Man Forces 'Obese' Plane Passenger Seated Next To Him To Pay Him Cash For 'Taking Up' Half Of His Seat
The seatmate agreed, but other passengers criticized the man's actions.
Parilov / Shutterstock A man caused an uproar on his flight after he claimed that he would not be able to fly comfortably due to a fellow passenger’s weight. Perhaps what was even more outrageous was what the man asked of the passenger seated next to him.
After overhearing comments from other horrified passengers, the man is asking if his actions were justified.
The man asked an ‘obese’ passenger sitting next to him to give him cash to compensate for the space he did not get to use.
Sharing his story on Reddit, the man revealed that he had booked an aisle seat on a five-hour flight. On the specific plane he was flying on, the man explained that each row contained two seats, a window seat and an aisle seat.
Once he boarded, he noticed a “very obese man” walking down the aisle toward his row. “I assumed maybe he bought two hence why he’s even attempting to board,” the man wrote. “I’m mentally crossing my fingers he’s not next to me, but sure enough he ends up pointing to the window seat next to me to let him in.”
Photo: Song_about_summer / Shutterstock
Still, the man got up “politely” to allow his fellow passenger into his seat, wanting to “at least give him a chance.”
“Well, he sits down and is easily seeping into about a third of my seat,” the man shared. “I sit down and am pressed up against him, making me uncomfortable.”
“He wasn’t rude, but sort of gave me a shrug as if there’s nothing he can do,” the man wrote. “Although he did sort of tighten his arms in to try and be narrower. It just wasn’t enough, though. He still was overhanging over the armrest about a quarter into my seat even when squeezing his arms in.”
Photo: aleks333 / Shutterstock
Eventually, the man got the attention of a flight attendant, who told his seatmate that it would be best if he purchased an entire row for himself. However, the flight was booked solid and the passenger was unable to get on a later flight out. “I felt bad for him but I was also thinking about my own comfort on the long flight — the comfort I paid for,” the man wrote.
As a last-ditch effort, the flight attendant asked other passengers if they were willing to allow the man to sit next to them instead. There were no volunteers.
That’s when the man decided to take it upon himself to make a trade with his fellow passenger.
“I told the guy, ‘Look, I’ll put up with this if you give me $150 — that’s half the cost of this flight and that would compensate me enough for the circumstances,’” the man revealed. “He instantly agrees, pulls out cash, and pays me. He even told me he appreciated it.”
While his seatmate did not appear to have an issue with his request, other passengers who overheard the conversation were mortified.
“Well, the people sitting behind me (who keep in mind didn’t volunteer to sit by him) were making comments under their breath about me being an [expletive] for doing that,” he wrote.
However, in the man’s eyes, he made a fair deal with his seatmate.
Photo: pixelshot / Canva Pro
“From my perspective, I gave the guy a valid option to stay on the flight and I was compensated for literally having only 75% of my seat max (let alone the feeling of a person’s body pressed against you involuntarily),” he wrote. “He wasn’t angry at all, if anything he seemed quite relieved we could work it out privately.”
The dirty looks and comments he received from other passengers led him to ask himself if he was in the wrong.
“You compromised. He compromised. It was an awkward situation of nobody's making,” one Redditor noted.
“He should have bought two seats, this is his fault he got off well with it. He agreed and you agreed,” another user wrote. “I am sure if the people behind you were in the same position they would have thought differently.”
However, other people criticized the man for being insensitive to his seatmate and demanding money out of him. “This is ridiculous. You made a scene and embarrassed the man and then made him pay you for a fraction of your seat. You are the epitome of an [expletive],” one user commented.
“You didn’t settle this privately — you humiliated the guy by involving the flight attendant and then demanding $150 to allow him to stay on this flight,” another user pointed out.
Others felt that the man and his seatmate were equally to blame for the situation they found themselves in. “He should have prepared and bought two seats for him; you shouldn't have humiliated him by making him pay for ‘part of your seat’ when the money didn't change anything,” one user shared.
Shaming and embarrassing the passenger was not the solution.
While the man may have been uncomfortable in his seat during the long flight and came to what he perceived as a fair agreement, it is never a reason to embarrass and shame someone for their size. This man essentially shamed his seatmate into giving him cash and that was not okay. He should have handled this discreetly with the man and flight crew.
Fat shaming promotes discrimination, contributes to body image issues, and has negative impacts on mental health. It is detrimental to individuals and contributes to a culture of negativity and discrimination.
Everyone deserves to be treated with respect and dignity, regardless of their body size or shape.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.