Ryan J. B.

Unfriendly Skies of the Day: Consumer advocate Christopher Elliott received an email from a passenger who says he was forced to stand in the aisle for the entire seven-hour duration of his US Airways flight from Anchorage to Philadelphia because the 400-pound man he was seated next to was taking up both their spots.

“His size required both armrests to be raised up and allowed for his body to cover half of my seat,” says Arthur Berkowitz.

He was told by flight attendants that he could not be reseated as the flight was fully booked. “They were sympathetic, but could not do anything,” Berkowitz tells Elliott. “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 plane without requiring him to purchase and occupy two seats.”

The discomfort took a backseat to the safety issue that arose: Berkowitz was unable to secure himself with a seatbelt due to his seating situation.

US Airways responded to Berkowitz with a form letter offering him a $200 voucher — a quarter of what he paid for the ticket. When Elliott contacted US Airways, he was told that the airline had made Berkowitz “its last, best offer.”

Neither Berkowitz nor Elliott received a response concerning the unsafe conditions “created by allowing overweight passengers to buy one seat.”

(Source: thedailywhat)