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Overweight man barred from flight, misses uncle's funeral
Okamoni Fa flies a lot, and says that despite weighing 400 pounds he's never had to buy a second seat like some overweight passengers.Until, that is, he really needed to get somewhere fast.
The San Jose man bought a last-minute ticket from Southwest Airlines to attend his uncle's funeral, but when he arrived at the ticket counter the agent looked at him and told him he needed to buy a second seat. The problem was, the flight was fully booked, and apparently there were no alternative flights. That left Mr. Fa stranded and he missed the funeral.
There's been a lot of debate about the policy of charging overweight passengers for a second seat. Southwest says that if a passenger can't put down the armrests without encroaching on their neighbors' space then they need to buy another seat. If the flight isn't oversold, Southwest says they refund the extra charge.
In this case, Southwest has said they will refund Mr. Fa for the one seat he did buy, but wasn't allowed to use.
That's cold comfort for him. He wasn't able to join his family in their time of mourning and must now be wondering what the ticket agent will say the next time he tries to board a plane.
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Filed under: North America, United States, Airlines, News
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 23)
Jennifer Nov 25th 2009 9:26AM
No one would give up a seat and wait for another plane for nothing. When people agree to give up a seat it's usually because the airline is offering travel vouchers. Why would an airline give away money for an overweight person? I am sympathetic to the fact that they would have to pay for a second seat, but that is their own doing. 400 pounds is ALOT .I don't want to pay for a seat and then get half a seat. someone I don't know pushing up on me. It's not fair. It wouldn't have mattered anyway because there was no alternate flight which is why he couldn't go at all. I just think that if you are going to be obese there are consequences that go along with that. No one has to be obese.
yeahok701 Nov 25th 2009 9:30AM
Why should anyone have to rearrange their schedule/life, because this person couldn't fit the seat? He knows how big he is and that he wouldn't fit the seat, so he should have thought about that ahead of time.
ivonne Nov 25th 2009 12:19PM
but gift can also be used as a verb, i.e. to gift something to someone....
Adam Nov 25th 2009 12:47PM
The word "gift" can, indeed, be used as either a noun or a verb.
"I was given a gift." - noun
"I have been gifted with insight." - verb
Gina7169 Nov 25th 2009 12:57PM
I fly Southwest all the time. I have been at the gate when they announce that someone needs to be on an already booked flight for whatever reason. When they do, the person(s) who volunteer to take a later flight gets comped pretty well, with free tickets good for any destination or some such offer. Maybe they offered this to the passengers on this flight and no one took them up on their offer.
If people would actually read the policies of the airlines, maybe there wouldn't be such a problem at the gates and security. I always read the policy page of the airline and that of TSA to see if there have been any changes. I have never had a problem at a security check point or at the gate.
I really wish people would stop blaming Southwest for their own failures to plan ahead. I realize that this gentleman may not have had time to plan ahead for this particular flight. But it was also not his first time flying and he knew how small the seats were and how big his was.
It always astounds me when people blame Southwest for missing the first leg of their flight, but they didn't get to the airport until 10 min before the flight was scheduled to take off. HELLO!!!!! Or they stand there and scream at the ticket counter employees because they missed their connecting flight due to bad weather. Was the ticket counter employee responsible for the sudden snow storm?? Or they sit in the bar drink too much and then get mad at the gate employees because they are too drunk to fly. IT WAS YOUR OWN STUPID FAULT FOR BEING SUCH A DRUNK!!!!! Stop blaming others for your own situations.
I am wondering if there were not any other accommodations available on another airline. I've seen instances where Southwest wasn't able to to accommodate a passenger with a Southwest ticket, but the ticket staff found the passenger a ticket on another airline that may have been departing near the departure time of the Southwest flight. Southwest, just like any other business, is willing to work with people if people are willing to work with them.
Cubroncs03 Nov 25th 2009 1:42PM
you're a moron, don't give English lessons online if you don't know what you're talking about
Melissa in Boston Nov 24th 2009 7:30AM
I've been jammed in a middle seat between two overweight passengers that couldn't fit in their seats from ORD to PHX before the airlines enforced overweight passengers had to buy two seats, and that was the most uncomfortable flight of my life seeing that I couldn't sit properly and was on my hip the whole flight. Thankfully one of the flight attendants on the United talked to the ground while I was on the plane and refunded my flight. But I had to see a chiropractor after because my back was so messed up, and since I couldn't sit right I couldn't get my laptop out I couldn't do my paper work I had planned on doing on the plane since it was a longish flight.
So I'm happy the airlines are finally standing up for the people that can comfortably fit in their seat(and I'm not a super skinny person, I wear a women's size 12 and fit just fine)
barbara Nov 25th 2009 8:37AM
Well everybody not size 12..........I have sit beside larger people I never had trouble sitting back in my seat or never had neck problems, truth is you probally already had the neck problem....
Jane Nov 25th 2009 5:47PM
Sounds like you have a fat phobia and was afraid to let your thigh touch theirs. Fat is not contagious, you can't catch it or be contaminated by it.
The last standby flight I was one I was the last person on the Southwest plane.
I sat between two people with seat belt extender just fine and I wear a size 16 but OMG their thighs touched mine.
Don't be a hater.
msnovtue Nov 24th 2009 11:37AM
I am a larger person and fly semi-frequently. That said, I *can* get the armrests down and the seat belt around me sans extender. (not really comfortable, since the armrests dig into my hips a bit, but still...)
Anyway, the problem here is threefold: airline seats are unrealistically small and too close together, larger people unfortunately often have an unrealistic idea of their size, and those who are not overweight find obesity an perfectly acceptable reason for being incredibly rude, nasty and downright mean to those who are.
Until this changes for the better, things will only get worse.
psussery Nov 25th 2009 7:14AM
I agree with you I myself am overweight and I fly and do not need an extra seat but they try to charge me for one, I am sorry that we are not all thin enough to fit in the seat, and pull down the tray. Maybe what they need to do is make a section for overweight flyers, and if the seats are not all taken the they could sell them out to the thiner flyers.
bill Nov 25th 2009 10:24AM
I knew a fat person would come along and claim the seats are too small. They aren't
anna Nov 25th 2009 9:39AM
For some reason, people all over the world fit in their seats just fine, and nobody thinks the seats are too small. It's the overall number of overweight people in the US that allows everyone to think overweight=normal.
Jeremy Nov 25th 2009 9:03AM
Seats are made too small eh? Hmm, what's your waist circumfrence and height? The problem is, people are getting larger and instead of getting of their fat asses and trying to change and better themselves, they complain, blame others, and expect others to be uncomfortable. Being able to fit into a seat is not a high standard. If you are having issues then, it's only fair that YOU pay for two seats and not inconvenience or bother the other person.
I've never understood how people can let their bodies go like that ......to the point where fitting into a seat is an issue.....aren't you disgusted by yourself?
msnovtue Nov 25th 2009 12:54PM
To Bill, Anna, and Jeremy:
First, I am 5'8', and a size 24. Yes, I am fat--I never said I wasn't. But I spent most of my life at the same height and a size 12-14. Know what??
The seats were still small, and definitely too close together.
Do you know that the airlines deliberately demand aircraft manufacturers to put in more seats that the company reccommends?? You would think the company that designed the plane would know its limits best, but apparently not.
The typical EC seat is between 17 and 18 inches wide, with less than an inch between them. Even if the seats are wide enough, there's no room between them. Let's not even mention the space between rows of seats.
Just a question: How many of you have been on a flight seated next to a thin but broad-shouldered man, or someone who either insists on sitting knees apart, or has no choice but to do so due to their height?
Still think there's plenty of room??
As for me personally, I *do* have health problems. I exercise, and I rarely overeat. I regularly consult my doctor for alternatives and recommendations, but I'm not in a situation where I can do much about it.
When travelling, I do my best to take my fellow passengers into account-- upgrading to business class when I can, volunterring to move if needed. I make every effort to be polite, understanding and apologetic to my fellow passengers and give them every accomadation I reasonably can.
Yet I am perpetually met with responses like yours.
So thank you for proving my third point.
Ron Nov 24th 2009 10:15AM
Thank goodness some airlines really do enforce this rule. A 400lb. man would NEVER fit in a single seat. I've had to endure a flight beside several of them and have only had half of a seat.
The armrest is the first thing I put down when I board...and it stays down no matter what.
rmgrasso Nov 25th 2009 6:19AM
I say kudos to Southwest. I have been one of those people 'trapped' in my seat by a larger person that needed the 2 seats or first class. I do not think that anyone wants to sit through a 5+ hour flight trapped in your seat by a larger person that's halfway into your seat. I personally have had this experience twice and while flying on Southwest flights. I wrote to them about it and was reimbursed for those flights, however, I'm sure Southwest gets more letters about this. I'll take comfort over getting reimbursed. I'm not into contortion while I'm flying.
Lisa Nov 25th 2009 6:18AM
"them" - these are people, get over yourselves for just one minute to put yourself in this mans situation. Not only was it embarrassing for him, it was devastating to not be with his family for the funeral!!! and that is true about those seats being way to small, as an average size person I have a hard time being comfortable.
Come on Melissa, really?? are you a tad bit dramatic?? and sorry sweatheart, don't tell me you fit fine as a size 12-that's bull!!
tony Nov 25th 2009 6:51AM
Sorry I do not agree, if the man is that overweight he really needs to shed some of those pounds or the next funeral might be his
a passenger Nov 25th 2009 7:12AM
I'm a 14 and I fit fine with the arm rest down and without touching the person next to me, even on a Southwest flight. However, I have also had to sit in the same row with an enormous person, I would guess about 400 pounds, who was sitting in the aisle seat on a Northwest flight. I was on the window -- literally -- pasted there with my poor husband laying halfway in my lap all the way from Las Vegas to Detroit in the middle seat, while the grossly overweight person flabbed over on top of my husband. The attendants could not get the snack cart down the aisle without this man standing up -- and leaning his rear end into my husband's face while my husband had to half-stand, half-sit in my face to make room for this guy to stand. Now you tell me why my husband and I should have to tolerate this? We each paid for a full seat but we didn't get to sit in a full seat. What is wrong with this picture? I am so sick of political correct crap.