Flights: Passenger accuses Qantas cabin crew of ‘fat-shaming’ after he's told to move seat
QANTAS cabin crew have been accused by a male passenger of “fat-shaming” him after he was asked to move seats for safety reasons. The man has said he felt “bullied” by the airline flight attendant during the Australia flight.
Qantas cabin crew who asked a man to move plane seats due to his larger size are being accused of “fat-shaming” by the passenger. Darren Beales has said he expressly booked a seat in an emergency exit row on the Melbourne to Brisbane flight in Australia in order to have more leg room. However, when he boarded the flight, a cabin crew member told him he could not sit there due to “air regulations,” he told Australian breakfast television programme, The Today Show. Beales - who had to move to an ordinary seat - claimed the flight attendant told him he should consider buying two seats in the future.
Qantas flights: Cabin crew accused of ’fat-shaming’ man when he was asked to move plane seats
The passenger has said the episode left him feeling “bullied” and “belittled.”
He told Today the crew told him: “Well, look, again airway regulations, you cannot sit in an exit seat, if you’re disabled or, you know — or if you require an extended seatbelt.’”
Beales also told the Geelong Advertiser: “I can fit into the seat fine — I didn’t need a second seat. It was fat-shaming. She was rude.”
He added: “It made me feel really belittled. I could have helped in the emergency.”
Qantas specifies its exit row seat requirements and conditions on its website.
It states that: “In order to sit in an exit row seat, you must not require the use of an extension seat belt.”
The site adds: “Qantas has the sole discretion, at check-in or boarding, to determine whether a passenger meets the requirements to sit in an exit row seat.
“If the passenger does not meet the requirements, they will be assigned a different seat.”
A Qantas spokesperson told Express.co.uk: "CASA [Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority] provides guidance to airlines on the criteria for appropriate passengers to be seated in exit rows. Customers seated in an exit row may be called upon to assist crew members in the event of an emergency.
"If passengers are unable to meet these criteria airlines including Qantas will ask passengers to change seats. Customers who purchase an exit row seat are told they must satisfy the requirements during the booking process."
Beales took up the issue with Qantas’s customer service team who have reached out to him, news.com.au reported.
Qantas’s seat requirements are in line with numerous other airlines.
The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority states on its website: “If the emergency exit is needed, it is important the exit can be opened and the aircraft evacuated as quickly as possible.”
On their list of passengers who “should not be allocated, or directed to, seats by emergency exits” are: “Passengers who, because of physical size, have difficulty in moving quickly.”
Ryanair has revealed the tricks to getting the best seats on its aircraft. The low-cost airline explained that hungry travellers should aim for rows one, two or 33.
If you want more space the airline advises “treating yourself to one of the roomier seats in rows 16 and 17.”
Thirdly, if you want to make sure you get to sleep without light interfering, Ryanair suggests seat 11A. However, the reason behind this is because seat 11A has no window - which many travellers may strongly object to.
Ryanair's website states: “Red-eye warrior? Not a lot of people realise that seat 11A has no window, meaning it’s the perfect seat if you’re planning to catch up on some zzzs during a morning flight."
“This seat is also a little life-saver late at night when you’ve spent the day travelling and all you want is a few minutes of shut-eye.”