A larger Delta Air Lines passenger in an extra legroom Comfort+ middle seat had a violent confrontation with another passenger and an argument when the man didn’t want his seat encroached upon.
The seatmate “freaked out at a woman” who put something in the overhead bin near his seat. And then he sat down beside the large man – and elbowed him. The pair argued over who got the armrest.
Then the passenger told the larger man about Weight Watchers. They argued over weight loss, though that wasn’t going to help for this flight regardless.
- The large passenger complained to a flight attendant that he’d been hit, while the other passenger complained that he was too fat.
- The airline considered whether to kick the passenger of size off the plane.
- The airline wanted him to delete his video footage, shared below.
- And Delta gave the woman who swapped seats with the violent man miles… and gave miles to the passenger of size as well.
Passenger Guy Branum shared the story ,a href=”https://www.threads.com/@guybranum/post/DOrN7hfksEQ” target=_blank>on Threads.
On Sunday a guy hit me on a plane, and @delta didn’t throw him off the flight or have him arrested because they were too busy determining if I was too fat or not. (The flight crew was amazing and supportive, but the @delta redcoat treated me like an object) #fat #airplane #assault #battery
The flight was out of New York JFK and presumably headed to Los Angeles, where the passenger lives. I think there are a few points worth making here.
- Regardless of size middle seat passenger gets both armrests.
- Assault should not have been tolerated, period. That passenger should have been booted – if only due to the risk that passenger posed to the flight, to other passengers, and the risk of having to divert enroute.
- Passengers should have to buy the space that they require. In fact, more passengers should just buy themselves an extra seat for comfort, especially when fares are low.
For larger passengers, the airline’s policy is actually to require purchase of an extra seat. So they didn’t follow their own policy here. So that offer of miles? The least they can do for everyone involved.
(HT: Johnny Jet)
The Premium Enshittification of Delta Continues
I’m sorry….not sorry but obese passengers need to own their obesity and not make the rest of us with self-control suffer in the seats WE PAID FOR. Seat Real estate is what we pay for and we deserve our entire seat. Obese people DO MOT have a right to flow into our seats as they pains for their real estate and not ours. Take responsibility for your Girth!
The real crime here is the caption at 1:38, “loose[sic] weight.”
Whoever is responsible for those subtitles deserves to be sacked.
At least at 1:40 they spelled it correctly, “lose weight.” You “loose” arrows when you shoot them with a bow. You “lose” weight when you stop eating too much and/or start getting enough exercise.
C’mon, people. If you don’t know the difference then you owe an apology to your elementary school teachers for eating paste in class when you should have been paying attention.
Both not great actors.
Smaller passenger should have simply told a flight attendant when he sat down and found he didn’t have space in his seat, not taken it up with the larger passenger.
Larger passenger should have purchased two economy seats.
I’ll keep saying this until I’m blue in the face. The real fault here lies primarily with gate agents and flight attendants for looking the other way and kicking the problem to the person being encroached upon. You saw the person when they were at the gate scanning their boarding pass. You saw them again when they could barely fit through the aisle. DO YOUR JOB! If the person needs two seats and they played dumb or didn’t know they had to buy two, MAKE THEM. And if you’re fat and have ever been in more than one flight, don’t play dumb. You know you need two seats. Buy them. Don’t blame everyone else or make them pay because your culo spills into the next seat.
First and foremost, this is a guy built big. Not all of us men are 5’6″ and 150 pounds (like me). Unfortunately, when you need to be reaccommodated on a flight you end up in the middle seat.
Airline coach seating was never made for bigger men. Not “fat” but built like a linebacker but at a certain age you will put some pounds on. Yeah, it’s sucks to be seated next to him/them. But if it bothers you SO MUCH either don’t fly-drive, take the train/bus or buy a premium seat. Honestly, I don’t want to be jammed into my seat by someone this size and while I’m not rich I buy upgrades to avoid being so.
Sorry but the wverwejight guy seemed to be the aggressor here. The other guy didn’t seem rude at all, and was clearly getting squished. And yes, he was indeed too large for that seat. Buy 2 seats or buy first class.
This is definitely the airlines fault. If they allow someone to board, who can not safely fit into their seat, they are causing problems for innocent travelers who expect to get what they paid for.
@George Nathan Romey, all irrelevant and not the fault of the person who like you said, weights 150 pounds. The seat is what it is, and it’s a contract of carrier. You either fit or you don’t. If you don’t, you need to buy two seats and not expect everyone will suddenly have to readjust their travel set up for you. So I think it’s misplaced to tell the person being encroached upon to stay home. This isn’t a they problem.
Fat person is the jerk here. Just buy two seats and shut up. Delta should have offloaded him and offered carriage on the next flight with two adjacent seats. His real personality shines when he asked Delta for miles, because they offered them to the other Lady. What a loser..
Quick! Blame your perceived enemies! Also, defend your preferred airline!
Wow. For sure I’m parked with @Greg: The PAX infringed upon should have taken it up with the FA’s (and not the other PAX), and the PAX who was much larger than the seat would allow should have purchased (2) seats. That said, I’m stunned at @George Nathan Romey’s remark, which effectively states that if you don’t like other PAX infringing on your space, “buy a premium seat”. Excuse me, that’s wrong on two accounts: 1) It’s not the responsibility of a PAX to accommodate an overweight passenger infringing on their space; and 2) In this case, the PAX DID purchase a Premium Seat !!!
@JimC2 is upset because he’s the guy in the video.
@Thing 1 — Nah, it’s more likely to be you, or Thing 2. Kind of a ‘he who smelt it, dealt it’ situation… (uh oh)
This whole incident shows exactly why the government needs to step in and set minimum standards for seat size in economy. When seats are too narrow and legroom is basically gone, people get stressed, fights break out, and crews are stuck playing referee instead of focusing on safety. It is not just about comfort, it is about health, safety, and basic dignity. Sure, fares might go up a bit if airlines have to give everyone more space, but that is a fair trade for fewer conflicts, safer evacuations, and passengers who are not forced to twist themselves into pain for hours. We already regulate so many other parts of aviation for safety, so why not seat size too?
I’m looking at this dude and he’s a 50 something built like a linebacker (naturally) but whose body is like every 50 something. Some extra pounds. He’s not necessarily some fat ass with 100 pounds of baggage. He was not the 300 pound cow that was on social media claiming Frontier should give her an extra seat to deposit her blubber in.
Airline seats are airline seats. And all the people that bitch about it are the first ones that drone on about needing to have Frontier and Spirit because they “keep fares down.” I get it maybe he should buy two seats or only buy premium. But if you think the airline is going to guarantee a seat without a seatmate that isn’t “wide” you’re likely the type that thinks airlines should delivery PanAm service at a Frontier fare.
Was the window seat open? Larger guy could go to window seat.
FA think they can dictate public photography?
Aside from the two seat purchase thing going around, just insist larger folks must be in the windo seat with the middle open or other pax gets window seat with middle open. No middle seat-larger pax buys both seats.
I disagree with the ban ….
https://www.elliott.org/blog/are-you-allowed-to-take-pictures-on-planes/
@George Nathan Romey — “(George), the rules were that you weren’t going to fact check…” You sure this isn’t another ‘Cluster B’ case? Also, “have you said ‘thank you,’ once?”
Look at big guy–it’s not just the armrest, he is somewhat in the seat of the guy next to him. Armrest, fine, but he’s going beyond the armrest.
@Thing1, how strange that you would assume and extrapolate so much from an anonymous comment.. It was just a lighthearted non sequitur comment.
(P.S., Google Monty Python subtitles.)
This video justifies the $4K – $5K I am willing to spend on a round trip ticket in Business whenever I travel. to Europe Just in case I ever waiver, I have kept the video on my “must see” archives.
@1990:
Quick, before Gary sees you, take this bat and swing for the fences with those jerks.
Rudeness goes nowhere. On the other hand, the heavyweight person IS taking up more than his PAID FOR SHARE of the row. When I sit down, I expect that I will have the full length, width and depth of the seat. PERIOD. That is what I paid for. That is what the heavyweight paid for. Thus, which passenger is not complying with the size of the seat that he purchased? The heavyset guy…that’s who! The airlines should make it crystal clear in their contract of carriage, the booking site (airline’s or travel agents), and a message in the final total price of the seat that explains that the passenger “…must fit in the following dimensions LxWxD or purchase an additional seat or upgrade. Then, there should be (again…should be) no argument. The gate agent, service manager, flight attendant or the captain (final authority) has the authority to say…”get up and get off!” That isn’t “fat shaming”, it’s the truth and sometimes…IT HURTS!
Tubby people are squishy. Just lean into it.
Better than a skinny stinky person, or anyone with a lap infant.
@Mike Hunt — I like your idea, but, wouldn’t that go against the whole ‘let the free market decide’ trope? I mean, I’ve always thought that de/no-regulation talk was silly, but, heh… we’re all immune to hypocrisy, no ‘jab’ or ‘boosters’ required. (sheesh)
@JimC2 — “Oh! Oh! I’m sorry! This is abuse!” …great bit.
@AlanZ — When all is said and done, the couch f…ellow is not gonna be able to take the reins…
There is always a case for government intervention whenever a third party is harmed from the voluntary free market interactions between two parties unrelated to the third. I can think of no better case than when 50 pounds of neighborly blubber tries to unionize with the seat some poor soul has purchased.
There is always a case for government intervention whenever a third party is harmed from the voluntary free market interactions between two parties unrelated to the third. I can think of no better case than when 50 pounds of neighborly blubber tries to unionize with the seat I purchased.
@Mike Hunt — 100% x2
Sorry, I’ve noticed this happens sometimes on the VFTW comment section – at first it looks like your comment hasn’t posted so you post again and then it ends up becoming an awkward duplicate.
It’s become an issue this week moreso than ever before. No biggie.
I see the hate fat people crowd is in full riot today. I have sat in a window seat and had two fat guys seated next to me in the middle seat and aisle seat in a single aisle airplane. I swapped sweat with the guy next to me but he didn’t encroach on my space. A bit uncomfortable but no big problem. I use the lavatory before I board so I didn’t have to get out during the flight. The guy doing the elbowing should have been kicked off the airplane but to be fair, the flight attendants did not see it and I doubt it was recorded so there was no good evidence of it happening. The flight attendant that brokered the swap did a good job.
I see the hate fat people crowd is in full riot today. I have sat in a window seat and had two fat guys seated next to me in the middle seat and aisle seat in a single aisle airplane. I swapped sweat with the guy next to me but he didn’t encroach on my space. A bit uncomfortable but no big problem. I use the lavatory before I board so I didn’t have to get out during the flight. The guy doing the elbowing should have been kicked off the airplane but to be fair, the flight attendants did not see it and I doubt it was recorded so there was no good evidence of it happening. The flight attendant that brokered the swap did a good job. The first time posting this did not show up.
I see the hate fat people crowd is in full riot today. The first time posting this did not show up. I will try pieces.
The first time posting this did not show up. I will try pieces. I have sat in a window seat and had two fat guys seated next to me in the middle seat and aisle seat in a single aisle airplane. I swapped sweat with the guy next to me but he didn’t encroach on my space. A bit uncomfortable but no big problem. I use the lavatory before I board so I didn’t have to get out during the flight. The guy doing the elbowing should have been kicked off the airplane but to be fair, the flight attendants did not see it and I doubt it was recorded so there was no good evidence of it happening. The flight attendant that brokered the swap did a good job.
The first time posting this did not show up. I will try pieces. I have sat in a window seat and had two fat guys seated next to me in the middle seat and aisle seat in a single aisle airplane.
I will have to come back to post because my posts are not showing up. Something is broken on the other end.
Finally my first post shows up in full after about 20 minutes.
I would recommend middle seat guy join Fat Losers International
I learned diplomacy in a Fun with Dick and Jane book in 1st grade. What the heck?I also learned in Bible class that there would be terrible times when people will be lovers of themselves, abusive, not open to any agreement,, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good. The only thing that we want to censor is the 1st Amendment as it applies to everyone but us. Get a grip.
Why couldn’t the passenger of size file a police report upon landing? Too many travel stories of passengers feeling aggrieved but do nothing to advocate for themselves and expect others (ie airline flight crew) to come to the rescue. Passenger of size, land, file a police report and continue on from there.
The real crime here is Delta selling a C+ seat as something special when it is the exact same size seat as the rest of coach.
@jns — Inadvertently (or purposely), Gary’s outsmarting the algorithm with all these extra comments! Bah!
(I had been explaining what was going on with @Mike Hunt, just before your comment chain.)
I’ve had this happen to me as well. My neighbor was super nice, but huge. I felt bad for him having to sit on a plane at all. The meal tray didn’t even fit around him, so eating was an ordeal. He flowed over and under the armrest into my seat.
Thankfully I was in the aisle so I could lean my shoulders out of the way… as long as there wasn’t a food cart coming by to hit me.
So I sat bent to the side and with my shoulders and arms in front of my chest for a 10 hour international flight.
Some people are just big… yes this guy was also “fat”… but if he’d had 11% body fat I’d still have been massively crowded.
Really the airlines need to come up with a fix for this. The width of the seat is the dimension they’re least likely to alter… it would be a much bigger change and would remove many more seats than changing legroom slightly (and legroom isn’t the biggest problem with a big neighbor).
Business class isn’t a reasonable answer for a large or small guy… it’s 5-10x the cost of a normal ticket. Thats not accessible to everyone or even most.
They should just offer “verified” extra-large passengers two seats at the price of 1.5 seats and call it a day. Any airline that does so will immediately receive enormous goodwill from the flying public.
@Gary Leff – Have you ever considered a different blog commenting tool? As a user it would be great to be able to edit and/or delete comments after posting. There are lots of them out there.
Both are in the wring. Middle seat guy doesn’t need to be so aggressive. Aisle seat guy doesn’t get the armrest for the middle seat. He has an aisle and another armrest. It’s called travel etiquette. If you are on a plane and don’t understand these things, stick to the bus. It’s cheaper for you if they have to pull over.
Every sane person knows the reason for this ongoing problem. The airlines don’t care as long as there is an ass in every seat.
from the video alone, the middle seat passenger encroaches a good 5 inches into the aisle seat which is close to 1/3rd of his seat space( not including the armrest). so yeah, not fair to him. I don’t agree with the elbowing, but big boy should have at least tried to be more accomodating.
here’s an idea, airlines need set up one row, maybe two, with special wide seats, 2 in the space of 3, for the obese passengers, at a slightly higher rate (like 130-150% regular fare) and if no passengers apply, sell them to “standard” size passengers at a slightly higher fare ( coach plus).
same seat pitch, same basic econ service ( different from premium economy).
Guy Branum is a famous comedic actor and writer. N.B. he did not invoke any special privilege.
Regardless, center seat gets both armrests. Full stop.
Ever see Zombieland? What was the first rule of survival? That’s right, “Cardio.” The real horror here is that the obese man will be the first one eaten when the zombie apocalypse begins. “For obvious reasons, the first ones to get eaten were… the fatties. Look at that guy, poor fat bast*rd.”
Were his plane to land in the middle of the ZA, he’d get devoured faster than he chomps down a triple bacon cheeseburger with fries and he’d be no help to the flight crew in evacuating the plane at all. That’s the real tragedy here. Oh, and if he became a zombie, he’d doubtless consume the entire basic economy section before the plane landed. In other words, just another normal day on Spirit Airlines.