Airline passenger news and views

A while back my colleague Catriona Wells wrote an excellent article titled 'Too big for his seat'. It generated a huge response and a good debate. I came across an interesting article recently about a passenger who had had to stand during a seven-hour flight after a morbidly obese man sitting next to him made it impossible to get into his seat.

Arthur Berkowitz said his 400lb neighbour on US Airways Flight 901 from Anchorage to Philadelphia spilled over into his personal space. He was not able to sit in his seat, could not move elsewhere in the aircraft because it was full and was therefore forced to stand up.

Mr Berkowitz also claims his ordeal in July presented a safety risk because he could not use his seatbelt during take-off and landing.

'His size required both armrests to be raised up and allowed for his body to cover half of my seat,' The flight from Anchorage to Philadelphia is one of the longest non-stop U.S. domestic flights and Mr Berkowitz thought he had a spare seat at first.

There is no legal weight limit for passengers on U.S. commercial flights but some airlines such as Southwest ask customers who cannot fit into one seat to book two.

It says if a passenger cannot lower the armrests on one set they must buy another - whatever they weigh. The second seat's price is refunded if the flight does not oversell, says consumer website Smarter Travel, which advises big passengers to travel off-peak.

On this occasion the airline asked a late-boarding passenger who weighed 400lbs to sit down next to him in the last empty seat.

Flight attendants whom he told about the problem said they could not help him as he was not allowed to sit in their jump seats.

'They were sympathetic, but could not do anything, Mr Berkowitz claims they admitted their gate agent had made an error in allowing the passenger to board without having bought two seats.

US Airways has since apologised for the 'regrettable' incident. A statement said: 'Our intention is to offer the best travel experience possible.'

In another incident last year a man flying to Toronto to visit a dying aunt was escorted off an Air Transat plane at London Gatwick and told he could only fly if he bought two seats. 

Sandy Russell, 32, from Wolverhampton, Britain, could not afford the £928 ($1,444) and his aunt died two days after he was due to see her.

This debate looks set to run and run.