A few days ago, an Australian-American political commentator, Sydney Watson, complained about being sandwiched between two overweight passengers during a three-hour American Airlines flight.
“I am currently – literally – WEDGED between two OBESE people on my flight,” she wrote on Twitter.
“This is absolutely NOT acceptable or okay. If fat people want to be fat, fine. But it is something else entirely when I’m stuck between you, with your arm rolls on my body, for 3 hours,” Watson added.
“I don’t care if this is mean,” she continued. “My entire body is currently being touched against my wishes. I can’t even put the armrests down on either side because there’s no fking room. I’m sick of acting like fatness to this extent is normal. Let me assure you, it is not.”
“If you need a seat belt extender, you are TOO FAT TO BE ON A PLANE. Buy two seats or don’t fly.”
Watson’s tweet went viral and received thousands of comments and retweets where many people called her insensitive and inconsiderate for her response.
“Fat people deserve to be able to travel w/o paying extra. Instead of blaming people who are probably WAY more uncomfortable than you, why not be mad at airlines for making planes not fit for humans in order to profit more? Oh right. Because it’s easier to just hate on fat people.” one Twitter user commented.
“You should be ashamed of yourself for acting like this. You should have some class, since you are a Dr, and I thought they had some standards!!! Fat shaming, being cruel, and just plain rude. Who are you to judge?? Shame on you!!!” said another.
American Airlines also responded to Dr. Sydney’s Twitter thread and wrote,
“Our passengers come in all different shapes and sizes. We’re sorry you were uncomfortable on your flight.”
The YouTuber was not amused with the ‘sorry, not sorry’ attitude of the airline and added,
“This is really their official reply to me being sandwiched between two obese humans. So, I am expected to have only a quarter of a seat when I fly?” she asked.
A week later, on Monday, after repeated heated arguments on Twitter, the Australian native eventually received compensation from the airline company with a proper apology.
According to the YouTuber, American Airlines sent her an email that they apologize for the uncomfortable experience of flying with them and are ready to give her $150 airline credit.
“I sincerely regret the enjoyment and comfort of your flight AA was diminished due to another customer exceeding their seat’s space.”
“We do our best to avoid uncomfortable situations regarding seats. I can understand your disappointment with the situation not being remedied to your satisfaction.”
“It seems that our Flight Attendants were not able to make changes to the seating arrangement. I’m sure you know, in the future, you are always welcome to discuss the matter with our flight attendants.”
“If we have other available seats, you’ll be allowed to move so that you can better enjoy your flight.”
“As a gesture of goodwill, I have issued you a $150 Trip Credit, which will arrive via a separate email,” the email read.
Dr. Sydney Watson, however, still does not seem happy about the whole situation, and after sharing the screenshot of the email, she wrote,
“I’d rather take the $150 American Airlines offered me as a refund and give it to someone who needs a PT or a gym membership.”
What are your views on this story? Do you think Dr. Sydney Watson is the real victim here? Let us know in the comments.
Sources: Twitter
