Humiliation Jetstar style

Actually, in fairness, the booking system would do that automatically…..although once is bad, twice is just bad luck haha. Anyway, you know yourself when you check-in online the system automatically selects seats and then you have to reselect, so I’m not sure this is really such a big deal, I think she’s just trying for free seats for life!

It’s happened again!!!
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25015708-662,00.html

I think that’s a little unfair Grey Area, not least because my partner, a Doctor, would medically back up the comment you deleted and it was a very true statement. But this is your playground not mine, so I have to accept it.

Moderator Message

Look, if any of you feel an overwhelming need to mock, or express your distaste for, people who differ from yourself in some way then do it somewhere else.

For the last time…. THIS IS AN AVIATION FORUM.

Thank you

GA

I’m always in a dilemna about these sorts of things, because whilst I don’t like to be inflamatory or insulting, I often wonder how people can let themselves become so obese in the first place that they then start to hold a grudge against those of us who eat healthily and excercise adequately. I therefore make my comments with this in mind. I know some people have medical conditions which don’t help, but let’s be honest, you never see a baby born obese do you?

So do I think larger people should be made to buy two seats, yes I do (admittedly together would be more useful, good one Jetstar!). I agree it was wrong of Jetstar to deny her need to buy two seats from the word go, but we’ve all been there for a variety of things in life, where a call centre tells you soemthing, and then the operational team say something else, and often with very good reason, for example if the flight had been filling up with bookings since the time she originally alerted Jetstar and therefore weight factors start to come into play which the call centre team were not aware of.

If this lady accepts she is obese and clearly expects to pay for two seats on some airlines (otherwise she would never have mentioned it in the first place) then perhaps she should just do the honourable thing and book two seats in the first place, not only for the comfort of fellow passengers, but also her own comfort, I mean she does look quite large to get squeezed into a Jetstar economy seat 😮 If she was hoping just to be allowed to sit in two seats once on board then I want to take a number of airlines to court for discriminating against me and my long legs (which I was born with!) by making me sit in the economy seat I paid for when they have empty business class seats they should be putting me in!

Mod Edit: Off-topic comments deleted.

LOL! HA HAHA!

I once had a large woman beside me, she was so big, her right arm occupied the space where my left would be. I had to lean into the sidewall/window during the entire flight. So large was she, that she had to use the tray of the person in the aisle seat to place the multitude of snacks she purchased. She then struggled to dislodge herself from the seat upon arrival. I couldn’t help but think “If this thing were to catch fire and we needed out, she and I would be dead”.

Look Sandy i can only apologize on my Mother-in-laws behalf…she’s very rude like that!!!

As controversial as it may be, I do partly agree that overly large people should buy two seats. Partly due to comfort and partly for safety.
I’m not exactly a model of perfection myself, but I fit into a seat without taking up someone elses space. I can also extract myself as quickly as any trim person can.

I have seen large persons squeeze into their seat and because of their sheer bulk, they invade the space of the seat(s) beside them…leaving the poor person(s) sat beside them with very little space, if any. No why does that poor person deserve to have their limited space taken by someone else?

It is especially dangerous when said rotund sits in an aisle seat. I have seen flight attendants having to ask a big person to lead toward the window, so they can get the trolley past. They then struggle to dislodge themselves upon arrival. This could lead to deaths in the case of an emergency. Theirs, and the people they trap on the window and middle seat.

I once had a large woman beside me, she was so big, her right arm occupied the space where my left would be. I had to lean into the sidewall/window during the entire flight. So large was she, that she had to use the tray of the person in the aisle seat to place the multitude of snacks she purchased. She then struggled to dislodge herself from the seat upon arrival. I couldn’t help but think “If this thing were to catch fire and we needed out, she and I would be dead”.

She definately should have been made to buy 2 seats.

I don’t care whether its a medical condition or if its just an addiction to food.
For safety’s sake, if you’re too big to fit into the confines of one seat. You should pay for the space you need.

You’re the forum expert at winding people up, Steve! 😀

Paul

That new heart came from a troll.:)

But, great fillum collection.;)

Strewth, it’s half 1. Night.

If you plant an egg and wait long enough it’s bound to hatch…i do it as well… it gets the forum up and running when it gets a bit lifeless!!!

You’re the forum expert at winding people up, Steve! 😀

Paul

I do wonder sometimes whether you say certain things purely to get an aggressive reaction from people. :rolleyes:

Paul

If you plant an egg and wait long enough it’s bound to hatch…i do it as well… it gets the forum up and running when it gets a bit lifeless!!!

How so?
I travel light, principally because I had a bag stolen once, (The airline paid me 3p a kg or similar!) so I take as little as possible anyway.
Earlier this year I was charged £14 for an extra bag on a short flight within UK.
Behind me was a man that was 6 feet high and 7 feet diameter. Looked like a ball with two feet on the bottom. He also had a very large amount of bottled stuff from the airport shop. (1) He wibbled into one seat, his stomach was touching the seat in front. He paid the same fare as me, and yet I was charged for a bag with 5 shirts and a pair of shoes in it. Not fair, not right. I was the one dicriminated in this case, no?

Sounds like you’re just slightly bitter about the whole thing to me! 🙂

Paul

I do wonder sometimes whether you say certain things purely to get an aggressive reaction from people. :rolleyes:

I agree on Virgin, though. Top marks for trying!

Paul

How so?
I travel light, principally because I had a bag stolen once, (The airline paid me 3p a kg or similar!) so I take as little as possible anyway.
Earlier this year I was charged £14 for an extra bag on a short flight within UK.
Behind me was a man that was 6 feet high and 7 feet diameter. Looked like a ball with two feet on the bottom. He also had a very large amount of bottled stuff from the airport shop. (1) He wibbled into one seat, his stomach was touching the seat in front. He paid the same fare as me, and yet I was charged for a bag with 5 shirts and a pair of shoes in it. Not fair, not right. I was the one dicriminated in this case, no?

(1) As a sideline, the weight of all that booze should be sorted out. Buy on the plane, pick up at destination…..that can’t be hard in this day and age.
I suggested this to the CAA after the Manchester crash, all that debate about personal oxy masks, no room/too heavy…so I suggested banning bottles from the aeroplane and using that room/weight. The idea was dismissed.

If you have me down as a principle offender, that’s fine. I 100% stand by my opinion that in this day and age, where airlines are charging for extra baggage then fatpax should pay more, very especially if they take two seats. In this particular case, yes, she was turned over by the airline, but the concept of weight = cost is still good.
But, this would be seen as discrimination, especially if the fat was caused by an illness as oppose to lots of cakes.

I do wonder sometimes whether you say certain things purely to get an aggressive reaction from people. :rolleyes:

I agree on Virgin, though. Top marks for trying!

Paul

I agree.

It is both distasteful and un-necessary.

But, given the identity of the principal “offenders”, sadly all too predictable.

This is an aviation forum, chaps, so leave the playground insults out in future please.

Thanks

GA

If you have me down as a principle offender, that’s fine. I 100% stand by my opinion that in this day and age, where airlines are charging for extra baggage then fatpax should pay more, very especially if they take two seats. In this particular case, yes, she was turned over by the airline, but the concept of weight = cost is still good.
But, this would be seen as discrimination, especially if the fat was caused by an illness as oppose to lots of cakes.

As an aside – but related subject, I have a friend with a severely handicapped daughter. She has to be in a very large motorized wheelchair. For her 18th, they wanted to take her on a holiday abroad, getting on the A/c was going to be a problem, as was arranging a seating idea.
ALL the airlines but one immediately said no chance upon the enquiry. The one airline that did not say no had an engineer telephone them later that day. He wanted the full dimensions and weight of the chair. At the end of his shift he phoned back, stating that they made the shape out of cardboard, and manouvered it up the ramps and onto the A/c. But, at the final hurdle, they could not get the chair up the aisle, so it had to be up front near the energency exit. A row of seats would have to be removed, but Virgin said thay would not charge for the extra seats. The problem was that (a) She was blocking the emergency exit (b) As she is almost horizontal, there was no provision for seat / safety belts without an adaptation of one of the Stewards Jump seats. They went on a cruise in the end, and were treated fantastically, nothing was too much trouble.
But, hats off to Virgin for their willingness to try it.

Just watched her interviewed on the six o’clock news…apparently one seat was near the wing and the other at the back in the last row…how do they justify that???…i think there maybe some discrimination here…”SHE” turnes out to be a “HE”…a “TRANSGENDER” not that that should make any difference…but in this country you just never know!!!

Moderator Message

What’s wrong with some of you people? If you don’t agree with her claim that’s fine, but there are ways to express it without ridiculing her for being obese.

I agree.

It is both distasteful and un-necessary.

But, given the identity of the principal “offenders”, sadly all too predictable.

This is an aviation forum, chaps, so leave the playground insults out in future please.

Thanks

GA

Some of you are pathetic!

What’s wrong with some of you people? If you don’t agree with her claim that’s fine, but there are ways to express it without ridiculing her for being obese. I guarantee you everyday she is used to having people look at her in odd ways of listening to people make remarks about it. She doesn’t need more internet yokels doing the same thing. If I had to guess, I’d wager some of you aren’t quite as fit one would believe after reading your remarks.

Before anyone says, no I’m not overweight myself and I’m not even close to it (I’m in the military so I’m somewhat bred to eat right and exercise).

My point in this post is to hopefully make some of you take a look back at what you wrote and understand how cruel you sound. Nobody is perfect, and while I agree that she should make an attempt to correct her weight, you all still don’t need to be so downright mean in your comments.

Again, if you disagree with her then fine, but after reading the article in the link, I feel that she kinda got screwed. They told her it was fine to begin with and then they come back on that promise. Whatever your opinion of obese people having to pay for two seats or one, she was told she had to pay for one originally, and thus she should have only had to pay for one.

In closing, I would be willing to bet I’m a fair number of years younger than some of you, and you’re having to have me tell you to act like adults……pathetic.

Didn’t see it.

I remember in the early 70’s, there was a Sumo show / Japanese culture type show in Lunnon, and the JapLards all came over on JAL, I think it was a DC8. There was only 30 of them plus luggage, and she was up to weight!:eek:

Ha! Now that’s serious weight. Poor DC-8!! 😀

Paul

Wasn’t there a recent story about a Canadian court case where they ruled being obese/huge/hugely fat was a disability and passenegers could not be forced to pay extra?

There was, and the article mentions it too. But Canadian jurisprudence has no influence on Australian law and jurisprudence. Unless there is some Commonwealth law linking the two, but that would surprise me a lot.