A North Carolina passenger complained to US Airways after she was forced to sit between two obese passengers on a flight from Charlotte to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The woman says the other passengers were so big that they spilled into her seat.
Michelle Biele told WECT that she wasn't trying to be insensitive to the overweight passengers, but she says she was put in an awkward and physically uncomfortable position by US Airways seating her between the large passengers.
"The arm rest would not come down. Her bottom was across my seat and onto my leg," Biele said of her experience on the two hour flight.
Biele suffers from bulging disks in her back and she was put in an uncomfortable situation as she had to contort her body to make room for the two passengers seated next to her, who she says weighed more than 300 pounds.
"I couldn't spread my legs apart to put my bag under the seat, I had to hold my bag. And [the flight attendants] didn't even say anything to me about it because they knew I couldn't move," Biele said.
Biele said she tried to get the attention of the flight attendants, but they wouldn't even make eye contact with her. When the flight was over, she explained what had happened. The flight attendants apologized but said there was nothing they could do about it since the flight was full.
Biele decided to write to US Airways and asked for a refund since she wasn't able to sit comfortably in the $400 seat. The airline dismissed her complaint at first but then offered her a discount for another flight.
Even though she was offered compensation, Bile says US Airways needs to properly address the situation and that the airline should have a better plan when it comes to seating large passengers.
"There should be a disclaimer that if you take up more than your portion of the seat, and are unable to put the armrest in the position that they belong in, that you should have to purchase another seat," she said.
US Airways, which recently merged with American Airlines, said that they have a policy in which a passenger must purchase a second seat if they require a seat belt extender and exceed the width of the chair.
Larger passengers are encouraged to book a second seat in advance, but if they don't, a gate agent may have to ask them to wait for another flight if the first flight is full. Overweight passengers are also advised to let airlines know if they need any assistance with fitting into a seat so the airline staff can help them without drawing attention to the situation.
Biele says that she often boards last due to her boarding process. Due to this, the airline believes the flight attendants might not have noticed that the larger passengers were causing a problem because the flight was about to take off.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
