A woman says she and her daughters were moved from business class on Thai Airways because they were 'too big'
Reuters / Chaiwat Subprasom and Edgar Su
Three women said they were not allowed to sit in the business-class seats they paid for on a Thai Airways flight from Bangkok to Auckland because airline staff members said they were "too big."
Huhana Iripa told the New Zealand Herald on Saturday that she and her two daughters were forced to sit in economy class after one daughter was measured in front of other passengers and staff members.
In 2018, Thai Airways barred passengers with waists larger than 56 inches from flying in business class, saying the seatbelts don't extend to accommodate all passengers.
A spokesman for the airline, Wayne Cochrane, told the publication: "As this issue involves passenger safety, I am sure you will understand that we cannot compromise on this."
Thai Airways did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
A woman said she and her two daughters were moved from their business-class seats on a Thai Airways flight because they were "too big."
Huhana Iripa, 59, told the New Zealand Herald on Saturday that she and her daughters Tere, 37, and Renell, 28, were told they would not be able to sit in the business-class seats they had purchased for a flight from Bangkok to Auckland and had to sit in economy instead.
The date of the flight was unclear. It takes more than 11 hours to fly from Bangkok to Auckland, according to Thai Airways' website, which lists one nonstop flight per day between the cities.
Iripa said the trio each paid 2,650 New Zealand dollars (about $1,730) for the business-class seats so they could be more comfortable on their return to New Zealand.
Iripa told the Herald: "We went up to business-class check-in, and the member of staff on the desk looked at us and said, 'Sorry you can't.'
"The next thing, there were about five members of staff all around, talking in their native language, shaking their heads, and looking at us as if we'd committed a crime.
"A staff member then came forward and started saying, 'No, you're too big, you're too big.'
"She then pulled out a measuring tape and wrapped it around my daughter Renell, moving her arms outstretched, before trying to do the same to me and Tere."
Iripa added: "Everyone was just standing staring at us. The whole thing was disgusting."
Iripa said they asked for a refund but were offered only the difference between the economy- and business-class seats, 1,250 New Zealand dollars each. She also said that while the airline had apologized and offered a further 450 New Zealand dollars, she didn't think it was enough based on how she and her daughters were treated.
Flight Centre, the travel agency the family booked their travels through, offered a full refund, the Herald reported.
A spokesman for the airline, Wayne Cochrane, told the publication that Iripa and her daughters were not allowed to sit in business class because the type of plane they were flying on, a Boeing 787-900 Dreamliner, had airbag seatbelts in business class that couldn't be extended to fit all passengers.
"The extension seatbelt normally used to accommodate oversize passengers cannot be fitted to the airbag seatbelts; therefore passengers not able to fit the standard airbag seatbelt cannot be carried in business class," Cochrane said.
"As this issue involves passenger safety, I am sure you will understand that we cannot compromise on this."
Hoang Dinh Nam / AFP via Getty Images
In 2018, Thai Airways barred passengers with waists larger than 56 inches from flying in business class because the seatbelts in business class could not extend beyond that.
Thai Airways did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
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