Mega Jerk on BA makes Lady Mad
 

Returning last Jan from London on BA, we were confronted by a huge man in front of me in coach who reclined his chair the full max (and then some, since he was so fat) the entire trip, and would not even pull it up in order for me to eat, refusing requests by me, my husband and the steward. Therefore, I could take no refreshment or meals unless I left my chair, let my husband out (could hardly squeeze by) and sat in his, while he stood at attention. My question is, do passengers have any rights in this regard? The steward said that there was nothing he could do and quickly disengaged, and thus, we endured a very disagreeable flight. Any suggestions as to how to handle in future. by the way, it was an entirely full flight, so no options to change to a vacant seat. What about my rights to eat my meal? Help ofr advice, anyone. We are seasoned travelers but have never encountered such a rude, obese man.

Julie; I can absolutely sympathize with your situation. It is one of those unfortunate things that can happen on any flight. Since the flight attendant backed away, I doubt there was much anybody could do. You could dump coffee on his head, (by accident) or upchuck on him (involuntarily) but then you'd have to pay the price for your actions. Julie, let's hope it never happens to you again!!

Deja vu? Haven't we already beaten this one to death?

The airline could easily ban him from <BR>future flights & pass his name to other <BR>airlines/ticket agencies.(they don't have to say anything about him except he's banned from BA.)It was very lax of the the cabin staff to take no action. <BR> I hope you intend to complain to BA. <BR>BA charges more than budget airlines <BR>for "better service"- you should get what you paid for, including creep-free <BR>travel. <BR>Violence is a poor solution, however temporarily satisfying.YOU could end up <BR>banned.I like the "upchuck" idea,(prev post) but a better plan is to spike his drink with E-lax.That should take him out of his seat for the journey....

Julie, <BR>You should definitely complain to BA. Did you get the name of the "oh-so-helpful" flight attendent? In your letter you should mention his/her name for lack of interest in your discomfort. Good Luck!

Complain to BA--it might get you something. Last May my husband and I flew US Air to Madrid. We had bought tickets and made reservations in January and were supposed to have two seat together, window and aisle. When we got on the plane, we discovered that we had the window and the aisle seat across the aisle. The jerk in the aisle seat we should have had refused to switch aisle seats--he would have had exactly the same type of seat as assigned but he wanted the window seat instead. I wrote US Air when we came back and it responded with certificates for future flights. It didn't fully make up for really putting a damper on the beginning of our vacation, but it did help.

For the interest of newcomers to this forum, Julie posted this complaint on June 23, 1999 and received 125 responses. The title was "What's fair if you are FAT?", if anyone wants to read it. <BR> <BR>I agree with Dayle that the topic has been beaten to death. <BR> <BR>Julie, 11 months have passed since you had this horrible experience; I think it is time to get over it, or get help if you can't.

Thanks Ron, you are absolutely right. Given how unpleasant this topic got when it came up before, this may well be a troll. Personally, I won't rise to the bait again.

I understand that a repeat poster irritates the regulars, but how about the new guys? How do I get to the archives?

Use the "search" box.

I've been told by a nice young woman at a Lufthansa ticket counter that their new training manuals say that to require a severely overweight passenger to buy a second seat is officially, according to the airline, a faux pas. They even had a photo in the manual (she showed me) with average-sized flight attendants next to a gigantic man -- I suppose to define "fat."

Was he wearing a fanny pack and "I'm With Stupid -&gt;" T-shi

Elvira, <BR> <BR>Ha,ha,ha... <BR>You are truly priceless for your quick wit! I mean this with all sencerity (sp?). <BR> <BR>Kittie <BR>

Sorry folks, didn't mean to re-open this "can o worms". I forgot that we discussed it, and since we are again getting ready to brave the crossing of the pond, it came vividly to my mind.