Man Gets Blasted On Reddit For Making A Fuss About His Plane Seat And Fatshaming The Person Beside Him

"The fat man took his opportunity to call me a fatphobic sh*t."

Sophia

• Published in Interesting
• April 14, 2023

Flying commercial has been one of the greatest things that engineering and technology have made possible for everyone. But just like any service product or anything really, it is inevitable that there are some issues that need to be addressed.

It can range from long lines at security checkpoints and boarding gates, flight delays and cancellations, and also limited legroom cramped and cramped seating arrangements. But how does one go about complaining about these things?

OP, in particular, has his complaints at hand. For one, the person sitting beside his seating occupying OP’s seat and the airline now being “absolutely terrible” in comparison to his experience just a few years ago.

The first one can be considered valid, but the second one is somewhat questionable due to his backhanded statement. Just an important detail to note is that he did this publicly, and the statements he made can be viewed to be insensitive.

Nevertheless, OP’s ultimate question is if he is the a-hole in his own story. In fact, what really drove him to ask were the stink eyes he received from some passengers and the letter of complaint the staff had filed, which caused him to have a temporary ban from the airline.

Here's what happened:

Traveling to their home country, OP’s 2nd connecting flight was gonna be one heck of a plane ride. He sees that his seatmate occupies a large part of his seat.

OP has “quite broad shoulders” which makes him a little big for a regular full seat. Unfortunately, he couldn’t do anything about it since the flight was full.

OP was confused, really, about why this particular flight was overbooked since, according to him, “non-American” airlines aren’t usually this full. This was only the start of his exceptional conversation with a flight attendant.

He proceeded to voice out his backhanded comment. The audacity.

OP was thrown out of the plane for being rude. He would be compensated for it though, as his flight was not for vacation purposes.

OP received a bad comment (was called a “fatphobic sh*t”) and judging looks.

Despite everything that has happened, however, he still stands by his remark, even blaming the “fat guy’s” alleged lack of discipline and the airline’s supposed “s*itty” booking system.

OP’s temporary ban got appealed in no time he got to fly as quickly as the next day. Even after the remarks he knew he had received through the complaint filed, OP still isn’t sure where they lie in the spectrum of the Reddit AITA thread.

Were his rude comments towards the man and the airline offensive? Did being rude make him an a-hole?

Is OP spreading false information? Anyways, OP should have handled the situation differently.

Some airports have unusual announcements so passengers can fly later due to planes’ full capacity. Also, OP is lying?

This Redditor had a similar experience. But it seems like they handled it better than OP did.

You don’t need to throw insults to solve your problem. It’s not the only way to get your point across.

This person thinks the only issue with OP is him insulting the airline, not the man. The poor staff were yelled at.

This Redditor suggests OP goes to their local newspaper about this. About how he’s the asshole in his own story.

Pre-pandemic can now be considered as the golden age. Of course everything was better then.

OP’s rude public complaint is guaranteed to fireback on him. He seems to not be aware of it.

This is an example of “good intention, bad execution.” OP’s reasons were valid, but it didn’t justify his actions.

Unbelievable. OP is out here surpassing expectations.

This Redditor suggests a new title for this Reddit thread. It appears to be more suitable to the story.

Everyone makes complaints all the time. Some can be weird and unusual, and some are understandably valid.

But all the same, they should all be handled with sensitivity and respectfully, at least when one is just bringing it up the first time. People should be aware of the repercussions of their actions and their words, not just their own dilemmas and inconveniences.

How would you have handled the situation? Let others know your thoughts in the comments below, and share this with your family and friends to know if they would have done the same!

Sophia