If a passenger spills into your seat, it should not be you who has to suffer. One American Airlines passenger did not even get compensation when he was squished beside an obese passenger on a full flight. That is not how such situations should be handled on AA or any carrier.
American Airlines Does Not Follow Its Own Policy, RE: Obese Passenger
An American Airlines passenger complained that he was seated next to a “passenger of size” on a full flight who spilled into his personal space, making for a very uncomfortable flight. When he complained to American Airlines, he received a canned response with no compensation:
I flew within the past week and the person in the middle seat next to me was very obese. They weren’t able to pull down the arm rest because of their girth and over half of my seat was taken up by this person with their body pushed up against mine. It was a completely full flight and the [flight attendants] weren’t able to offer anything. This was a rather uncomfortable flight. ‘ve written to AA to complain but their response was a canned letter which didn’t even address my complaint nor offer any solutions or compensation.
This is difficult sitution, but made worse by American Airlines just looking the other way instead of enforcing its own rules. View From The Wing is quite right that AA has published a protocol for dealing with situations in which extra space is needed:
- When you call to book, Reservations will make sure you get two adjacent seats at the same rate
- If you didn’t book an extra seat in advance, ask an airport agent to find out if two adjacent seats are available
- You may be offered a seat in a higher class of service that may provide more space; in this case, you’ll be responsible for the fare difference
- If accommodations can’t be made on your original flight, you can buy seats on a different flight at the same price as your original seats
I know it’s easy for a gate agent to look the other way…there is no easy way to deal with a situation and in many cases, there is shame and embarrassment involved.
But that doesn’t make it right! If a passenger fails to prepare for their special needs, the pain should not fall upon the victim.
I’m not attacking the passenger of size here…no diatribe today on fitness and dieting. But whatever hand you have been dealt (some people are tall and have huge bones, other people struggle with weight due to gland issues, and others simply overconsume calories), you do not have the right to invade the space of others on a plane. If you cannot put your armrest down, you need to secure a second seat. How you do it is your issue…but invading your seatmate’s space is unacceptable.
We’ll see if AA responds better this time than last time.
Our passengers come in all different sizes and shapes. We’re sorry you were uncomfortable on your flight.
— americanair (@AmericanAir) October 11, 2022
CONCLUSION
American Airlines has a sensible approach to passengers of size: it just needs to enforce its own policy. While complaining to a flight attendant or delaying a flight by refusing to sit down may seem mean-spirited, it is unreasonable that passengers should be forced to abdicate their own personal space in order to be “polite.”
> Read More: American Airlines Taunts Passenger Who Complained About Being “Sandwiched” Between Two Obese Passengers
