Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Flight attendant ruled too fat to fly
A 20-year legal battle between Philippine Airlines and flight steward Armanda Yrasuegi has finally ended with a Supreme Court ruling that grounds Yrasuegi for good. The airline dismissed Yrasuegi in 1989, because the 5'8 217-pound man had failed to lose weight, as required in his contract.Yrasuegi cried discrimination, stating that his weight was a "sickness and physical abnormality" beyond his control, but this argument carried little weight when the flight attendant refused repeated offers of medical weight loss assistance. The Supreme Court upheld a lower court's ruling in favor of the airline, stating that Yrasuegi's weight "indicates absence of willpower rather than an illness."
The ruling went on to say that Yrasuegi's weight would likely keep him from performing his job efficiently, especially in the case of an emergency. According to Gadling's own flight attendant, Heather Poole, flight attendants must be able to fit through the exit door and buckle up in the jump seat, which may be difficult for a man nearly 60 pounds overweight.
The airline industry is one of the few where weight requirements aren't discrimination, but rather simply necessary. We don't know what Yrasuegi's contract with Philippine Airlines specifically required in terms of weight, but it doesn't seem that any airlines are asking their employees to have unrealistic Hollywood bodies. It also sounds like Philippine Airlines was willing to pay for its employee's weight loss program -- how many other companies would do that?
Who Else is Causing Trouble in the Skies?
Reader Comments (Page 6 of 6)
kim Nov 6th 2008 4:26PM
When will there be a weight limit for cops? Some of the ones you see can barely fit behind the steering wheel of the car, much less chase and catch a criminal! What happened to being in shape? Seriously, if a criminal is violating you in any way, do you want a very fat cop trying to help, or do you want a physically fit cop who can do the job? Oh who am I kidding, like either would help, LOL.
msknight Nov 6th 2008 5:40PM
i work in the airline industry and as a flight attendant, you HAVE to be able to fit down the aisle straightforward without your hips bumping into the seats or passengers also, in the event of an emergency you need to be able to fit through the emergency exit WINDOW at the overwing which is considerably smaller than the exit DOOR. if you are too big to pass any of these small tests, you are a hazard to yourself and to everyone on board. however, because companies fear getting sued and any more bad press these "situations" are usually overlooked these days. i would recommend that if you are a passenger on a flight and you truly feel as if the flight attendants size(ie 5'8" and 200+ lbs like the above mentioned subject) is a safety issue, write a letter to the head of the company expressing your concern. writing about it on a blog site will do nothing to fix the situation.
Grizz Nov 8th 2008 4:46AM
As I understand it, the new A380's destined for the USA will have far fewer seats and the will be a lot larger than the planes for the rest of the world. This is because of the amount of overweight passengers on board those flights. A comment was made that cargo planes are crammed full with large containers, this is incorrect, they are loaded by weight. Most of the weight in a passenger plane is made up of seating, wiring for tv screens and sound systems, floors and ceilings that are absent in cargo planes. Every piece of luggage on a passenger plane must be weighed before it goes on board or else the take-off limit will be compromised. This guy had 20 years to loose 60 pounds, and probably put on 60 instead.