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Post Info TOPIC: Fat Marine Kicked Off Plane


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Fat Marine Kicked Off Plane
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Pictured: Former Marine who claims he was 'kicked off' American Airlines flight for being TOO BIG for his seat

  • Chris Shelley claims he was asked to leave American Airlines flight by crew
  • He was travelling from Dallas to Orange County, US, on November 20
  • Situation was eventually resolved and Shelley was allowed to re-board
  • American Airlines told MailOnline that they are investigating the incident 

 

 

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This is the frequent flier who has claimed that he was kicked off an American Airlines flight because of his weight.

Engineer Chris Shelley was travelling from Dallas to Orange County, USA, when he was allegedly asked to leave the aircraft by a member of the crew after a female passenger complained that he was too big for the seat.

After persuading the unidentified passenger to switch seats, Shelley was finally able to re-board the flight and continue his journey. American Airlines is investigating the issue.

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Passenger: Chris Shelley (pictured) claims he was kicked off an American Airlines flight on Friday for being 'too big' for the seat

Passenger: Chris Shelley (pictured) claims he was kicked off an American Airlines flight on Friday for being 'too big' for the seat

The incident on November 20 arose when Chris Shelley boarded a plane in Dallas and an elderly woman came to sit next to him, according to CBS Local.

Within moments of sitting down, she was said to have walked back to the front of the plane.

Soon after, a member of the American Airline crew asked Shelley to leave the plane.

In an interview with CBS Local, Shelley said: 'They told me anyone over two inches in the seat cannot sit on the aircraft.'

Shelley claimed that the crew members offered no solution to the problem and he had to beg the staff to ask the woman if she would change her seat.

After the woman agreed to move to a different seat, Shelley was able to re-board the plane and continue the journey.

The former marine commented: 'The worst part was being treated as if I was some sort of criminal. Not only a criminal, but a fat criminal.' 

The incident on November 20 arose when Shelley boarded a plane in Dallas and an elderly woman came to sit next to him

The incident on November 20 arose when Shelley boarded a plane in Dallas and an elderly woman came to sit next to him

The former marine commented: 'The worst part was being treated as if I was some sort of criminal. Not only a criminal, but a fat criminal'

The former marine commented: 'The worst part was being treated as if I was some sort of criminal. Not only a criminal, but a fat criminal'

Shelley, who flies more than 100,000 miles a year in his job as an engineer in Huntington Beach, added: 'They never once asked me or anyone else if we could switch seats. It was just simply – get off the plane!'

American Airlines has sent two emails of apology to Shelley.

A spokesperson for American Airlines commented to MailOnline Travel: 'We apologize to Mr. Shelley for his experience on a recent flight with us.

'We always aim to give our all of our customers the best possible travel experience and we fell short of that with Mr. Shelley while trying to accommodate another passenger.

'We’re investigating what happened both onboard and afterwards in our follow-up to ensure similar circumstances are handled better in the future.'

A spokesperson for American Airlines commented to MailOnline Travel: 'We apologize to Mr. Shelley for his experience on a recent flight with us'  

A spokesperson for American Airlines commented to MailOnline Travel: 'We apologize to Mr. Shelley for his experience on a recent flight with us'  



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3334028/Pictured-Frequent-flier-claims-kicked-plane-BIG-seat.html#ixzz3sY8ust5G 
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Give Me Grand's!

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I have seen bigger people on planes.

What makes him so different from the others?

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Ok, I am sick of the "military" connection being part of the headlines. His job has nothing to do with him once being a Marine, no way would the airline know that fact. And you know what? He is fat and wide and if his body seeped into the next seat then yes, the other passenger should get priority. If he has that many frequent flier miles, why didn't they just upgrade him to first class where the seats are wider?

As far as not trying to ask passengers to switch seats, perhaps there were no other seats. I haven't been on a flight in the past three years with empty seats.

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Wayne has had this happen to him.

A gentlemen, so big, he took up half of Wayne's seat.

Wayne spotted the problem ,before he ever attempted to sit down. He walked back to the front of the plane, and asked the flight attendant for help.

She told him, that if someone didn't make the flight, and she could move Wayne to another seat, she would be happy to do that.

And thankfully, that's what happened.

If there hadn't been any other empty seats.

The person, who didn't fit, would have been asked to leave. And get a later flight.



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I think military, past or present, should automatically be given first class seating.

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lilyofcourse wrote:

I think military, past or present, should automatically be given first class seating.


 I highly doubt that airlines could afford to do that.  Then, you are going to have a bunch of fakers saying they are military so it would require a lot of time and expense for verification, etc.



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If they are military they should be carrying it. They have ID. Past or present. I saw this today on the news today. It appears the lady next to him was very nasty and the airlines jumped over backward to accommodate her.

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lilyofcourse wrote:

I think military, past or present, should automatically be given first class seating.


 That's a very nice thought, Lily.

I'm not sure, that the airlines could do this, and still make enough profit, to keep flying.

(And, if you're too big to fit in a seat....I've got to believe, you knew that, before you got on the plane.no)

Don't play the "I'm military" card....and expect someone to get crushed, during the flight.furious



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He wasn't that big. They told him he needed to use a seat belt extender. He told them the seat belt fit fine. He even told them he could put a pillow behind his back and still close the seat belt. The woman never spoke to him. He said he would have gladly traded seats with her so she would have had more room. She never asked him anything. When she got up he thought she was just going to the bathroom. Not to report him.

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Fort Worth Mom wrote:
lilyofcourse wrote:

I think military, past or present, should automatically be given first class seating.


 That's a very nice thought, Lily.

I'm not sure, that the airlines could do this, and still make enough profit, to keep flying.

(And, if you're too big to fit in a seat....I've got to believe, you knew that, before you got on the plane.no)

Don't play the "I'm military" card....and expect someone to get crushed, during the flight.furious


 HE'S NOT TOO BIG.  He flies all the time.  He said, on tv today, that he flies about once a week.  He said no one ever has asked him about seat changes or complained about him.  He tried to solve the issue.  He offered up several alternatives.  He even asked to speak to the pilot.  The pilot said it wasn't his problem.



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Nobody Just Nobody wrote:
Fort Worth Mom wrote:
lilyofcourse wrote:

I think military, past or present, should automatically be given first class seating.


 That's a very nice thought, Lily.

I'm not sure, that the airlines could do this, and still make enough profit, to keep flying.

(And, if you're too big to fit in a seat....I've got to believe, you knew that, before you got on the plane.no)

Don't play the "I'm military" card....and expect someone to get crushed, during the flight.furious


 HE'S NOT TOO BIG.  He flies all the time.  He said, on tv today, that he flies about once a week.  He said no one ever has asked him about seat changes or complained about him.  He tried to solve the issue.  He offered up several alternatives.  He even asked to speak to the pilot.  The pilot said it wasn't his problem.


He looks pretty big to me, NJN.

He can hardly fit in his recliner, in his home. Let alone an airplane seat.cry

Just because this was the first time he got called on it. And a complaint was made.

Doesn't mean he didn't skate by, in the past.

With someone, like Wayne, who didn't want to embarrass him.

 



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No Marine is FAT. Just saying.

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I know what to do_sometimes wrote:

No Marine is FAT. Just saying.


Okay, so he hasn't been a Marine.

In a long time. 



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Sorry, I just don't buy that. I can't believe that with everyone complaining like they do he hasn't been told he's too fat. They TOLD him had to be able to buckle the belt in order to stay. When he did that they came up with another excuse. He then offered to move to another seat. They said no. He offered to up grade and they said no. They had other seats they could have moved him to. They didn't work with him. Even if he IS too fat if they have the room to accommodate him why not? And I'm sorry, I just don't believe he flies on a weekly basis and no one has ever complained about it. People complain when their neighbor has a hangnail these days.

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Nobody Just Nobody wrote:

Sorry, I just don't buy that. I can't believe that with everyone complaining like they do he hasn't been told he's too fat. They TOLD him had to be able to buckle the belt in order to stay. When he did that they came up with another excuse. He then offered to move to another seat. They said no. He offered to up grade and they said no. They had other seats they could have moved him to. They didn't work with him. Even if he IS too fat if they have the room to accommodate him why not? And I'm sorry, I just don't believe he flies on a weekly basis and no one has ever complained about it. People complain when their neighbor has a hangnail these days.


 But you are believing what he says about no one complaining.  I bet there has been lots of complaints, or as most frequent travelers do, they book flights they know are typically not full so lots of seating options.  Unless you fly a lot you really wouldn't understand that. Most business travelers choose flight times to minimize the crowded flights.



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Nobody Just Nobody wrote:

Sorry, I just don't buy that. I can't believe that with everyone complaining like they do he hasn't been told he's too fat. They TOLD him had to be able to buckle the belt in order to stay. When he did that they came up with another excuse. He then offered to move to another seat. They said no. He offered to up grade and they said no. They had other seats they could have moved him to. They didn't work with him. Even if he IS too fat if they have the room to accommodate him why not? And I'm sorry, I just don't believe he flies on a weekly basis and no one has ever complained about it. People complain when their neighbor has a hangnail these days.


Some people are just too nice, to complain, NJN.

That's probably how he got by, this long.

Wayne would have gotten off, and taken a later flight.

Rather than embarrass the man, who was taking up half of his seat.cry

It was just Wayne's good luck, that someone didn't make the flight.

And, they found him another seat. 

Some big people, are just in denial. They don't see, that if they need to raise an armrest, to fit in the seat.

Or, that they are taking up half of the next seat.

They need to buy a bigger seat.



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Rib-it! Rrrib-it!

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Fort Worth Mom wrote:
Nobody Just Nobody wrote:

Sorry, I just don't buy that. I can't believe that with everyone complaining like they do he hasn't been told he's too fat. They TOLD him had to be able to buckle the belt in order to stay. When he did that they came up with another excuse. He then offered to move to another seat. They said no. He offered to up grade and they said no. They had other seats they could have moved him to. They didn't work with him. Even if he IS too fat if they have the room to accommodate him why not? And I'm sorry, I just don't believe he flies on a weekly basis and no one has ever complained about it. People complain when their neighbor has a hangnail these days.


Some people are just too nice, to complain, NJN.

That's probably how he got by, this long.

Wayne would have gotten off, and taken a later flight.

Rather than embarrass the man, who was taking up half of his seat.cry

It was just Wayne's good luck, that someone didn't make the flight.

And, they found him another seat. 

Some big people, are just in denial. They don't see, that if they need to raise an armrest, to fit in the seat.

Or, that they are taking up half of the next seat.

They need to buy a bigger seat.


 He didn't need to raise the arm to fit in the seat.  The seat belt fit around him.  The airlines said they had other seats available.  Why not just move him?  If the plane was full I could understand that.  But it wasn't.

I just will agree to disagree on this one.  It was on FOX news.  The pilot issued a statement.  He was rude. 



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Oh, and he OFFERED to buy a bigger seat. They told him no. He said he would upgrade to first class where the seats were bigger. The pilot said he didn't want him on the plane at all. They had seats and refused to work with him. Why the hell not just let him pay for the freaking upgrade to sit in first class when they had a seat available?

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I dont think he looks that big. Husky, yes, but not too fat for an airplane seat big.

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just Czech wrote:

I have seen bigger people on planes.

What makes him so different from the others?


Yeah.  I mean, he's big--but he's not THAT big.

 



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huskerbb wrote:
just Czech wrote:

I have seen bigger people on planes.

What makes him so different from the others?


Yeah.  I mean, he's big--but he's not THAT big.

 


 In the pic he is sitting on the edge of his seat as well. It appears he can comfortably fit in that recliner and is choosing  to sit on the edge to be attentive to the interviewer. 

He is similar in size to my DH and he doesn't spill over the seat at all. He is well within his space, but makes sure to sit on the aisle so he has more room and doesn't have to walk past anyone to get to the bathroom as well. 



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In fact, my cousin who is 6'8" has much more of a spillover problem. His legs are everywhere no matter how hard he tries to get them out of the way. He tries to get an exit row seat but it isnt always available.

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What bugs me is that people think they are VSS's that should never have to be a little inconvenienced or annoyed. I mean really. Yes, it's annoying to have to sit by the fat guy on the plane. It is.

But--get some effing perspective. It's a few hours out of your life. It's not going to kill you. It's not worth intentionally making a scene or hurting someone's feelings over.

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Well, I would say I would side with the airline except that this guy travels on a weekly basis. That means at least two flights a week. He's been doing this for years. People complain about everything. I can't believe it hasn't been an issue. But let's say no one complained until now. The stewardess said in order to stay he had to be able to sit there and buckle the seat belt without using the seat belt extender. He was well able to do that. He even put a pillow behind his back and was still able to buckle the seat belt. So then, after she told him he could stay if he could do that, she still said he had to leave. He offered to move to another seat that was empty. The stewardess said no. Then he offered to pay for an upgrade to first class where the seats were bigger and where there was an empty seat. The stewardess again said no. Then he asked to speak to the pilot. The pilot said it's not his job to deal with passengers on the plane. His job is to fly it and everyone else needs to deal with it. Then the guy asked to speak to someone above the pilot and was denied again. It seems to me that this guy went out of his way to try to fix the situation and the airline was extremely unyielding.

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huskerbb wrote:

What bugs me is that people think they are VSS's that should never have to be a little inconvenienced or annoyed. I mean really. Yes, it's annoying to have to sit by the fat guy on the plane. It is.

But--get some effing perspective. It's a few hours out of your life. It's not going to kill you. It's not worth intentionally making a scene or hurting someone's feelings over.


 That is a good thing to think about. 



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I don't think he is that fat.

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