[Guest post by DRJ]
I wasn’t that concerned about the impact on safety of jumbo-sized passengers on commercial airplanes — I figured the airlines wouldn’t let passengers travel if it was unsafe for them or others — but then I saw this unconfirmed but reportedly true photo.
— DRJ
Pronounced "Patter-EE-koh"
E-mail: Just use my moniker Patterico, followed by the @ symbol, followed by gmail.com
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Figure it this way. In the event of explosive decompression, he’d fill a hole the size of a window.
So the obese have a use after all.
Dr. K (adb7ba) — 12/1/2009 @ 4:14 pm*blushing* how in the world did they get my picture like that? At least my RINO tramp stamp tatoo wasn’t visible!
voiceofreason2 (ac14c2) — 12/1/2009 @ 4:16 pmGuess I won’t be using the arm rests anymore.
gp (d1217f) — 12/1/2009 @ 4:21 pmimagine the poor pilot who couldn’t get the aircraft to trim out at altitude….
(on the upside, the passenger no longer has a hemorrhoid problem. %-)
redc1c4 (fb8750) — 12/1/2009 @ 4:43 pmIf this guy was any larger, they’d have to palletize him.
AD - RtR/OS! (66f601) — 12/1/2009 @ 4:44 pmAs a former Medallion class Delta customer and reformed Road Warrior-level international traveler…I’ve NEVER been on a plane where the aisle-side armrest goes up. The middle ones, yes. But not on the aisle. Believe me, I’ve cursed that freaking armrest on many a sleepless flight between the US and South America–flights when I bolted for any empty row of seats as soon as the cabin door was closed, in the vain hope that THIS TIME I might fit my 5’4″ frame across three chairs and get some decent sleep. It never happened, and that aisle armrest was always the cause.
For this obese “passenger” to be sitting where he is, he’d have to have that fixed aisle-side armrest wedged where the sun don’t shine.
I’m not saying it’s impossible, just unlikely. I could be wrong, but I call BS on this photo. Unless European planes are different….?
Either way, I’ve spent several very uncomfortable flights with rather hefty passengers spilling over into my space. I’m not exactly a tiny person, but at least my @ss fits between the armrests and no seatbelt extender is required. If neither of those is true, I think it only courteous to buy one first class or two economy tickets, especially on long-haul flights.
Sierra Nevada (62121b) — 12/1/2009 @ 10:48 pmSierra Nevada, it appears to me, this dude was standing sorta. He was propping his weight on that aisle armrest. Either that, or he was 9 feet tall and his legs bent funny.
John Hitchcock (3fd153) — 12/1/2009 @ 10:51 pmHow big a boy are ya?
Roy D. Mercer
TC (0b9ca4) — 12/1/2009 @ 11:14 pmLiberty vs. equality. Would you give up your liberty (sitting next to him) to provide him equal treatment? Of course, one could argue that he is not receiving equal treatment but rather special treatment at the expense of his fellow passengers. He is endangering the other passengers due to his girth. Could he leave the airplane if an emergency landing took place? I don’t think he could escape through the windows on the jet.
Perhaps it would be wise for airlines to have a policy of not only demanding passengers comply with their carry-on luggage size limits but also their plus sizes. And if you have more of you that needs to get to your destination, for your safety and that of your fellow passengers, please have your seat nearest to the big exit door.
BMFuller (628991) — 12/2/2009 @ 2:23 amSierra Nevada,
They come up on some models or airline chairs. There’s a lever on the underside of the armrest near the hinge that will unlock the hinge and allow it to be lifted (if it can be).
-x(also a road warrior)mas
Xmas (5c33d8) — 12/2/2009 @ 4:22 amI know somebody who could not go to her father-in-law’s funeral because she could not fit through an airplane door let alone in an airplane seat. Some “disabilities” cannot be “reasonably accomodated”.
nk (df76d4) — 12/2/2009 @ 4:50 amnk, exactly. look i am disabled but there are limits.
But i dispute the authenticity of that photo. clearly there is no way that plane could have taken off with so much weight inside!
*rim shot*
A.W. (e7d72e) — 12/2/2009 @ 5:53 amHarpoon that whale!
ropelight (7379dd) — 12/2/2009 @ 6:33 amum, okay, here’s my problem with the authenticity of the picture…
where is the armrest? planes like that always have arm rests. and the one on the aisle generally can’t be moved or lifted up like the ones between seats and you would see his armrest if he had done so. so… um, is he sitting on his or what? hard to tell. the fact his head is above everyone else’s suggests that in fact he is not fully seated. and given that, i have to wonder if they finally found a way to cram him in without encroaching on the aisle.
So at the very least i am not sure this picture really is the worst case scenario that most of us were imagining.
A.W. (e7d72e) — 12/2/2009 @ 6:48 amMy wife has worked as a flight attendant at AA for almost two decades now, and she’s seen the average obesity rate of travelers shoot sky – high over that time period. The amount of seat belt extenders that they have to use these days is truly nauseating – but that being said, no way does that guy get boarded, unless the gate agent, flight attendents and pilots were all stinking drunk. In the event of an emergency, that guy would almost doom anyone to the back of his row when they attempt to exit the plane – he’s blocking the aisle, and I don’t see how there could be any meal or drink service performed on that flight. That’s a big no – no, and that photo’s doctored.
Dmac (a964d5) — 12/2/2009 @ 7:35 am