Man 'forced to stand' on seven-hour flight
A passenger on a US flight travelling from Anchorage to Philadelphia claims he was forced to stand because the man sitting next to him was too large to allow him to get into his seat.
Arthur Berkowitz, 57, says that it was impossible for him to reach his seat during the seven-hour US Airways flight because of the 181kg man in the seat next to his, the Daily Mail reported.
Mr Berkowitz said the man was quite apologetic about the situation.
"The first thing he said to me was: 'I want to apologise - I'm your worst nightmare'," he was reported as saying in the Daily Mail.
Mr Berkowitz said that the flight was too full for him to be moved into a different seat. He said that the situation posed a safety risk because he was unable to use his seatbelt for takeoff or landing.
"I didn't fly from Alaska to Philadelphia on Flight 901," Mr Berkowitz told consumer advocate Christopher Elliot's blog. "I stood."
"His size required both armrests to be raised up and allowed for his body to cover half of my seat."
At first, Mr Berkowitz thought he had a spare seat next to him but staff directed the large man, who boarded the plane late, to sit next to him.
Another passenger on the other side was "pinned up against the window" by the man because there was so little space.
US Airways staff were sympathetic, but were unable to help Mr Berkowitz.
"They were sympathetic, but could not do anything," he told elliott.org. "No other seats existed on plane."
Mr Berkowitz said that airplane staff admitted their mistake at allowing the man to board the flight without having bought two seats.
US Airways have apologised for the incident, and said in a statement: "Our intention is to offer the best travel experience possible.
"The details you have provided indicate that we have failed to meet our intentions."
Mr Berkowitz was offered a $200 voucher in compensation.
However, he said the compensation was "inappropriate" after he paid $800 for a seat on the flight, and he also claimed that the safety issue had not been fixed by the airline.
"I reviewed his case and agreed with him that US Airways might want to take another look at his complaint," Mr Elliott wrote on his blog.
"I mean, leaving a passenger with no alternative but to stand for almost seven hours - if that's true, then this might be one of those rare cases when a full refund is in order."
