Jill, while I certainly don't think anyone should ever be thrown off a flight due to weight (and I don't know about the Kevin Smith story yet), there IS another side to this. Chairs on conveyances are a certain size and they are designed for people of a certain size. If someone is VASTLY larger than that size, it is not fair to ask another person to sit next to them as they will be taking up more than their allotted space. If this means they must buy two tickets, then that is what it means
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Airlines keep making their seats smaller to accommodate more passengers. Some airlines have done this and then instituted rules like Southwest's. It's moving the goalposts, and it's wrong. Moreover, I'm less bothered by someone's fat than their very broad shoulders, or phantom giant penis and testicles that require their legs to be splayed into my seat area. If we're going to go after one thing, let's go after them all.
As to Kevin Smith's story: He sat in the seat with both armrests down, and his belt buckled without an extender. Even by SWA's rules, he shouldn't have been removed from the flight. Further, there was apparently a man on that same flight who was "that large" who wasn't removed. It was arbitrary, and it was wrong.Also, as to the case on my flight
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I agree completely with you about the guy on your flight. I mean if there was space, EVERYONE would be more comfortable if he moved, but he could have just done that. He didn't need to make big deal of it
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I am not at all an expert in airplane design, but from what I can tell, brief internet research seems to indicate that the width of seats has historically remained a consistent 17-18.5 inches. Seat pitch, i.e. the distance between seats, is what has actually decreased over time. Even though legroom is something that most of us are concerned about when flying (though my shortness means it's fortunately something of a non-issue for me), I think seat width is the more salient issue here
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Yeah, I'm sort of rolling around in "argh" on this. I fly out to California in a week and a half. Which thing will be more of a pain in the ass: transness or fatness? Let's find out! Whee!
I fly to LA on Friday. I'm SO looking forward to the cattle call, seeing how people are treated re) weight, and I'm really eager to find out how a cane-enabled Cyberwoman is treated on a plane these days.
There's a storage place in Brooklyn near where the F train comes above ground. The way the windows are built into the building, it always looks like, "SIT OR AGE."
There's a Shurgard in the Bronx near the Mt. Vernon border, visible from the Bronx River Parkway and the Harlem Line on Metronorth, which for years had a sign perfectly burned out to say
Wow. I'm gobsmacked, by both stories. And glad that Kevin has made such a public stink about it.
I think I recall reading a year or two ago about Canada instituting a law that airlines must provide two seats as a disability accommodation for those who need it, whereas in the States airlines want to charge people for two seats.
OMG, all the people at the southwest apology page saying that Kevin Smith was just doing it for attention [from his Twitter followers].
*headdesk*
I wish I could afford to be discriminating in my airline choices, but I'm forced to go with the cheapest flight unless there's less than a $50 difference.
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As to Kevin Smith's story: He sat in the seat with both armrests down, and his belt buckled without an extender. Even by SWA's rules, he shouldn't have been removed from the flight. Further, there was apparently a man on that same flight who was "that large" who wasn't removed. It was arbitrary, and it was wrong.Also, as to the case on my flight ( ... )
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Viva Kevin.
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...not.
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There's a storage place in Brooklyn near where the F train comes above ground. The way the windows are built into the building, it always looks like, "SIT OR AGE."
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SHURGARD SELF RAGE
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I think I recall reading a year or two ago about Canada instituting a law that airlines must provide two seats as a disability accommodation for those who need it, whereas in the States airlines want to charge people for two seats.
Speaks volumes, doesn't it?
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*headdesk*
I wish I could afford to be discriminating in my airline choices, but I'm forced to go with the cheapest flight unless there's less than a $50 difference.
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