I first saw this photo on a Fox News morning show and was quickly turned off by the mostly judgmental responses from the show's viewers. The Thinkglobal blog originally published the photo, allegedly taken by an American Airlines flight attendant, reigniting the debate over obese travelers on flights: should they have to pay for multiple seats? (I wrote a relevant post on my political blog back in early May.) Some people believe the photo is doctored; other posts claim to be from witnesses whom say that the middle-seat passenger was booked on a subsequent flight with additional compensation. Another alleged witness noted, in response to the comments of others saying the man should have paid for multiple seats, that the flight was full and that wasn't an option.
I don't want to come across as defensive here; I have never been as big as this passenger is, but I understand the discomfort that my neighboring passengers may feel. I usually try to book an aisle seat so I can lean into the aisle versus invade his or her personal space. I usually take care when I'm aware of cart service down the aisle (although I've been bumped a few times without warning by unapologetic flight attendants). I do understand flight attendants have safety responsibilities, and most of them have professional attitudes; others, including the attendant whom took this photo, clearly intended to embarrass the man in question, rationalizing their negative agenda, disingenuously citing a regard for public safety and the rights of the other passengers.
Most of us obese passengers dread flying. One pet peeve in my case--getting a seat belt extension (for some reason I found I needed them on some flights although not on others). If there was some magic solution to become normal-sized for the duration of a flight, we would do it; it reminds me of a story I once read of an extraordinarily tall female basketball player (6'9") on a flight. A flight attendant told the woman, in no uncertain terms, she just had to do something about her long legs spilling out into the aisle. The player looked at the flight attendant in disbelief, asking her "Do you think my legs detach so I can put them in the overhead bin?"
What is missing in this discussion is the question of civility; you would think that many of the judgmental people would have family members, relatives or friends whom are overweight and would be more sensitive. I found one particularly poignant post on the blog that I want to excerpt here:
I realized, with great pain, that this man so many people are making fun is someone I know well. His mother died suddenly of cancer less than a month ago. Yes, he is overweight--diabetes and obesity runs strong in his family. However, he almost always pays extra to fly first class. I don't know the details of this specific flight, but suspect that for some reason first class was full...This gentleman, I assure you, has had to pay for two seats many times...Obesity...depends on the person and the situation and their medical history and, yes, genetics... I do know that he has struggled with his weight for many, many years. I can also tell the folks... that this man has a young teenage daughter who will likely cry her eyes out over every cruel word you have said.I don't want to repeat my other post here, but my key point was that airlines should accommodate their flights not to accommodate some ideally-sized passenger but for passengers as they are. Some passengers are very tall; others are very big. A significant portion of the American people are overweight. I'm not saying that's a great thing; the very purpose of this blog is taking responsibility for my own health. I'm sure most big or tall people would readily pay a modest premium to get wider seats or more leg room. If many department stores now carry extended-size sections, why can't airlines find a way to address the transportation needs of the bigger passenger with dignity and tact?
