canadiancow

The former sounds like it's probably the best approach.

I'm just glad it wasn't as bad a horror story I read in the United forum where the armrest wouldn't even go down.

john_doe123123

........

MrHalliday

I am pretty sure people who need a belt extender
are not supposed to be seated in Exit rows.

It may be airline-dependent,
or it may be an FAA rule, not sure.

Souvlaki

What do you do? Take the glass-half-full approach. Snuggle up and thank the lady for saving you the cost of a pillow.

canadatosiberia

These issues need to be dealt with either at the check-in or at the gate. The fact that the airlines leave the awkward resolution to pax to figure out is unfortunate. I have had this issue in the US, but nowhere else - can you complain and get compensation? As part of the following-up, UA could call the person who sat next to you and ask "so how huge are you". They either lose the normals or the larges as customers!

ACYYZ/SD

A crew members best friend is "space" (aka - open seats). When anybody for whatever reason is dissatisfied with their seat, an open seat provides a level of negotiability. There have been endless posts regarding this topic and regardless of how you want to classify obesity it's a situation that requires tact and empathy. Canadian airlines are mandated to handle the situation differently than our US counterparts. An extra seat will be provided for an oversized person with doctors certification under certain circumstances and conditions. Everybody is entitled to maximize their comfort where possible - just as I would scout out another seat for a single customer seated next to a family with a lap held baby to provide comfort for all. As crew members I can comfortably say that we can tackle 99% of situations on board. As discussed on FT often - Size & Smell - remain the great challenges.

Tangoer

Will alirlines allow you on the next flight? Or could you stand in the aisle when seatbelt lite is off, make it tough for the crew to get around you until they get the idea? Simply claim you are unable to safely fit into your seat. Unwanted touching is a tort of battery in civil law! Advise them to stop touching you, get it on cell phone camera, alert FAs, document it. Threaten lawsuits, take pictures?

AClove

That was my thought as well. I guess the OP was in the best place to get out safely, everyone else would be stuck behind the large pax seated beside him...all in all, I guess the OP had the safest seat on the plane in case of an evacuation.

canadatosiberia

On the smell issue, maybe a gender neutral scent can be sprayed on at the metal detector or scanner? I like vanilla, but you could even go to seasonal favorites - cinnamon eggnog for this time of year...

This is not a major problem IMO, but when it happens to you it is major for the short term. I believe airlines who choose not to deal with it should compensate the surrounding pax. Nothing gets people/companies to change like added costs - with the exception of the truly dysfunctional like airlines. Oops.

bingocallerb22

Well, I've the situation where I pid extra for the exit row seat then lost some of it to a spillover pax, so a double whammy.

Symmetre

If you were seated in an exit row and the ladies were that intolerable, you should have just told the FA you were not comfortable operating the window exit if required, and asked to be reseated. By law, they have to move you.

kraftdinner_

let's hope AC never resorts to this:

http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011...ent-jump-seats

canadatosiberia

I guess that situations like this http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-...denied-flight/ will change things?

SKRan

would it be fair to define 'obese' in the context of air travel as whoever requires a seatbelt extender?

The Lev

I guess it all depends on whether the fat flops forward or to the side.

there can also be extremely fit people with broad shoulders who might cause similar discomfort to the OP without the benefit of the "pillow" effect.