An overweight Delta Air Lines passenger just got into one of the most polite air rage incidents I’ve ever seen. Guy Branum, an American comedian, writer and actor known for his sharp pop culture commentary, hosting Talk Show the Game Show and appearances in shows like The Mindy Project and the film Bros, just posted the Thread and video below on the social media platform Threads with the caption: Flying While Fat.
@guybranum: On Sunday a guy hit me on a plane and @delta didn’t throw him off the flight or have him arrested because they were too busy determining if I was too fat or not. (The flight crew was amazing and supportive but the @delta redcoat treated me like an object) #fat #airplane #assault #battery.
In the first part of the video, Branum explains what happened and then he shows the footage he took of the encounter he had with his seatmate. “So I had an exciting adventure on my plane flight today. Normally, when I’ve got more money, I fly business class because I’m a big guy and I don’t want to be in anyone else’s space. And this time I got a Comfort Plus ticket. I always got worried. I’ve had people freak out on me before. And today it was the middle seat. A guy came down, a white guy in his 60s, you’ll see. First he freaked out on a woman because she was putting something in the overhead compartment near his seat. Then he sat down next to me. He was immediately just pissed off at me. He asked me if I would move over and I was like, no I can’t. And then he just elbowed me just as hard as he could. And then I took this video.”
They were flying from New York’s JFK and I believe to Los Angeles (LAX) where he lives. He said that one of the flight attendants had the woman across the aisle switch seats with the man because she offered her miles (and gave Branum some after he asked).
It was an unfortunate situation and I feel for Branum since he seems like such a nice guy and said he’s uncomfortable flying while fat. He said he usually flies business class but those tickets are obviously expensive.
On the other hand, no one wants to sit next to someone who encroaches on their seat for a cross-country flight but it’s no excuse for behaving the way this guy did and especially elbowing him. It sounds like his seatmate was a problem from the start and I’m surprised the flight attendants didn’t kick him off the flight; he’s lucky Branum didn’t get him arrested for assault.
Others in the comments wondered the same thing.
@redpolkadotpants: I’m sorry you experienced this. Why does @delta not have a zero tolerance policy for assault?
@olympiam: Middle seat gets both armrests. That’s long been established etiquette. So he can just piss off with his demand for an armrest after assaulting you.
@freddiemercurysmustache: I’m so sorry, this is totally a fear of mine as a bigger person. I’ve got wide shoulders and wide hips. I fly business whenever possible and buy an extra seat when I fly coach and I’ve been lucky to avoid problems. But that’s not a given at all and this incident you went through has my blood boiling.
The only thing I can suggest to Branum and others of size is to buy an extra seat in coach or look at flight loads and ask the gate agent if the flight isn’t full, to block the seat next to them. But that’s difficult to do on popular routes like JFK-LAX and during peak days (Fridays and Sundays). In related news, Southwest Airlines just ended their generous offer where they would refund the second seat for people of size.
