We can in no way confirm that this is true, but the Telegraph is reporting that this photo was “reportedly” taken by an American Airlines flight attendant who wanted to illustrate to airline managers the difficulty of dealing with passengers who cannot fit into seats.

Southwest Airlines delicately calls these people “customers of size.”

The photo was apparently first posted to Flightglobal with the following backstory:

This is sent to me with the absolute assurance that it’s a genuine picture taken by a flight attendant at American Airlines. The F/A took it to show her manager what was happening on the aircraft (757???) and why she was unhappy about it. Seems the guy paid for only one seat and the gate staff let him board.

Here is American Airlines’ statement about the photograph:

“At this time American Airlines is unable to confirm whether or not the image referred to was taken by a member of flight crew but will investigate the situation internally to determine if any of the airline’s strict policies were not correctly applied.

“American Airlines’ primary concern is for the safety and comfort of its passengers and crews and consequently passengers are advised to book two seats if they are concerned that they will require them. If a flight is not full, however, passengers’ needs would be accommodated without charge wherever possible.”

What do you make of this?

Obese air passenger in economy seat has picture taken [Telegraph]

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