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Home > Blogs > Celebrity Worship > Archives > 2010 > February > 16 > Entry
Should overweight people be requested to purchase two plane tickets?
Southwest Airlines messed with the wrong self-described fatty this time.
Director Kevin Smith’s Ding Dong fueled fight yesterday with the airline via his Twitter page and online diary continues to spark debate.
It all opens up a very important question, should fat people be forced to buy two seats or is this just another example of how they are oppressed in society?
Let’s face it, airplane seats aren’t exactly roomy and no one wants to be wedged in between the wall and a larger person. Still fat people are people too.
As a recap, the “Clerks” director says a pilot ejected him from a Southwest Airlines flight from Oakland to Burbank, Calif., saying he didn’t fit properly in a single seat, the Associate Press reports.
The airline has sort of apologized, but Smith and Southwest have still been battling it out online.
This is part of Smith’s reply to a Twitter user who said he “expected special treatment as a celebrity:”
a) I fit in the seat on an Oakland to Burbank Southwest Airlines flight
b) My lard didn’t spill over onto my fellow passengers
c) I could buckle the belt. I complied with the Southwest Airlines standards… and yet they bounced me regardless.
So what you call “expecting celebrity treatment” I call “expecting what I paid for.” In other words, a seat; which I fit into. I am fat, yes; but not Too Fat To Fly (yet).
I don’t know how you’re somehow finding a way to paint this as a portrait of Hollywood ego and excess run amok, but you flatter me, madam: I’m not that guy. One can’t have a giant-sized ass and a giant-sized ego (must… resist urge… to make… circa… 2004… JLo joke…). Your anger with me over what’s very clearly a case of an airline f***ing up (then continuing to f*** up, compounding the f***-up with mistruths and half-information) is better saved for those who SEEK extra privilege. I don’t and certainly didn’t in this case. I wanted nothing more nor less than EVERY OTHER PASSENGER: to sit in the seat I paid for. That I fit into.*
Get a juicy dose of celebrity news daily in the Dayton Daily News’ Celebriefly page found in the Life section. Twitter with me at DDNSmartmouth .
Permalink | Comments (11) | Post your comment | Categories: Star trouble
Comments
By Tomas
February 16, 2010 11:39 AM | Link to this
While I sympathize with obese people, I have had to sit next to them on occasion on planes and it is an extremely uncomfortable situation. Since planes build seats for slender people, they are not good for the obese. I think the airlines should be willing to sell the second seat to the obese for a reduced price, maybe 50% (or less).
By Tomas
February 16, 2010 11:39 AM | Link to this
While I sympathize with obese people, I have had to sit next to them on occasion on planes and it is an extremely uncomfortable situation. Since planes build seats for slender people, they are not good for the obese. I think the airlines should be willing to sell the second seat to the obese for a reduced price, maybe 50% (or less).
By Tony
February 16, 2010 1:15 PM | Link to this
So where does it stop? Why just fat people? Why not charge people with hygiene issues more as well? No one wants to smell them. Let’s go for handicapped people, too. They need extra space for their wheelchair (etc). Kids can be messy. They should be charged for 2 seats as well so no one has to get something spilled on them. Or maybe we should charge less for kids and throw them all in an enclosed kids area at the back of the plane. How about this? Everyone needing a plane ticket must bring a complete medical history and undergo minute physical evaluations by the ticket agent to determine seat cost. This is discrimination, plain and simple. When the fat people quit flying, then your skinny prices will go up to make up for lost revenue!
By haha
February 16, 2010 1:22 PM | Link to this
They edited all the f* words except the one, I wonder what type of issues DDN can experience without editing properly.
By oldtimer
February 16, 2010 1:45 PM | Link to this
The standard width of most chairs is 19”. Airline are out of line by making seats only 17” wide. This is a form of discrimination.
By living large
February 16, 2010 2:27 PM | Link to this
Tony, Did this hit a raw nerve? Are you like Mr. Smith ,who is unwilling to acknowledge what he weighs? The obese should no longer be subsidized. There is nothing worse than flying next to someone that encroaches your space. If you need part of MY space, you can pay for part of my ticket. Have another twinkie and buy two tickets.
By youngtimer
February 16, 2010 2:42 PM | Link to this
The present code for public toilets now is 1,000 pounds for just such people. PHAT= plump heavy airline traveler.
By Tony
February 16, 2010 2:46 PM | Link to this
hey living, take a shower and get out of my air space, I am tired of smelling your stench, which is why I don’t fly! As an FYI, most athletes would fall into an “obese” category by an airline and need 2 tickets. If you can sit in the seat and buckle your seatbelt, then you should not need an extra ticket. oldtimer is right, airlines try for every extra inch. It’s their fault, not larger passengers that cause comfort issues.
By P. Nis
February 16, 2010 2:59 PM | Link to this
I think most of it is the airlines greed. I’m average size and have to cram into a seat. Think about it. If they add 10 extra seats, that’s $300 per seat, $3,000 more per flight they can squeeze out of it.
By Justme
February 16, 2010 6:05 PM | Link to this
Hey, if that Akron hospital can hire only non-smokers, the airlines can make fat people buy two tickets.
By tallsandi
February 19, 2010 10:17 AM | Link to this
You neglect to ask the other question. Is it fair that I pay my fare for my seat, and then am even more uncomfortable because someone elses butt is taking up half of my seat? Why do they think they have the right to encroach on my seat space because they are to fat to fit into one seat? BTW, no I am not skinny. I sit in the aisle seat so I can lean into the aisle and not encroach on my neighbor. Dont hear me whinging about the bruises I get from the carts do you.