Airline removes passenger from plane for being too fat!

Poor Sandy Russell. He was supposed to be flying from London, England to go to Toronto, Canada via Air Transat and see his dying aunt. He is a big man, he admits it. He has a 51 inch waist. He was not allowed to continue on the flight unless he was able to come up with the extra 928 pounds (appx $1379.90 as of this writing)  to be able to fly as he was going to have to book a second seat due to his girth. 

Mr. Russell is big enough that they were unable to put down the armrest because of his size. 

The flight attendant took him off the plane, and explained this to him. He explained that he was handicapped, and that he did not have the monies needed to be able to get the second ticket. 

Sadly, Sandy's aunt passed 2 days later of colon cancer, and he was unable to be able to say his final farewells.

I do feel sorry for this man, and I do feel sorry for the airlines, and I do feel sorry for passengers who have to involuntarily be literally pressed into sharing a seat with people of a larger size. 

I flew once from Dallas, Texas to London with some friends. As we were sitting in our seats, waiting for the plane to take off, a flight attendant came to our group and asked if I would be willing to switch with another passenger since I was "so little" because the airline had placed two large passengers together, and they were not comfortable. I declined, because I wanted to be seated with my friends. The flight attendant was agitated, and she told me that if I did not relent, she was going to have to ask one of these people to dis-board the plane. I expressed sympathy, but said that I did not want to move from my friends, that we had planned this trip for over a year, and we lived across the country from one another. She left, and came back a few moments later, offering me miles on my account and an upgrade on the way home to business class. This man had to be someone important to not be asked to leave the plane. I agreed, went and swapped seats. It was the most uncomfortable flight. The man was so large that he kept bumping into me. He was extremely courteous, and would tell me that he was sorry every time that he did it. I said "Don't worry about it. You are like a big teddy bear." 

We both laughed about the predicament. He told me that he was on a diet, and had lost over 150 pounds, but that he was still too big to be flying. I asked him about the news, which had recently featured a man who was asked to buy another ticket because of his size. He told me that when he was bigger, he would always buy two seats to be comfortable. There are many reasons why people are big. I am not even going to go into all of that. Being bigger is just how some people are. But, should those who are bigger in size be allowed to impose themselves literally onto those who are smaller? It is not being mean, as a smaller person to want to have the entire seat that you paid for to yourself. It is a matter of being able to be secure and safe in your space. 

It is not a matter of being mean when you consider the possibilities of an emergency on a plane, and wonder if the size of the person next to you would prevent you from getting safely off the plane. 

Although the flight attendant handled the matter by removing him off the plane, I am sure that there was no way to do it in a manner that would have allowed Mr. Russell to maintain his dignity,simply because of the reason that he was removed from the plane. 

Tragically, as I mentioned before, Mr. Russell was not able to say his final farewell to his aunt, and that is sad. But, in an industry where competition is fierce, customers have access to the internet, and everyman has their own blog (like this one), I am not sure that the airline could have done anything to not generate some negative press. Just so you know, 32 stone is 448 pounds. 

I wish that there were a solution to this one, but I do not know what it is.
 

Happy Father's Day!

To all of the fathers out there, to all of the men who step up to the plate and father children who are not theirs biologically, but yet have children in their hearts, to all of the uncles, grandfathers, cousins, and other men who are parental in nature to children (and adults) all over the world, thank you. 


Love means sometimes telling someone no, even though it hurts their feelings at the time. 
Love means chores, and making sure that homework gets done. 
Love means spending time with someone, even when you have something that you need to be doing. 
Love is active. Merely saying "I love you" does not equate to love. 
Love is meaning what you say at all times, saying what you mean. 
Love is keeping promises. 
Love is wearing your feelings on the outside so that the one you love knows it. 
Love is being one of the people that Father's Day is for. 


To my father, the best one in the bunch. Thank you for doing all of the things that I know about, as well as the things that I do not know about. 
Thank you for putting up with me when I was tedious, and loving me no matter what. Thank you for telling me that "I do not like you right now, but I will never stop loving you".
Thank you for taking me to a football game, even though you did not need to be out in the cold when you were sick. 
Thank you for driving all over Washington, DC with me, and walking through all of the monuments and memorials, just because I wanted to see them. 
Thank you for crying with me at the Viet Nam memorial, and telling me about the time that you were there. 
Thank you, Dad, for always being a dad. I love you so much, but, looking back, I do not think I will ever be able to love you as much as you have loved and still love me. Love, your baby daughter. XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Delta Airlines lands wrong airport due to low fuel!

In news briefs, a Delta Airlines flight was forced to make an unplanned landing when it was noted that the plane did not have adequate fuel to make it to the intended destination. 
Passengers were then offered a bus ride to get them to Hartford. 

In favor of Striking while the Strike Iron is hot, British Airways inflight plans to strike again

In breaking news, plans have been announced by Unite, the workers union representing 75 percent of the 38,000 BA employees, to strike yet again. 
Citing reasons such as retaliatory actions against 70 flight attendants since the disputes have begun, Unite is releasing the latest information on their strike. 


In what appears to be a very complex situation, BA has resolved to remove travel perks in order to squelch the strike. 


I hope and pray that a resolution will come soon that both sides of this heated debate are content with. I will post news about this situation as it arrives to me. 

Entertaining Children on flights

When you are flying with small children and babies, there are some things that you need to bear in mind when you travel. 

Children are not small adults. I get very upset internally when I hear someone say "Oh, she is 13, going on 30" or similar age comparisons. It is possible to have a child who is quiet and stable, responsible, and yet, s/he is still a child. It is unfair to expect a child to be able to entertain themselves for the several hours that you will be spending at the airport/on the plane/in transit to your final destination. 

With babies, the task is even harder because you cannot explain the process to them at all. If you tell an infant/baby that they are going to have a big, fun, exciting adventure today, they are going to look at you, perhaps smile or coo, and then go back to what they do best, which is eating, urinating, defecating, crying, sleeping, and whatever else it is that babies do. 

Here are some tips to make sure that you and your baby and or child have a better trip when you travel. 

Bring small noise free toys when you travel. No one wants to hear a loud toy in the airport, in the airplane, or anywhere else that you go. Great baby toys are soft, stuffed toys that do not jingle, buzz, beep, click, etc. Baby books are a wonderful thing to bring, especially if they have a lot of illustrations of different brightly colored things. A friend of mine took sheets of photocopy paper and stuck stickers all over the front and the back of the papers until they were covered, and then laminated them front and back. The child (age 3) and his baby sister (9 months) would take the sheets out of her diaper bag and she would ask them to find things. (Where is the tall yellow flower? Where is the short pink flower? Can you find the letter A? Where is the blue train?" It worked like a charm, and she said that other passengers with children were jealous.

Large beads PRESTRUNG on yarn or rope that is already knotted at both ends can be anything from a bracelet, or necklace to a row of cars, trains, or cargo trailers. They can be drug across the meal tray, counted, colors and shapes can be identified, and lots more. Make sure that both ends are knotted securely, and that the beads are not too small for the child/ren that you are traveling with. 

Sticker books, coloring books, activity books, age appropriate are wonderful. So are little readers, comic books, and simple children's magazines. Keep them tucked into your travel bag until you are at the airport. Small children have small attention spans. 

MP3 players are very affordable now. An MP3 player can be a little storyteller on its' own. Tell stories by reading into a mic on the computer, and convert it to a format that is compatible with your player. You can also sing songs and put little messages into the player such as "I love you very much! I am glad we are having such fun on this trip."

Spend time with your children while you are traveling. Turn off the cell phone. Tell the children about the airport. "Over there, that is a place where people go to order a snack before they get on the plane." Point out things where you go. "This table is for mommies who have babies who use diapers. You pull it down, buckle the baby in, and then change the baby". Just because we know what something is does not mean that our little ones do. 

Explain the security process. It can be very overwhelming to adults, let alone wee ones. If they have a toy/blanket that they cherish, explain to them that the people in security need to look at it, and it keeps us safe on the plane. 

Make sure that your children are well fed, in comfortable clothes, and have shoes that fit. Bring extra diapers and formula for babies. Don't over snack a child as a form of entertainment. Bring an extra change of clothes and underclothes for toddlers, as sometimes they can get air sick on a plane. Make certain that everyone gets to the toilet before you leave the house, and, even though there is a bathroom on the plane, let them use the airport bathroom before you board the plane. 

With children old enough to understand, explain what they need to do if they get separated from you. A lanyard with your cell phone number on a feisty toddler can be a lifesaver. They can wear it under their shirt so that no one can see their contact information on it, but use it if it is needed. 

On a trip to Walt Disney World, my eldest niece was separated from me during the parade. She and I had reviewed what to do in the event that happened, and, although it was a little scary for her, she was able to do what we had talked about, and we were reunited in less than 30 minutes. On the contact lanyard, put a photo of you and other adults traveling in the group, as well as a photo of the child. On the ones that I made for my nieces, I put my cell phone number, my sisters' cell phone number, and their siblings' names. The staff at Disney told me that it was wonderful to be able to tell my niece that her aunt was on the way, along with her sister. 

Make sure that you charge your cell phone. If a child DOES get lost, it would be awful if you could not take the call because your battery has run out of juice. 

Explain the boarding and takeoff process to children that are old enough to understand. Explain how the plane will feel when the plane lifts off, how it will "bump the ground" when it lands, and what turbulence is. There are a number of videos on YouTube to watch. I strongly recommend this, especially for anxious children. 

Tell a child who is safe to go to in an emergency. Point out the people in the airport that are safe to go to, My sister used to always tell her children that if they were separated from her, find a mom with children, or a police lady or man. 

Listen to your child. If they are scared of something, listen to them carefully, and address their fears. 

Have fun. Traveling with young ones can be exasperating, but, with proper planning, it can be a lot of fun.