Saturday, July 16, 2011

Tony Figueroa on American Airlines - Something special in the air



On my L.A. to Chicago Flight (Number 1350 - Departed 6/16/11), I had a problem being seated next to a very large person who took up some of my seat (and even more after he fell asleep), he prevented me from lowering my tray table. He lifted the arm between us. I could not move my left arm to even read. It was a full flight. I gestured to the flight attendant who smiled and shrugged. I went to the galley to formally complain and again she smiled and shrugged. This large person should have been given two seats. I understand that there are people at every airline called "Conflict Resolution Officials" (CROs) who are trained specifically for situations with passengers with disabilities as well as obese passengers. He has National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) to go to if he gets the Southwest Airlines treatment. Please understand, I am not anti-obese, the guy next to me seemed like a nice guy, but why is my comfort and personal space less important than his? I did not want to hurt the guy's feelings or act like a jerk in public. It was bad enough that I could not sit with my wife (Donna Allen-Figueroa) but I did not expect to be spooning with a guy almost twice my size.

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