Women claim they were kicked off Air New Zealand flight for being ‘too big’
Two women were ‘hurt’ and ‘humiliated’ after being kicked off a flight for being ‘too big’ and told they should have booked two seats each.
Angel Harding and her friend had boarded their Air New Zealand flight from Napier to Auckland on Friday when she suddenly felt pain in her left arm.
She turned around to see a female flight attendant trying to push the armrest down while speaking to her in an “aggressive manner” because the pilot could not take off until they were in the correct position.
Their confusion grew after a loudspeaker announcement that all passengers had to leave the plane due to ‘inconveniences’.
“After (the operator) hung up the phone, she came up to me and said, ‘You should have booked four seats, you two should have bought two seats each,’” Ms. Harding said. 1News.
The pair then realized that they were the ‘discomfort’.
Angel Harding (pictured) claims she was discriminated against by a New Zealand flight attendant because of her height after they were kicked off a flight from Napier to Auckland on Friday
A flight attendant announced to all passengers to get off the plane. Ms Harding said she and her friend were then told they should have booked two seats each
After the women, who both required wheelchairs due to medical conditions, disembarked the plane, they were separated from the other passengers.
An Air New Zealand employee stood next to them as their friend, a third woman who had been seated separately, was wheeled back onto the plane.
The women were told to rebook, but due to high demand the next available flight was two days later, on Sunday.
Ms Harding said she was confused because they had flown from Kerikeri to Auckland and then from Auckland to Napier without any problems.
She told the flight attendant that neither she nor her friend could afford two seats each and that she had no family to stay nearby.
Air New Zealand then offered to pay for the women’s food, accommodation and flights and grant them access to the Koru Lounge before allowing them to board a flight later that day.
They are now seeking compensation for ‘pain, humiliation and trauma’ and claim they have been discriminated against because of their size.
“My thoughts are that they took me away because of my size, because of my size – our size had a lot to do with it,” Ms Harding said.
“They didn’t say it was, they said it was an inconvenience.”
The woman is now demanding compensation for ‘pain, humiliation and trauma’ and claims they have been discriminated against because of their size (pictured, an Air New Zealand plane)
An Air New Zealand spokesperson said if a customer requires additional space and space is available, staff will work to re-accommodate him or her on the aircraft.
However, the airline ‘strongly recommends that customers contact the airline before their flight to ensure a safe and comfortable journey.
“We are committed to treating all customers with respect and dignity and we apologize that these customers have had an inconsistent experience. We will continue to work directly with the customer to address their concerns.”
Australia and New Zealand do not have mandatory legislation requiring larger-bodied passengers to book more than one seat on flights.
Some airlines seat passengers with larger bodies next to an empty seat if necessary.
The Australian Human Rights Commission has previously indicated that an obese person who has to pay more for a flight may have grounds to claim they are being unlawfully discriminated against. However, the laws remain unclear.
In Canada, obese people earned the right to book two seats for the price of one, following a Supreme Court ruling against Air Canada in 2008.