Family Stranded In Chicago After Airline Says Man Is Too Big To Fit On Plane

[Jesus Malverde]

They came to the United States for medical treatment for their son, but a French family is now stranded in Chicago because the airline that brought them here won’t take them back.

CBS 2?s Derrick Blakley has the story of this foreign family’s travel troubles.

22-year-old Kevin Chenais weighs 500 pounds and spent a year-and-a-half at the Mayo Clinic for treatment of a hormone disorder.

He was supposed to fly home to France on British Airways, but for seven days, he and his family have been stranded in Chicago.

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2013/11/06/family-stranded-in-chicago-after-airline-says-man-is-too-big-to-fit-on-plane/

[Jester Messiah]

1. Been there, sorta.

Let me tell ya, it's no fun being a fat guy on a plane. I topped out around 450 before I got a handle on things, and air travel was something I absolutely dreaded. The tiny seats cut off circulation and leave bruises, the other passengers hate you, and you have to ask the attendants for the seatbelt extender. So humiliating.

[Jesus Malverde]

2. Good for you getting things handled...nt

[Jester Messiah]

4. Thanks. Best favor I ever did myself. [nt]

[rocktivity]

3. But how did he get TO the US?

Can't they fly him back, especially if he's LOST weight in the past year and a half?


rocktivity

[demigoddess]

5. newer planes and seats are smaller

bet that's the reason

[Arugula Latte]

6. Now that this has gotten national media attention,

I'm sure British Airways will miraculously find a solution in record time!

[Agschmid]

11. Yup.

[LuvNewcastle]

10. They should be forced to figure out something.

If they brought him here, they should have to take him back. I don't care if they have to send a special plane to take him home; it's the right thing to do.

[Arcanetrance]

7. That's ridiculous if they were willing to fly him to the states they should fly him back

The airlines are idiots of the highest order. I fought with them two years ago because they wanted to charge me an extra seat charge. I'm a very big person I'm 6'0 and have very wide shoulders (oddly I'm the smallest male in the family) I fit in the seat just fine the belt buckled around me with no extender but because my left shoulder they said would cut into the person next to me they wanted me to buy an extra seat.

[LuvNewcastle]

15. I won't fly unless I absolutely have to.

Unless you can afford first class, and I doubt I ever will, flying has become a horrible experience. It wasn't always like this, but flying is about as comfortable as riding on a Greyhound bus. In fact, I've been a lot more comfortable on buses. I usually either take a train or ride in a car with someone. I'm not afraid of flying; I just hate it.

[Arcanetrance]

18. I hate it too my knees basically go into the seat in front of me the entire time

My two older brothers have it worse like I said at 6 foot I am the runt they are 6'6 and 6'4 respectively

[jberryhill]

9. "Kevin requires round-the-clock oxygen"

Can you take pressurized oxygen on an aircraft?

[Agschmid]

12. ETA: I am a dumbass.

[jberryhill]

14. Yes, but apparently you don't know how they work

No, the planes do not have tanks and tanks full of the stuff.

The way the air masks work is not from a pressurized oxygen system, which is a hazard aboard an aircraft.

Tucked up there above your seat where the masks are is a unit that looks like this:



That cylinder is not pressurized oxygen. It is a chemical oxygen generator which, when activated, uses a chemical reaction to release oxygen.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_oxygen_generator

A chemical oxygen generator is a device releasing oxygen created by a chemical reaction. The oxygen source is usually an inorganic superoxide, chlorate, or perchlorate. A promising group of oxygen sources are ozonides. The generators are usually ignited mechanically, by a firing pin, and the chemical reaction is usually exothermic, making the generator a potential fire hazard. Potassium superoxide was used as an oxygen source on early manned missions of the Soviet space program, for firefighters, and for mine rescue.

You can't use them for supplying oxygen for a long period of time.

The only point of those units is to provide oxygen to the passengers in the event of depressurization, for as long as it takes the aircraft to get down to a reasonable altitude at which people can breathe, from a cruising altitude above 20K feet.

It's a couple of minutes worth.

[Blue_Tires]

17. Those are in the case of unplanned de-pressurization

and are designed to only last for the few minutes it takes for the pilots to descend to a safely breathable altitude (10,000 ft)

[rudolph the red]

13. Each airline has it's own policy, but yes you can fly with medical oxygen

It takes some advance coordination but all airlines permit it as long as you jump through the required hoops.

[scheming daemons]

16. how many Chris Christie stories are we going to have to read?

I kid.

It is just a joke.

Relax.