Air passenger suing for a back injury 'caused by sitting next to obese man'

[Larry1]

And you thought you have had uncomfortable flights.

Air passenger suing for a back injury 'caused by sitting next to obese man'

James Andres Bassos said that during an Etihad Airways flight from Sydney to Dubai, he was forced to contort his body for long periods because of the “grossly overweight” person in the next seat.

He told a court in Brisbane, Australia, that the man was spilling into his seat, coughing frequently and had fluid coming from his mouth, according to a report by the Australian Associated Press.
Bassos asked if he could move seats five hours into the journey, but airline staff allegedly refused his request. Half an hour later, Bassos complained again and he was moved to a crew seat.

Unfortunately, the court heard that he had to return to his actual seat later for security reasons, once for another hour and then again for the final 90 minutes of the flight.

Bassos alleges that the flight gave him a back injury and exacerbated a pre-existing back condition and is seeking damages for personal injuries.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/11772741/Air-passenger-suing-for-a-back-injury-caused-by-sitting-next-to-obese-man.html

An economist in Norway espouses the idea that airlines should charge passengers by weight:

“Charging according to weight and space is a universally accepted principle, not only in transportation, but also in other services," Bhatta says. "As weight and space are far more important in aviation than other modes of transport, airlines should take this into account when pricing their tickets.”

http://travel.cnn.com/airline-fat-tax-should-heavy-passengers-pay-more-619046

One airline has adopted this pricing arrangement:

The head of Samoa Air has defended its policy of charging passengers by their weight, arguing such a system is not only fair but the future for other airlines.

"The next step is for the industry to make those sort of changes and recognize that 'Hey, we are not all 72 kilograms (about 160 pounds) anymore and we don't all fit into a standard seat,''' Chris Langton, Samoa Air chief executive told CNN.

"What makes airplanes work is weight. We are not selling seats, we are selling weight."

Langton said Samoa Air's policy went into effect in November for domestic fliers and in the "past few weeks" for international routes.

According to the airline's website, "your weight plus your baggage items is what you pay for. Simple."

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/02/travel/samoa-air-fare-by-weight/

British comedian Ricky Gervais has a hilarious bit about this, starting at the :26 mark.

[jone]

One thing I have noticed about my travels to Eastern Europe.  You sometimes get seat mates that are a little ripe.

[Miquel Westano]

One thing I have noticed about my travels to Eastern Europe.  You sometimes get seat mates that are a little ripe.

Fat?  I don't know about that, but I have seen videos where passengers behind someone put their nasty feet up on the seat back and hanging in the space of the people in front of them.  That would not be acceptable to me.  fat I could forgive.  Rude I could not.