PAL flight attendant loses cases for being obese

[redorange]

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/10...ounded-good-sc

http://www.gadling.com/2008/11/02/fl...032x1200759647

MANILA - An obese flight steward for national flag carrier Philippine Airlines has been grounded for good by the Supreme Court after a 20-year legal battle, court records released Friday said.

In a 28-page ruling, the Supreme Court upheld an earlier decision by a lower court that found merit in the termination of Armanda Yrasuegi's contract.

The 217-pound Yrasuegi was dismissed by Philippine Airlines (PAL) after he failed to lose weight as specified under his contract in 1989.

Yrasuegi challenged the dismissal arguing that his weight had nothing to do with the airworthiness of PAL's airplanes in a legal battle that would stretch for 19 years.

He argued that his being fat was a "sickness and a physical abnormality" that was beyond his control.

But the Supreme Court noted that Yrasuegi repeatedly refused offers of medical assistance to lose weight and ignored weight checks.

It said Yrasuegi ignored suggestions to "trim down."

"Thus, his fluctuating weight indicates absence of willpower rather than an illness," the court said.

"Passenger safety goes to the core of the job of a cabin attendant. On board an aircraft, the body weight and size of a cabin attendant are important factors to consider in case of emergency.

"Aircraft have constricted cabin space, narrow aisles and exit doors," it stressed.

Yrasuegi's ideal weight should have been 166 pounds for his height of five feet, eight inches.

A 20-year legal battle between Philippine Airlines and flight steward Armanda Yrasuegi has finally ended with a Supreme Court ruling that grounds Yrasuegi for good. The airline dismissed Yrasuegi in 1989, because the 5'8 217-pound man had failed to lose weight, as required in his contract.

Yrasuegi cried discrimination, stating that his weight was a "sickness and physical abnormality" beyond his control, but this argument carried little weight when the flight attendant refused repeated offers of medical weight loss assistance. The Supreme Court upheld a lower court's ruling in favor of the airline, stating that Yrasuegi's weight "indicates absence of willpower rather than an illness."

The ruling went on to say that Yrasuegi's weight would likely keep him from performing his job efficiently, especially in the case of an emergency. According to Gadling's own flight attendant, Heather Poole, flight attendants must be able to fit through the exit door and buckle up in the jump seat, which may be difficult for a man nearly 60 pounds overweight.

The airline industry is one of the few where weight requirements aren't discrimination, but rather simply necessary. We don't know what Yrasuegi's contract with Philippine Airlines specifically required in terms of weight, but it doesn't seem that any airlines are asking their employees to have unrealistic Hollywood bodies. It also sounds like Philippine Airlines was willing to pay for its employee's weight loss program -- how many other companies would do that?

I think the company did their part but the guy was just too lazy to help himself. Besides, how can he help in an emergency if he can't even fit the aisle of the plane?