CHICAGO - Airline seats by nature are not ergonomically designed to satisfy passengers' expectations of a comfortable travel experience.
Since flying is a highly profitable business, the goal of airlines is space maximization. The more seats they can bunch in a single aircraft means more money for their bottomline.
A SPIN.ph video of June Mar Fajardo struggling to fit in his assigned seat for a flight to Bacolod for the PBA All-Stars depicts the challenges flying has become for super large human beings.
LOOK:
The video, which has since been ogled at least 90,000 times at SPIN.ph's X account, was met with a mix of curiosity, confusion and sympathy for the San Miguel Beer superstar.
As uncomfortable as June Mar looked, his predicament wasn't surprising.
Airline seats for coach accomodations average only 17.2 inches wide while the legroom in front and behind seats average just a mere 29 inches.
HUMAN ORIGAMI.
Fajardo, meanwhile, is 6-foot-10, 260 pounds with a pair of legs that are at least 40 inches long. The math simply doesn't add up.
Whoever planned this trip probably assumed that Fajardo was also a contortionist who can fold like a lawn chair.
This was a messy inconvenience that was completely avoidable. You'd think a 10-time champion and a 7-time MVP deserved better.
Many readers pointed out that Air Asia has no "first class or business seats."
If so, then other options could have been explored, like seating him at the emergency aisle which inherently has more legroom or maybe buying the entire three-seat aisle for him to better extend his legs.
What about a charter flight?
I know it's expensive but last September, SMC boss Ramon S. Ang revealed that his company spends around P1 billion for its basketball operations alone. The PBA, on the other hand,announced last May that it had "earned more or less P200 million" in Season 47.
Sadly, all that money can't buy comfort for the league's biggest star, literally and figuratively.
RISKY BUSINESS.
But Fajardo's horror flight wasn't just about comfort. It was also a health hazard.
According to John Mahipos, a licensed physical therapist in Chicago who was mortified after seeing the video, Fajardo's stuffed position exposed him to various vulnerabilities.
"Knees in constant flexed position," he explained, can cause "joint pain, and possibly, an ankle plantarlexion strain."
There's also a risk of "nerve impingement, hamstring and Achilles damage," Mahipos added.
The fact that Fajardo didn't seek better accommodations and just willingly planted himself awkwardly on a seat where his right foot was protruding and obstructing aisle traffic speaks volumes about his reputation as a low-maintenance star.
Sadly for the PBA, this seating fiasco may have also spoken deafening volumes about how the league treats its players regardless of star status.
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