American Airlines Passenger Says Seatmate Texted About Her “Fat Rolls”—Then Stepped On His Chex Mix

An American Airlines passenger says she saw the man next to her texting about her “clammy fat rolls.” She switched seats with her companion, confronted the man, and says flight attendants gave her free alcohol. Then she posted an update: she’d stepped on his Chex Mix. The texts sound cruel, and moving was certainly the right call, but that had already been done – crushing his snacks was just gratuitous. The woman wrote that her seatmate began by joking he wasn’t trying to “cop a feel” while fastening his seat belt. Then she noticed messages to someone she describes as his “girlfriend/lover,” saying he was beside a “very fat woman” whose “clammy fat rolls” were touching him. She says she swapped seats with her companion, Will, because she wanted to preserve her dignity and avoid getting kicked off the flight. When the man asked, “What, do I smell bad?” she told him she’d read his texts and called him a ‘piece of shit.’ I sort of think her description of him as a “big-boned, bald bitch of a man” and comment about his “lumpy head” cedes her moral high ground a bit. She’s mocking someone’s body, too! The woman adds two updates in the comments. Update: chatted with the flight attendants, they agreed he’s a piece of shit. And they hooked me up with free booze. She posted a photo of coffee and a miniature bottle of Baileys. Then: Update: I stepped on his Chex mix bag when I went to the bathroom The photos she posts look clearly like an American Airlines 737 to me. People online are broadly praising the woman for confronting the man, celebrating her free drink, and even cheering her retaliation against his Chex Mix. Some are criticizing her for reading his phone. One supporter begins, “You’re a bigger person than me, that’s for sure!” An unfortunate choice of words for this particular incident! Meanwhile someone offers, “Nothing beats a Jet2 holiday.” I’ve written about an almost identical incident on Delta. A woman flying from Tampa to New York saw a man text that a huge woman had sat beside him. She recorded herself crying. I thought a private complaint to a friend could be a reasonable way to blow off steam about feeling cramped. And a message to a partner isn’t the same social act as announcing an insult to the cabin. But typing something cruel about the person inches away from you, on a screen they can see, is inadvisable – better to wait until you’re not in such confined quarters because you’re going to make the flight worse for everyone. People probably shouldn’t read over a seatmate’s shoulder. But it can be hard to avoid noticing things right next to you without intentionally snooping. And once you’ve seen an insult, it’s hard to unsee it. Growing up around New York, I learned that privacy in crowded places comes from everyone just ignoring each other. That density is even greater on planes, in coach. We’ve seen a condolence text misread as a bomb threat, leading an American Airlines flight to return to San Juan. And I’ve covered a passenger reading a woman’s texts and accusing her of racism after she complained about having to climb over him to reach her seat. Here, the woman was entitled to occupy her seat. He’s entitled to occupy his. If someone really is spilling into another passenger’s space, it’s reasonable to ask a flight attendant for help. American requires an additional seat when a passenger needs more than one to travel comfortably and safely although this is rarely enforced. She moved so she was no longer next to him, and that should’ve been the end of it. Topics on this page