The rights of the tall

[Justchecking]

Which is why I don't. The post was made merely out of self interest in wanting to discount my J fare 25% and fly J more often. there's got to be an upside to being a midget...

 

[simongr]

there's got to be an upside to being a midget...

If there is an upside you probably need a ladder to reach it...

 

[ric_melb]

I know the comment is made tongue in cheek, but realistically if an airline reduces your J fare by 25% then they will need to recoup that same amount from the tall passenger wanting the extra room! So it ain't going to happen.
It must be uncomfortable travelling in economy when you are very tall, however there are options such as exit rows, or travelling in a higher class.

 

[mr_osborne]

I think that you'll find, that tall people make up a noticeable proportion of business class paid fares, and therefore, the airline doesn't want to make it too easy for them to fly in economy, it's much more profitable to convince them to pay for business class...

 

[openseat]

One of my few experiences of seat squatting was by a tall person who nabbed my pre-selected exit row seat and tried to fob me off to his middle seat at the back. The FA was all for him to stay in the seat as they were flirting with each other, and I was told that is was 'only fair' that he should sit there. The CSM, however, came to the rescue and moved him down the back.

It's pretty clear on the website about exit row policy. In fact being able to pay for an exit row gives tall people more surety than the seat allocation lottery at check-in.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

A TALL passenger has accused Qantas of discriminating against him by making him pay for extra leg room.


Adam Menzies - who is 213cm tall - says he cannot "physically fit" into standard seats, and says they pose a risk to his safety.
He said it was discriminatory for Qantas to make him pay extra for exit row seats. He said he was being forced to "pay over what the average person has to". Qantas denied the allegations, saying the same rules applied to all passengers. A spokesman said Mr Menzies was seeking "preferential treatment".

Mr Menzies told the Herald Sun the legal action followed a holiday to the US with his wife late last year. Despite assurances from his travel agent he would be in the exit rows, he was later told by Qantas the seats cost extra and were already booked by frequent flyers.
In court documents, the 31-year-old said he was "effectively ... sold a seat I would not fit into".

He said after he arrived at Melbourne Airport to find no exit seats available on his flight, Qantas staff found him a bulkhead seat that provided extra leg room. But the father of one had to pay $80 extra for the exit rows on his way home The Herald Sun understands initial mediation between the two parties has been unsuccessful.

"Other people may choose to pay extra for leg room, but for a person of my height, it's a requirement not a choice," Mr Menzies said.
"This policy leaves people above the average height disadvantaged and puts their health at risk.

Qantas said its rules were within legal guidelines. "All Qantas customers are able to book and pay for seats providing extra leg room; however, this customer is seeking preferential treatment simply because he is tall," a spokesman said. "Qantas' approach is reasonable and appropriate and consistent with other airlines around the world."

Mr Menzies denies he wants special consideration. "I literally can't fit in the seats," he said. Mediation resumes in November before a hearing in March next year.

Read more: Tall passenger Adam Menzies sues Qantas over extra charge for leg room | News.com.au

I don't know how many times I've heard "....but my travel agent said" & suddenly the airline is the bad guy because it doesn't deliver something the travel agent promised in error. Another one often heard "but I requested a bassinet/exit row/bulkhead" - a request is just that, a request - not a confirmation you have something. If you have one bassinet on (some) 767's & 8 infants requesting one, only one is going to get it - or none if a WP has already selected 23JK!

How can the travel agent give an assurance that this guy will be in the exit row if he hasn't paid for it??? The agent clearly does not know the procedures involved for securing an exit row seat internationally.

If an exit row seat was booked you would know for example you had 58C MEL/LAX & it would cost you $160.00 each way to LAX for the privilege. I don't know why the article said he had to cough up $80.00 on the way back from LAX as the amount for a long haul flight such as LAX/MEL is $160.00 - sounds like a possible media beat up/QF bashing exercise.

The article quotes the "father of one" (why is this even relevant?) having travelled to the US with his wife late last year. Was their child travelling with them or left behind? If the child was with them that would explain why they were not allowed to sit in the exit row & why one wouldn't have been able to be prebooked?

I have been able to reserve an exit row for my SO on a BNE/ADL flight the day before on the internet & he is only f/flyer bronze so it's not just a privilege open to elite frequent flyers.

 

[jaffa]

I keep getting drawn to the saftey issue!
Perhaps this could genuinely be a saftey issue.
If not only for him but at least the people sitting around him, especialy if he is allocated a middle seat. The same goes for the more overweight, not so much themselves but for the people around them. How do you get past them in an emergency if your allocated the window.

And of course there are the dozens of DVT lawsuits going on against airlines around the world, presently with predictions not looking good for the airlines. There have already been major losses to the airlines in these matters where they prefer to settle out of court than dealing with original problem.

Whilst l am not excuseing the weakness of his case, to me there maybe some argument re the saftey issue.

If only we knew who was allocated to sit next us.

Maybe that would be a great WP benifit, the ability to veto who sits next to you

 

[niemann]

You have a right to education and clean water, you don't have a right to a comfortable airplane seat. Something tells me this dude has a beard lol.

 

[OverrideServlet]

I keep getting drawn to the saftey issue!
Perhaps this could genuinely be a saftey issue.

If he was genuinely concerned about his safety you'd think he'd take some measure to ensure his safety isn't compromised.

i.e. would I trust the assurance of a travel agent that I was sitting in a "safe" seat on an aircraft? Hell no. I'd be ringing the airline to double check my travel agent's work.

 

[Robert K]

he really should be suing his parents for giving him the 'unfit to fly Y gene'

 

[drron]

I keep getting drawn to the saftey issue!
Perhaps this could genuinely be a saftey issue.
If not only for him but at least the people sitting around him, especialy if he is allocated a middle seat. The same goes for the more overweight, not so much themselves but for the people around them. How do you get past them in an emergency if your allocated the window.

And of course there are the dozens of DVT lawsuits going on against airlines around the world, presently with predictions not looking good for the airlines. There have already been major losses to the airlines in these matters where they prefer to settle out of court than dealing with original problem.

Whilst l am not excuseing the weakness of his case, to me there maybe some argument re the saftey issue.

If only we knew who was allocated to sit next us.

Maybe that would be a great WP benifit, the ability to veto who sits next to you

There are!Do a search.Virtually all lawsuits were in the early naughties.Look up Slater and Gordon-announced a class action in 2001 and in December last year was still being considered.

Well before the Economy Class syndrome was discovered I called DVTs the Victorian Pensioners syndrome-those that packed up their car at the start of winter and drove straight through to the Sunshine coast.It is prolonged immobility that increases your chance of DVT.

BA permitted a major study on DVT and in fact the incidence of DVT was greatest in F,next J and last of all Y.Why you may ask?Because the more comfortable your seat the less likely you were to get up and walk around.Of course more Y pax have DVTs because there are many more of them than F passengers.So anyone who got an opup then a DVT has a better chance of success!

Do a search of US law firms.They now advertise that if you have a DVT after airline travel think of suing your doctor if he did not warn you of the risk-not the airlines.

 

[drron]

You have a right to education and clean water, you don't have a right to a comfortable airplane seat. Something tells me this dude has a beard lol.

I resemble that!:shock:

 

[Justchecking]

I keep getting drawn to the saftey issue!
Perhaps this could genuinely be a saftey issue.
If not only for him but at least the people sitting around him, especialy if he is allocated a middle seat. The same goes for the more overweight, not so much themselves but for the people around them. How do you get past them in an emergency if your allocated the window.

Whilst l am not excuseing the weakness of his case, to me there maybe some argument re the saftey issue. If only we knew who was allocated to sit next us.
:

Are you going to cite 'safety issues' everytime someone of size is in your vicinity? You sit next to tall and or wide people on buses and trains as well. All confined spaces in which you could be in trouble in the event if an emergency. What about in elevators? How about on escalators? That less mobile person could trip and cause you to fall down an escalator. Life is inherently risky, when you start thinking about it, there is nowhere you are really safe. Does that mean we should start suing people everytime our life could potentially be in danger, which is very minute of the day?

No-one forces a passenger onto an aircraft, we all voluntarily choose to be there or not accepting that there is always some risk involved. There are alternative means of transport both within the aircraft itself (seat classes) or on various transport methods. People really need to take some responsibility for the situations they voluntarily place themselves into.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

As a very tall person I do feel for the flyer. I think he has a case.

VCAT will decide anyway, and thankfully they are trained legal professionals rather than the public at large.

The other thing that hasn't been mentioned is that there is NOTHING that can be done about being tall. You cannot make yourself shorter.

The same does not apply to the majority of fat people. I used to be fat. i stopped eating. was it hard? it was bloody hard. For the first few weeks of my diet all i could think about was food.

Now I am in the normal weight range. being fat was my fault, my doing, and my problem to deal with. When i didn't deal with it then i suffered the consequences.

There is the common argument that fat poeople can't help it... and recent studies have found that dfor some people, there is a medical reason for it (some gene or something). But the problem is tha the same applies to people with addicitve personalities.. there is some gene that makes some people more addictive to substances than others.

however I havve yet to see a bleeding heart social welfare group arguing that a heroi_ addict or ice abuser should just be allowed to stay addicted to those because 'oh they can't help it'

Fat people on planes ARE a safety risk. They can be slower, they might block aisles, internal partitions and even overwing exits. (there are plenty of other poeple who are safety risks too... including the drunk)

tall people cant help it. they should have a right to a seat which affords some level of comfort.. in fact the same level of comfort as other people...(the majority as posted above). most people have a couple of inches between their knees and the seat in front... tall people dont. the only way for them to get that is via an extra leg room seat. 7 foot is fairly extreme. Not many of them, and they deserve a better seat...

 

[Reggie]

tall people cant help it. they should have a right to a seat which affords some level of comfort.. in fact the same level of comfort as other people...(the majority as posted above). most people have a couple of inches between their knees and the seat in front... tall people dont. the only way for them to get that is via an extra leg room seat. 7 foot is fairly extreme. Not many of them, and they deserve a better seat...

I agree. These extra leg room seats can be found in PE, J or F, and they're more than welcome to pay for it.

Likewise the parents with under 2 year olds can have the choice of having them on their lap all flight, or booking an extra seat

 

[Justchecking]

The other thing that hasn't been mentioned is that there is NOTHING that can be done about being tall. You cannot make yourself shorter....and they deserve a better seat...

Really? Ok then. When he wins his case I will sue an airline for failing to provide me with an extra low overhead locker. I can't do anything about being short and I deserve to be able to put my own bag up without the risk of back injury or having to ask someone else to do it (I find that demeaning to my existence). I also deserve unrestricted access to my bag during the flight.

 

[Moody]

I agree. These extra leg room seats can be found in PE, J or F, and they're more than welcome to pay for it.

Likewise the parents with under 2 year olds can have the choice of having them on their lap all flight, or booking an extra seat

Extra leg room is also available in Y. They are called exit row seats. The are exactly the same as any other Y seat if you leave aside the lack of seat pockets, underfloor storage, eye-level screen, and convenient tray table. In my opinion all these factors make it inferior to a standard economy seat, apart from the fact that no-one can recline into your face.

Airlines used to be sensible about the allocation of these seats based on need, as there was a tacit agreement that they pack Y seats too closely together for anyone much over 190cm. Now it is based on greed, and we know who taught them that - don't we Reggie?

The same stupidity seems to have crept into bassinet/bulkhead seats, with the usual DYKWIAs nabbing those to the detriment of parents with infants.

It's all very disappointing.

 

[Robert K]

As a very tall person I do feel for the flyer. I think he has a case.

VCAT will decide anyway, and thankfully they are trained legal professionals rather than the public at large.

The other thing that hasn't been mentioned is that there is NOTHING that can be done about being tall. You cannot make yourself shorter.

The same does not apply to the majority of fat people. I used to be fat. i stopped eating. was it hard? it was bloody hard. For the first few weeks of my diet all i could think about was food.

Now I am in the normal weight range. being fat was my fault, my doing, and my problem to deal with. When i didn't deal with it then i suffered the consequences.

There is the common argument that fat poeople can't help it... and recent studies have found that dfor some people, there is a medical reason for it (some gene or something). But the problem is tha the same applies to people with addicitve personalities.. there is some gene that makes some people more addictive to substances than others.

however I havve yet to see a bleeding heart social welfare group arguing that a heroi_ addict or ice abuser should just be allowed to stay addicted to those because 'oh they can't help it'

Fat people on planes ARE a safety risk. They can be slower, they might block aisles, internal partitions and even overwing exits. (there are plenty of other poeple who are safety risks too... including the drunk)

tall people cant help it. they should have a right to a seat which affords some level of comfort.. in fact the same level of comfort as other people...(the majority as posted above). most people have a couple of inches between their knees and the seat in front... tall people dont. the only way for them to get that is via an extra leg room seat. 7 foot is fairly extreme. Not many of them, and they deserve a better seat...

If I choose to buy a pair of shoes too small for me and It cuts circulation to my foot and i end up having to cut it off, can I sue the shoe shop for selling me the shoe that was obviously too small for me?

 

[munitalP]

I have just started a POLL to gauge seating activities of PAX on AC @ http://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/community/open-discussion/seating-preference-when-flying-33063.html

 

[Reggie]

Airlines used to be sensible about the allocation of these seats based on need, as there was a tacit agreement that they pack Y seats too closely together for anyone much over 190cm. Now it is based on greed, and we know who taught them that - don't we Reggie?

Gordon

The same stupidity seems to have crept into bassinet/bulkhead seats, with the usual DYKWIAs nabbing those to the detriment of parents with infants.

I have never grabbed a bulkhead with a bassinet, as the airline reserves the right to change "my" seating allocation to accomodate those with babies, which I firmly agree with. As such, rather than risk a centre seat, I always book away from these seats. I also note that on most flights EK and QF have the bassinet seats blocked unless you have a child on you booking.