Clever or cruel? That’s the debate over a man who charged his obese seatmate $150 to avoid being bumped off a flight.
On Reddit, a man asked, “AITA for making an obese man pay me cash to take up part of my seat on a long flight?” AITA is an acronym for a popular section on Reddit I won’t repeat here. He went on to share the details of the flights.
His own narrative is somewhat humorous, but I’ll summarize what happened:
- Transcon flight of five hours.
- Man is seated in economy class in an aisle seat in a section of two (window and aisle only, no middle)
- A “very obese” man boards and attempts to take his seat next to the man.
- Obese man spills over into the man’s seat, taking 1/3 of it.
- Man tells the obese man, “Sir, I’m sorry but this situation is not working for me, you’re taking up quite a bit of my seat.”
- Obese man shrugs, noting quite rightly there is literally nothing he can do about it though he tried to tighten himself up.
- Man complains to a flight attendant, who tells the obese man he will need to buy a second seat.
- After looking, FA notes that every seat is taken and thus there is no place to move one of the men to.
- Obese man mentions he cannot miss this flight, but flight attendant tells him he will have to get off if another passenger is not willing to have him intrude into their personal space.
- Man sees how flustered the obese man is and makes him an offer.
- “Look, I’ll put up with this if you give me $150 — that’s half the cost of this flight and that would compensate me enough for the circumstances.”
- Obese man instantly agrees and pulls out the cash from his wallet.
Reflecting on the flight, the man surmised:
From my perspective, I gave the guy a valid option to stay on the flight and I was compensated for literally having only 75% of my seat max (let alone the feeling of a person’s body pressed against you involuntarily). A win-win. He wasn’t angry at all, if anything he seemed quite relieved we could work it out privately.
CONCLUSION
I’d love to hear the perspective of the obese man. Was the $150 a grateful compromise to the problem or blackmail? Is the airline truly to blame for offering such small seats or did the man have other choices?
image: Delta
Have you posted about the morality of not moving seats to accommodate family and friends sitting together (which may involve a downgrade to a less desirable seat)? Seems to be a similar question. I think there was an episode of Freakonomics about it, and the economists said there should be a charge to move.
My friend and I were pressured into giving up seats we paid extra for on a domestic flight so that a family could sit together (stuck in a middle seat.) These families are too cheap to pay upfront for assigned seats then they attempt guilt on others with a pity party that their child cannot sit alone. Pay extra for seat assignment to ensure that your family is seated together and stop the game and pity plan!
It is immoral to not move seats, however the exchange must benefit the mover.
For example, If row 1 is premium and row 2 is standard and a family occupies 1A 1B and 2A, 1A and 1B should be the ones to move to 2B and 2C, upgrading the people moving.
Immoral is not illegal, though, and If 2B or C doesn’t want to move, tough shit.
This is awesome. And hilarious. Great solution. As Clint Eastwood once said, “…man’s got to know his limitations…”.
Sounds like the obese person ought to have bought two seats for themselves and got and with only paying half price from the extra.
Are you kidding. America is based on money and screwing others in pursuit of it.
There would be no moral question if a person is charged by the airline for checking in an extra 50 pounds luggage. We just accept it.
We accept having to pay for water and paying for taxes as well.
So, should we charge the handicapped for the extra assistance they require?
No, of course that is different, because it’s “our fault” if we are obese. It is no easier for some people to avoid being obese than it is for others to be ignorant and insensitive.
Tell that Bat Fastard to lose weight jeez…..
One person bought one seat and got 2/3 of what he paid for the other paid for one seat while he needed to buy 2 seats (unless he is an infrequent flier he knows that already).
Can you really blame the person who doesn’t get what he paid for? Sounds like an unusual compromise but I’m sure both parties can live with it (uncomfortable but at least got a discount // saved vs buying two seats).
How is that a headline in so many blogs etc.
If one is that big, one should really just stump up the extra cash in the first place. Embarrassment saved all round. Whilst I would have been sympathetic to the guy with half a seat at the time I think bragging that he made $150 out of someone else’s discomfort makes him a jerk. My question (which has only ever occurred to me on a US domestic flight) is what happens when one obese passenger sits next to another obese passenger to the extent that they really don’t fit?
Evan, I get your point but I think one thing to note is airlines make it very difficult for someone to book two seats for the same person. I’m sure there’s a technology solution out there as airlines make sure you know about baggage allowances and basic economy restrictions even when booking through distribution channels other than their website.
If you were able to book two seats for yourself, hopefully you get baggage allowance for each of those seats.
And frequent flyer miles!
Yeah! It is their extra body weight…. Come on guy..
Someone should start an airline that caters to the obese. Every seat is a double wide and you got to have a bmi of 40 to get on.
OMG, I am crying laughing at this comment. Only because the outrage would be hilarious. But a cool concept.
Dang, I think most people would lie about their weight and shove pillows down their clothes in order to go on this airline with its big Comfy seats
They did. It’s called Singapore airlines. business class.
https://goo.gl/images/92Z8ys
I can only imagine some of the names for this airline. Thanks for the chuckle. And BTW, I think it was a very viable solution to what could have been a nasty situation, and if both parties were OK, then who are we to judge.
Obesity is 5% genetics and 95% excuses. I bet I wouldn’t find an obese man in Somalia.
LOL
They’d have to fly jumbo jets for sure.
About as little chance as finding a 3-digit IQ wherever you are from.
I think there are also valid concerns about the plane going down — in such a small plane with just 2 seats on each side (regional jet), weight distribution becomes all the more important.
The weight of “human cargo” and its distribution is irrelevant in a plane as large as a regional jet. For prop planes, including twin-engine turboprops, seating may be an issue, but even then, it is only when there are a substantial number of empty seats. Where an obese person sits, and how many seats he or she occupies are not going to make a difference.
(A typical regional jet has a maximum payload of over 20,000 pounds. Passenger capacities are up to and in some cases over 100, with 220 lbs allocated for each passenger. No typical distribution of passengers will exceed that allotment on average.)
Historically, airlines have used an average # for passenger weight, adding 10 lbs per passenger in winter, when heavy coats, gloves, hats, scarves, etc. are worn. This always works out. There used to be one and only one exception, and that was in the days when pro football teams flew commercial. In those cases, airlines had to account for the added mass. Nowadays, of course, they all fly private aircraft, and those flight crews know what to expect.
I think the facts that he tried a different solution first and communicated in a non-derogatory way, matter.
Obese people should be required by law to buy 2 seats. It’s a safety issue (a very real one).
Is this story even real?
I don’t think it matters. Even if we are debating the ethics of a hypothetical, it is an interesting discussion.
First seats come with as much as a 2 inch difference between them. So hard to know. Most airlines post requirements, if the armrest goes down you are ok. But obese people are not the only people who impinge on others space. Men, with broad shoulders often extend into the others space. Shit, I am a woman, but I have to twist to get my shoulders in the first class seats on a 787. Women with children too. Since the obese passenger readily paid the $150 extortion I suspect he didn’t get a cheap $300 fair like the other man and could have spent up to $1500, in which case $3000 is a bit much. Mercy and tolerance should prevail.
Math isn’t the writers best subject, I am guessing. The OP stated the man was taking 1/3, so 33% of his seat. That means the guy that demanded the $150 was only getting 66% of his seat, not the 75% stated. 🙂
Honestly, I believe the obese flyer should have been kicked off. HE KNOWS HE IS OBESE. He should plan for this and buy two seats. It is just rude to flow into other’s space when you know your body is large.
Additionally, the Airline is paying for fuel by the pound of cargo weight, this man was exceeding his purchased amount so should compensate the airline for his extra usage of fuel.
Flew on United about a year ago and had a similar situation. The lady next to me was so big the arm rest would not go down. I very discretely raised my concern with the FA. The FA asked me to be 100% sure I wanted to make the complaint because she would be happy to remove me from the flight and have me stand by for next available. Wow! I had 33 flights in three months to that point. They lost a 2M mile customer that day.
You should have whipped out your phone and recorded her saying that. Would have been great blog fodder…
Sounds fair to me. Anytime I get stuck in a middle seat, I offer money for an aisle.
Paid as little a $10 and as much as $50. Never fails.
I’m a small dude, but I value my personal space. I’ve had larger passengers invade my personal space many times while flying, but I just dealt with it since the flights weren’t that long.
The obese should consider it like a cigarette tax. Him paying up is actually for his own good (eventually).
I have no sympathy for fat people. Only a very small percentage of the obese have genetic obesity – the rest are fat by choice. They can be fat if they choose, but they have no right to encroach into my paid for seat space. This obese person got a break by not paying full fare for another seat. Your title for this story is misleading and unworthy of you to state it thus.
I similarly lack sympathy for the stupid and thoughtless.
Seems to me that the airline initially abrogated their responsibility to ensure that the passenger only occupies what they paid for, which in this case was one seat. Certainly in Australia with our domestic carriers, it is possible to buy a “comfort” / extra seat which is what the big guy should have done, OR, flown business class where the seats are bigger anyway.
Good to read that the airline did make a late save by explaining to the gent in question that he – not the passenger complaining – would have to leave the flight if no solution could be found.
Either at check-in or at the boarding gate the obese passenger should have been identified by airline staff and (discreetly) informed about the need to purchase two seats.
That’s the problem. We hear all these rules etc about baggage size etc etc but the gate staff rarely enforce them (on most airlines) for fear of confrontation which would be the same in this situation. They just leave it for the crew to sort it out after the event which then becomes a worse hassle in the confines of the aircraft.
The guy who forked out the $150 (if the story is true) should be flying Southwest Airlines, which has a policy in place that prevents this kind of situation. It is Southwest’s “Customer of size” policy.
https://www.southwest.com/html/generated/help/faqs/extra_seat_policy_faq.html
As usual, Southwest is one of if not the only major U.S. carrier that actually thinks about the welfare of its customers, both those “of size” and those who need to share seat space with them.
Happened to me. I had a middle seat on American because I was traveling with my husband and we wanted to sit together. Every time I am in this situation I fear a large person coming down the aisle when boarding. Well it finally happened and this enormous women sat down next to me. I said hello but she wasn’t very friendly. She managed to keep herself in her own space for a short time but after we took off she fell asleep and began drifting into my space. I’m a small women but this lady had her bare arm over top of mine, I was literally pinned in my seat. The whole flight I was trying to get out from under her without success. I believe she purposely pretended to be sleeping. I sat like that for 4 hours. The flight attendant noticed but didn’t help with the situation. This was an award seat and I felt ripped off. I called American and they did refund 5000 points but honestly I should have asked for more back. It is embarrassing for both parties when this happens and yes there should be different seats assigned to people this size. In today’s world and especially on an airplane you really don’t want to start something with another passenger. It shouldn’t have been my problem in the first place.
As a former travel agent, back in the 90’s, I worked for an agency that required our seats, in front of our desk, to be the standard width of our Airlines. I invited my customers to always sit down while I look for their travel needs. If I saw a customer oversized or visually uncomfortable in the seat, I was required to tell them, it is up to the airline, however, our chairs were the width of the airline seat onboard. I would simply inform them they might be required to either purchase two seats or upgrade. I then asked if they would like to to do that now, while in my office. I had several customers who bought 2 seats. It is what it is.
I’m an obese man and always buy a SEAT EXTRA (that’s the code online). Two side-by-side seats always cost less than one wide first class seat. If I ever run into a situation with only one seat available on a flight, I’ll hope to luck out next to a child or small adult, but if not, I’d deem paying half for the extra seat a bargain.
Yes, as they might say on Reddit, YATA. Big-time.
While I remain circumferentially-challenged, I do fit in a standard airline seat, but only just barely. I make every conceivable effort to get an aisle seat, so if necessary I can hang an inch or two over the seat rather than into my seat-mate’s territory, I upgrade with miles if possible or cash if it’s not ridiculous (just paid $500 to upgrade one-way on an upcoming transcon flight, but not the $2,300 they wanted for the return leg, so I attempted a miles upgrade and am hoping for the best. I have perfected the art of maximizing chances of an empty middle seat as well, and on the rare flights with any middle seats empty, I do pretty well.
But at the end of the day, a major % of Americans do NOT fit into the sardine cans the airlines call seats. They offer premium economy seats with more legroom to accommodate taller folks, why not some seats with extra WIDTH as well? I’d pay a premium equivalent to Economy-Plus for just 2″ extra width vs. regular Economy, and I don’t need extra legroom.
In the window seats, it is absolutely beyond me why the armrests (usually) cannot be raised on the window side of the seat. When no aisles are available, of course I go next for the window, but those precious 2″ of space that would be of great help both to myself and to a middle-seat occupant are inaccessible due to the immovable armrest. Arggghhh!
I think that the idea of requiring a person to buy 2 seats is ludicrous, at least up to some point. Airline seats should be built for actual Americans, which means average girth plus some allowance for the fact that of course 50% of us are above average.