SYDNEY — An Australian man has found himself in the middle of controversy after claiming he suffered injuries from being squished in between two obese passengers on an American Airlines flight.
According to NBC News, Michael Anthony Taylor, 67, was onboard a 14-hour flight from Sydney to Los Angeles on Dec. 28, 2015, during which he sat next to two overweight seatmates. He told Sydney’s Daily Telegraph that he spent much of the flight “crouching, kneeling, bracing or standing” and that the airline forbid him from changing seats. As a result, Taylor claims his discomfort caused his scoliosis to worsen and caused back injuries and neck bruising.
A bit farfetched? Maybe. But Taylor assures that he doesn’t hold any malice towards his seatmates. “They’d paid for a ticket too,” he told the Telegraph. “The airline could have put me in a crew seat or moved people around, but they did nothing.”
However, U.S. federal regulations state that passengers are not allowed to sit in seats reserved for crew members. Plus, the flight was full – all seats were occupied.
The suit, which was filed in Australian court, comes on the heels of several PR blunders for U.S. airlines. Earlier this month, an American Airlines employee was suspended after arguing with a passenger over a stroller, shortly before the airline announced it will be reducing legroom on its new 737 jets. And last month, United Airlines found itself in hot water after the now infamous dragging incident of a passenger, which prompted the airline to completely revise its customer service policy.