman's hotel room.

It's not anyone elses fault that she's a morbidly obese disgrace.. only herself. And perhaps her parents, who I imagine are probably as massive as she is.

Fat people...

can people be genetically predisposed to having a slower metabolism and thus have a harder time remaining in the ideal weight range? Sure. My mom has been overweight (actually, clinically obese - keep in mind the medical threshold for obesity is much lower than MORBID obesity) her whole life. She eats an incredibly healthy diet, exercises regularly, she just can't get down to the weight she should ideally be. THAT form of obesity can be genetic. My father, on the other hand, is borderline obese, and that is lifestyle, not genetics (his father was in ridiculously good shape up until his death from cancer). For me this means that I have to work *that* much harder to stay at a healthy weight, and I do. If you have a slower metabolism, then that means you need to be more vigilant about your weight and health. It's not an excuse.
Here's a story: throughout highschool I worked as a stock person at a grocery store. When morbidly obese people came in to do shopping without exception they filled their carts with the most unhealthy food in the store. Not just one or two packs of hot dogs. a dozen. And multiple 'club pack' sized bags of chips. and multiple cases of pop. And frozen food. Not an apple of celery stalk to be seen.
Being obese to the point that you require multiple seats IS a choice. My mother, while technically obese, still fits comfortably in one seat on an airplane, and her body mass is entirely in the seat/space her ticket has allotted her. To allow yourself to balloon up to a size that requires multiple seats? sorry, I have no sympathy.
If you're big enough to require two seats, you should HAVE to pay for two seats.
Who hasn't had to sit beside a person that big on a flight? If I'm flying from point A and point B, i've paid for my seat. How is it fair that i lose HALF my seat to the rolls of fat spilling over from the person beside me?
Our society has said it's acceptable to publicly shame people who choose to smoke, how is that any different than people that choose to gorge on food until they become the size of 3 or 4 people.

As for this situation specifically: If the girl needed two seats she should have had to book two seats in the first place. Having a special section for overweight people wouldn't work, because you'd need to make those seats available to everyone, and some normally-sized people would choose to pay the surcharge for extra room. Just like they don't/can't say 'sorry, you can't book a seat with extra leg room unless you're X height or taller'.
And people should be required to make available to an airline their weight while booking a ticket. As some people have mentioned weight, and how that weight is distributed within an aircraft does have an effect.

reply to post by The Chez


The way Southwest works is that Teenager had to pay for two seats before boarding. Southwest does not have reserved seats and its first come first serve. All obese people are required to buy two seat up front and if they find they have extra seats they refund for one if they can. That has been their policy for some time. That means they overbooked. Are you aware airlines are allowed to overbook and do it all the time?

Nobody was thrown off anything since they require you to pay before you board. It's likely they decided it was best that a teenager not end up stranded in an airport.

I've been bumped more than once due to overbooking. They first offer anyone stranded due to overbooking a free flight or cash if they will wait for the next flight. If nobody agrees to do it, they then pick who does not get a seat for obvious reasons. Usually there are people who are happy to get bumped for a free ticket. This woman likely got a free ticket that she failed to mention.

I see she complained she paid full price, when in fact that teenager would have paid twice that much. They charge for both seats.

Sad an adult can't take a minor inconvenience so a child is not stranded in airport alone. Snob! Bigot! or whatever name fits. Why is this in the news? Is that source a rag like the Sun? Must be!

I'm always amazed by adults so childish they act like adolescent Bullies. I've always considered them to be children in adults bodies. That woman just wanted her bit of fame while throwing a temper tantrum. Likely the girl boarded first having paid for both seats, meaning the woman never had a seat in the first place.

I always side with the innocent against Bullies, Snobs and Bigots who are whining like Brats.

Anyone who hates people just for being fat is a Bigot every bit as much as a member of the KKK. Same mindset exactly. Fortunately most of us outgrow that by the time we are the age of that child.

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?

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]

You hit the nail square on the head. The rules for unaccompanied minors for our airline says that they must be accepted by gate personnel then put on the plane no matter what, and then met at the gate at the destination by gate personnel.
And the contract of carriage on the back of the ticket allows for "bumping" in circumstances like this, with a refund of purchase price and further compensation if a delay ensues for the bumped pax.

Originally posted by Rockpuck
reply to post by The Chez

 

That fat cow should have been forced to buy 2 seats. And in this case, pay for the smaller woman's hotel room.

Never knew what a jerk you are Rockpuck. Calling a child names. You obviously don't know how Southwest works or don't care. That girl would have paid double up front. Go ahead and look it up on the Southwest site. People who fly often know this and know about the common practice of overbooking.

Do you call children names like that in public or just under cover on the Internet? If you do it in public, you don't want to run into me.

Sorry, but you deserve it. Southwest charges obese people double for their seats and have for a while now. They pay it up front and then if there is an empty seat they refund part if they can.

Just noticed the woman was on standby. Why is this even posted on ATS. This is not a conspiracy? This belongs on BTS or in the trash bin.

reply to post by Rockpuck


Oh, Jeez!!

Read the thread, please...or at least the article and other sources on the real story!

And in this case, pay for the smaller woman's hotel room.

Gawd!! First, they did the right thing, the passenger (adult woman) was on standby, since she got there early and had a reservation LATER, wanted to go earlier...

Second, the UNAM was a minor, and WAS booked on that flight, showed up last minute. (Certainly not her fault!!! She's a kid, and had to be brought there!)

Thirdly....this was in Las Vegas!! It is a hub for Southwest!

The adult woman was accomodated on her ORIGINAL flight, within just a matter of an hour or so....as it's a hub, Southwest has a huge number of flights!

SO...NO hotel! :shk:



(I am getting very angry at people on ATS lately --- the ones who don't read...)

Now, where's my Space Modulator???



[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/e23a84d9b280.jpg[/atsimg]



[edit on 29 July 2010 by weedwhacker]

Why is this on ATS? This should be on BTS. This is just a venue for OP to vent her anger at fat people. I did see some people taking a conspiratorial approach with saying how health foods are too expensive and whatnot. It is obvious the OP had no conspiratorial take on the story. This is just a rant.

And as someone said earlier, you idolize a heroin user while ranting agains those that do things to disable themselves or make themselves ill. Brilliant OP. Human hypocrisy at its best.

[edit on 7/29/2010 by dbloch7986]

If I have to take negativity for smoking cigarettes, than fat people should be able to take negativity for their addiction, they are addicted to food and ruining their health just the same.

Originally posted by dbloch7986
Why is this on ATS? This should be on BTS. This is just a venue for OP to vent her anger at fat people. I did see some people taking a conspiratorial approach with saying how health foods are too expensive and whatnot. It is obvious the OP had no conspiratorial take on the story. This is just a rant.

And as someone said earlier, you idolize a heroin user while ranting agains those that do things to disable themselves or make themselves ill. Brilliant OP. Human hypocrisy at its best.

[edit on 7/29/2010 by dbloch7986]

ROFL... ding ding ding - winner of the best response yet.

Originally posted by Rthaothal
If I have to take negativity for smoking cigarettes, than fat people should be able to take negativity for their addiction, they are addicted to food and ruining their health just the same.

When people complain about others, its often the things they hate the most about themselves. I am willing to bet OP is fat.

reply to post by InvisibleAlbatross


Genetics causes obesity? Um Ok. Look at all the stars you got from all the fat people looking for an excuse to blame their over eating on genetics. nice...

I never saw a fat person in a concentration camp. I've never seen a fat person in a place where there is no food.

It is impossible for your body to gain weight without taking in food. Period.

You may have a genetic propensity to being hungrier than others, true. But you can't get fat without over eating. If you believe you can then you are just making excuses for yourself. Sorry. Stop eating and if you are too fat to fit in a seat on a plane then too bad. Maybe squeezing your fat butt in a skinny seat will make you realize that you are too dang big.

This is a disgustingly fat nation and it makes me feel very sorry for people and what they do to themselves due to a lack of basic self control.

Maybe our food options and cultural eating habits are based on a minority of people whose genetically predispositioned metabolic rate is higher than those who rapidly gain weight in our environments. Perhaps the minority of people who stay skinny are the ones that have been involved in the evolution of the food industry. This would explain why, except for subway, it is cheaper to eat unhealthy.

This is one of the worst ATS threads I have seen. I am attempting to add a conspiracy element since the mods somehow think this belongs in ATS.

I don't hate or feel animosity towards anyone for their choices. If u hate someone for their choices, you should take a look at yourself instead of being a self-righteous prick. I could probably find six hundred things wrong with you in a second. But I won't because its not my place to judge you.

I wish I were perfect, you see not being perfect myself I find it hard to point my righteous finger at others.

If I were perfect I would not have to put the spotlight on others shortcomings to feel better about my own shortcomings.

If I were perfect I would not see things in black and white and in absolutes.

If I were perfect I could blame all others for not being the way I want them to be.

If I were perfect I could say to anyone that has a marriage or relationship that is not perfect, a child or parent that behaves in a manor I do not approve of, a job that is not rewarding or any other of life's difficulties that it is your own fault for not having self control.

If I were perfect then I would know if the young 14 year old girl with a weight problem is truly as disgusting as many have made her out to be.

But I am not perfect, I can not say that I posses more compassion, empathy and true love or that I have done or will do more for my fellow humans than this girl has or will simply because she does not fit well in an airline seat.

This thread is about a simple customer service flaw on the part of the airlines, yet it has turned into a bash the 14 year old girl with weight issues.

As for the airlines I would say, do not accept payment from a customer if you can not provide the service that was payed for.

I am six foot five inches tall, and while my hips fit nicely into an airline seat my shoulders are far, far wider than the seat back and as there is very little leg room I have to turn sideways forcing me to invade the space of the passengers next to me. Perhaps it is my lack of self control that has allowed my legs to grow so long or my shoulders to grow so wide.

if one of the many perfect people on this thread can tell me exactly how wide my shoulders should be or just how tall or just how long my legs should be I will look into surgery to correct my broad shoulders and long legs.

Or the airlines could focus more on customer comfort and less on maximizing profits by cramming in more seats.

I can only imagine what this publicity is doing to the emotional well being of a 14 year old child.

The woman that did not get a seat because she was on stand by was angry and wanted revenge, unfortunately the revenge and anger is being misdirected at a young girl and not at the airlines where it should be.






[edit on 29-7-2010 by deepred]

reply to post by Blaine91555


I was not aware that Southwest require people who need 2 seats to purchase the additional seat. Appreciate having that pointed out. Unfortunately, as someone else mentioned, in the Great White North we've decided it's finger-waggingly wrong to do so (sigh). I would assume that not all airlines operate with the same policies as Southwest though (I could be wrong).

I think that calling a 14 year old, any 14 year old, a 'child' is somewhat odd. Considering how fluid that label seems to be for people between 12-16 years old. Sometimes they're helpless children who would be victimized if left alone for a second, sometimes they're adults fully capable of facing the responsibilities of their actions. Seems that which camp they fall into depends on what spin the MSM wants to put on it and how they want to direct the outrage. I don't remember being that helpless at 14.
If they had of bumped the 14 year old girl, it's not like they'd say 'Well, off you go. There's a nice alleyway for you to play in next to the terminal'.

The reason for the woman being bumped from the flight is what bothers me. Should be completely unnecessary.

This thread has been derailed off the girl
onto just FAT people in general so most of
us who are venting our anger are not aiming
at the 14 year old girl.

just fat people,obease lazy ass fat people
food addicts bet there "loving it" now they
cant get there sorry ass out to fatdonalds!

reply to post by stealthyaroura


meh, this was never really a conspiracy. Unless the 14 year old was actually a secret reptilian overlord that had to be where she had to be to help the NWO/Illuminati fulfill their goals. Suspiciously, that aspect of this story has not been covered by the MSM.

I don't see a problem with people discussing or arguing the myriad of issues that led to this situation happening though. 14 year olds shouldn't need two seats due to obesity. Airlines shouldn't be able to offer more tickets than there are seats.

I mentioned before: make people give their weights before they book a ticket (online or over the phone), or (not to sound rude) take a look at them if they are buying a ticket in person. If they need 2 seats, they have to book two seats. Whatever invasion of privacy people may feel that question is, I'm sure it's less humiliating than having a flight attendant say, in front of other passengers, 'sorry, but you're too large for one seat'.

reply to post by FuzzyDunlop


not a bad idea i suppose,like you say
it would save embarrassment if they
gave there weight details over the phone.

1,500,000,000 billion obese people in world today.
1,250,000,000 billion starving people in world today.
Your accountability will be either here or in the hereafter.

This only reinforces the notion that the Obese Shall Inherit the Earth (just kidding). Here's the post:

www.abovetopsecret.com...