Passenger Forced to Stand for 7 Hour Flight Because Obese Passenger Took Up His Seat
A US Airways passenger was forced to stand for seven hours on a flight because a 400 pound obese passenger took up half his seat.
Arthur Berkowitz, 57, could not sit in his designated seat because the obese man spilled onto his seat during his flight from Alaska to Philadelphia.
Berkowitz wrote on consumer advocacy blog Elliot.org about his nightmare flight. He told the website that he sat next to an empty middle seat on a full flight, before another passenger who he believes weighed at least 400 pounds sat on the seat.
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Berkowitz told ABCNews.com: “He was very apologetic. When he boarded, he said: ‘I’m your worst nightmare’.”
But Berkowitz could not fit into his seat.
“His size required both armrests to be raised up and allowed for his body to cover half of my seat,” Berkowitz said to Elliot.org. “It did not allow me to use my seatbelt during takeoff and landing as well as required me to stand in the aisle and galley area for most of the seven-hour flight.”
Since it was a full flight, there was nothing that the flight attendants could do about it. “They were sympathetic, but could not do anything,” he told the website. “No other seats existed on plane. They would not permit me to sit in their jump seats, and fully acknowledged the mistake by their gate agent, in allowing this individual on [the] plane without requiring him to purchase and occupy two seats.”
After the nightmare flight, Berkowitz wrote a letter of complaint to US Airways. He was issued an apology and only received a $200 voucher. However, Berkowitz is not happy with the compensation saying, “The $200 is inappropriate. I paid in excess of $800 for the ticket.”
