canadiancow

I was on a United flight (but the topic isn't UA specific, and I like this forum more...) this weekend in a window seat. I had switched to that seat shortly before boarding in part because the rest of the row was still showing as empty (and also because it was an exit row).

The last group to board the plane included a pair of "obese" (I don't know if there's a strict definition for what "obese" means, but it fits my definition) women. The larger of the two took the middle seat, the smaller (but just barely) took the aisle.

The armrest came down (apparently that makes a difference in these cases), but her fat spilled over the armrest into my area. She required a seatbelt extender.

Is this something that is generally tolerated by airlines? I've never been in a situation like this before, and I had no idea what, if anything, I should do. The last thing I wanted was to call over an FA, say "this woman is too big for her seat", and receive a response of "no she's fine, there's nothing we can do", and then have to sit there for the next 4 hours.

So what are the rules/guidelines/recommendations? At what point is a passenger's size worth bringing to someone's attention? How do you generally go about doing it in such a way that you don't look or sound like a dick? What is an acceptable outcome in these situations?

Doc Savage

UA tries to get the POS seated next to Canadians whenever possible. Did you have your nationality listed?

todare

Obese is defined as anyone more than 10 percent over their maximum ideal body weight. In the USA the charts are higher than in canada.

canadiancow

Probably

djjaguar64

Are you sure they were obese, your handle says you are the `CANADIANCOW``

canadiancow

I may be larger than I'd like, but I don't spill into the next seat

rankourabu

you were lucky the FA didnt ask you to pay for the exit row seat you took without paying for it - but I guess the karma of sitting next to two fatties took care of that

canadiancow

The GA gave it to me. It was on my boarding pass. I'm starting to think it's too easy to get an exit row on UA. My MR had four segments. On the first, they needed to move a part of two out of the exit row because one was a child. On the second, they needed to move two because they didn't speak English. So while I'm always glad when I can get one, I always ask the GA, and I've always either been given it at no cost, or told there were none available.

So I'd hardly call it karma. I sat in the seat listed on my boarding pass. Or rather, I sat in most of the seat (the rest was occupied by the lady beside me).

gcashin

I'm told by a friend who is an FA that if the armrest can be lowered, then there's not much that can be done, aside from move to an empty seat, if available. But if it's a full flight, you're out of luck. If the armrest can't be lowered, then the obese pax needs to buy a second seat.

ACYYZ/SD

Not to wave the flag, but recently FT's blog "The Gate" featured an article regarding passenger obesity and air travel. Guess who was rated as the "Most Obese-Friendly" airline??

rankourabu

oops sorry missed that part, thought you switched once on board.
In that case, I would have alerted the FA, and asked for reseating in another equivalent seat or removing the fatties.

canadiancow

When I read your post, I wasn't sure if you meant "friendly" like:
1. You're obese, we'll let you on anyway.
or
2. You're obese, so take this second seat free of charge.

It appears that for AC, it's the second. But I'm not sure why you'd need a doctor's note. I mean...can you not tell by looking if someone's that obese?

Still, how should you handle the situation if you're the one whose seat is being encroached upon, when it's very obvious to you, but the armrest still goes down fine?

canadiancow

Well I guess I'll try that if it happens again. Is that something they'd do though? Marching someone off a plane for being too large seems like a great way for a lawsuit.

On another matter, I doubt these women would have fit out the door in that exit row. It wasn't nearly as large as the main exits at the front and rear of the aircraft.

rankourabu

Perhaps not, but they were impeding on your space, you have the right to your seat - most likely you would have been offered another seat.

HerpaYvr

I guess the polite or Canadian way of solving this is to suggest to the F/A that perhaps these ladies would be more comfortable having the row to themselves and I can be moved to a similar seat.

OR

I have explosive diarrhea and I do not want to inconvenience these ladies , may I have a seat closer to the washroom?