Couple Sue AA Over Legroom

From the Sun Times: http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-air14.html
============
More legroom?

Hardly.

A Cook County couple say they were cramped aboard an American Airlines
flight to Paris -- and now they're suing.

In a lawsuit filed Thursday, Jerome and Judith O'Callaghan say they were
enticed to buy their tickets from American Airlines two years ago because it
advertised generous legroom.

But they were so jammed during the nine hours in seats 19A and 19B aboard
the Boeing 767, they suffered back and leg pain throughout their vacation
and after they got back home.

Judith O'Callaghan had suffered from back injuries and had been assured
there would be plenty of legroom, the suit claims. When they saw their
assigned seats in May 2002, they complained about the lack of space but were
denied a switch to roomier seats.

Jerome O'Callaghan says his legs were so wobbly afterwards he tripped at the
entrance to the Basilica of St. Paul's in Rome, leading to a broken nose and
smashed teeth. They are seeking more than $100,000.


=========

Guess they should have called well in advance and requested bulkhead seats
:0)

Ozzy Kopec wrote:

From the Sun Times: http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-air14.html
============
More legroom?

Hardly.

A Cook County couple say they were cramped aboard an American Airlines
flight to Paris -- and now they're suing.

In a lawsuit filed Thursday, Jerome and Judith O'Callaghan say they were
enticed to buy their tickets from American Airlines two years ago because it
advertised generous legroom.

It has more legroom than the average carrier to Europe.


But they were so jammed during the nine hours in seats 19A and 19B aboard
the Boeing 767, they suffered back and leg pain throughout their vacation
and after they got back home.


Judith O'Callaghan had suffered from back injuries and had been assured
there would be plenty of legroom, the suit claims. When they saw their
assigned seats in May 2002, they complained about the lack of space but were
denied a switch to roomier seats.


I see, they didn't get an free upgrade to business or first class like
they felt entitled to, or were they expecting to displace people in
other economy seats? No one would have denied them a move to unassigned
economy seating.

Jerome O'Callaghan says his legs were so wobbly afterwards he tripped at the
entrance to the Basilica of St. Paul's in Rome, leading to a broken nose and
smashed teeth. They are seeking more than $100,000.

How in the world he can prove his tripping was caused due to the airline
is beyond me. He should have had plenty of time to unwobble his legs by
the time he decided to tour Rome. After all, he flew to Paris. AA
doesn't fly Paris to Rome.

Guess they should have called well in advance and requested bulkhead seats
:0)

They were free to pay for business class seating. The seating dimensions
are not a closely guarded secret. Guess they should have looked at
Saatguru. 19A & B have less legroom than other seats
http://www.seatguru.com/american/B762T.shtml

"mrtravelkay" wrote in message
. com...
Ozzy Kopec wrote:

From the Sun Times:
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-air14.html
============
More legroom?

Hardly.

A Cook County couple say they were cramped aboard an American Airlines
flight to Paris -- and now they're suing.

In a lawsuit filed Thursday, Jerome and Judith O'Callaghan say they were
enticed to buy their tickets from American Airlines two years ago
because it
advertised generous legroom.

It has more legroom than the average carrier to Europe.


But they were so jammed during the nine hours in seats 19A and 19B
aboard
the Boeing 767, they suffered back and leg pain throughout their
vacation
and after they got back home.


Judith O'Callaghan had suffered from back injuries and had been assured
there would be plenty of legroom, the suit claims. When they saw their
assigned seats in May 2002, they complained about the lack of space but
were
denied a switch to roomier seats.


I see, they didn't get an free upgrade to business or first class like
they felt entitled to, or were they expecting to displace people in
other economy seats? No one would have denied them a move to unassigned
economy seating.

Jerome O'Callaghan says his legs were so wobbly afterwards he tripped at
the
entrance to the Basilica of St. Paul's in Rome, leading to a broken nose
and
smashed teeth. They are seeking more than $100,000.

How in the world he can prove his tripping was caused due to the airline
is beyond me. He should have had plenty of time to unwobble his legs by
the time he decided to tour Rome. After all, he flew to Paris. AA
doesn't fly Paris to Rome.

Guess they should have called well in advance and requested bulkhead
seats
:0)

They were free to pay for business class seating. The seating dimensions
are not a closely guarded secret. Guess they should have looked at
Saatguru. 19A & B have less legroom than other seats
http://www.seatguru.com/american/B762T.shtml


And how convenient that they BOTH suffered back and leg pain. Ridiculous.

mrtravelkay wrote:

They were free to pay for business class seating. The seating dimensions
are not a closely guarded secret. Guess they should have looked at
Saatguru. 19A & B have less legroom than other seats
http://www.seatguru.com/american/B762T.shtml


Wow. Thanks for the seatguru site URL. Bookmarked and will definitely
be printing up the seat layout for my next flight - good to have with me
when I make my e-ticket check in seat choice.

Blake S wrote:

And how convenient that they BOTH suffered back and leg pain. Ridiculous.


The way I read it, she had back pain before the flight..

"Judith O'Callaghan had suffered from back injuries and had been assured
there would be plenty of legroom, "

On Sat, 15 May 2004 04:48:28 GMT, mrtravelkay wrote:

They were free to pay for business class seating. The seating dimensions
are not a closely guarded secret. Guess they should have looked at
Saatguru. 19A & B have less legroom than other seats
http://www.seatguru.com/american/B762T.shtml

That's a bit harsh. AA had been promoting "More Room Throughout
Coach", not "More room throughout coach except seats 19A & B." Caveat
emptor went out with the Latin language, even in the airline industry.

Having said that, blaming AA for collapsing later is a stretch. They
should get their tickets refunded, though.

Dick Locke wrote:

On Sat, 15 May 2004 04:48:28 GMT, mrtravelkay wrote:


They were free to pay for business class seating. The seating dimensions
are not a closely guarded secret. Guess they should have looked at
Saatguru. 19A & B have less legroom than other seats
http://www.seatguru.com/american/B762T.shtml


That's a bit harsh. AA had been promoting "More Room Throughout
Coach", not "More room throughout coach except seats 19A & B." Caveat
emptor went out with the Latin language, even in the airline industry.

MRTC coach never advertised that all seats had more room. We also don't
know if 19A and B had more room at that time or before the MRTC started.

Not all seats had it any more than all seats having movable armrests or
reclining seats.


Having said that, blaming AA for collapsing later is a stretch. They
should get their tickets refunded, though.

They could have refused to fly and got a refund.

On Sat, 15 May 2004 17:18:57 GMT, mrtravelkay wrote:

MRTC coach never advertised that all seats had more room

"\Through*out"\, prep. Quite through; from one extremity to the other
of; also, ***every part of***; as, to search throughout the house."

(Webster's unabridged.)

That looks like a statement that all of coach has more room.

I'd have to see a two year old ad to be sure, but I bet the
"Throughout" was in a LOT larger type face than anything that said
"some exceptions apply."

I'm startled that people condone or even approve of airline behaviour
that forces people to read small print that might counteract a large
headline. Even worse is to expect a traveller to even know about
seatguru. Psych 101 again on victim bashing to increase one's self
esteem.

"Dick Locke" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 15 May 2004 04:48:28 GMT, mrtravelkay wrote:

They were free to pay for business class seating. The seating dimensions
are not a closely guarded secret. Guess they should have looked at
Saatguru. 19A & B have less legroom than other seats
http://www.seatguru.com/american/B762T.shtml

That's a bit harsh. AA had been promoting "More Room Throughout
Coach", not "More room throughout coach except seats 19A & B." Caveat
emptor went out with the Latin language, even in the airline industry.

Having said that, blaming AA for collapsing later is a stretch. They
should get their tickets refunded, though.

I flew BOS-LHR last Summer in an AA 767 in seat 19B. There was ample legroom -
much more than on the equivalent product from NW to AMS or Virgin to LHR.

JohnT

.. I really doubt the flight to Paris had anything to do with him
tripping on the stairs in Rome. To me, the mention of that throws doubt
on whole lawsuit.