US airline ‘apologises’ for booting tall passenger from plane
April 6th, 2011 - 4:57 pm ICT by ANIMelbourne, April 06 (ANI): Horizon Air flight has apologised to a “humiliated passenger” who was told to get off the plane for being too tall to fit into his seat properly.
The anonymous passenger’s stepdaughter wrote to The Consumerist detailing the incident that took place on board the Horizon Air flight from Oregon to California, US.
The passenger, who is over two metres tall, tried several times to get an exit row seat for additional room but failed, forcing him to take a normal seat.
He alleged that a customer service agent said that his “long limbs were now the flight attendant’s problem”.
On board the plane the passenger’s legs were sticking out into the aisle and a flight attendant tripped over them.
Staff members then approached him, saying that he must get his legs out of the way. When he couldn’t he was removed form the plane.
“We apologise for how this situation was handled and compensated the passenger the value of his ticket off a future flight, which he found acceptable,” News.com.au quoted an airline spokesperson as saying about the incident, which occurred on March 18.
“What should have happened in this scenario is the flight attendants should have asked for passengers seated in an exit or bulkhead row to voluntarily give up their seats to provide the passenger with the much needed leg room he requires.
“Moving him to a seat with more leg room would have ensured the aisle was clear but that didn’t happen and he was wrongly removed from the plane,” the spokesperson added.
The passenger is said to be “pleased” with the apology and the airline’s offer of a free flight. (ANI)
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