Too fat to fly man forced to buy extra seat on flight

For many people, the fear of flying sometimes stops them from ever getting on a plane. J.R. Hill says in his case, it was something else.

“And the lady stops and says, ‘Sir, you need to have another ticket.’ And I said what for and she said, because of your size.’”

At the time Hill, a real estate agent, weighed 435 pounds and was travelling on Southwest Airlines.



Hill says for him that meant being pulled out of a line in front of more than 100 passengers and being told he was too fat. He bought the second ticket for nearly $200.

“I hate to admit it but I was in tears,” he said.

Hill decided to speak out after hearing about a woman who claimed Southwest made her " cover up" with a blanket, and about another woman whose mini skirt was said to be too provocative to fly.