altabello

Over the years, I've become increasingly claustrophobic. I used to be fine and could control my sense of panic in tight spaces and crowds (small spaces don't bother me as much as crowded spaces) long enough for no one to notice and was fine once I got out of the crowded elevator, etc. A couple of years ago, I was sitting in a window seat on a commuter bus, when a very large person, that reeked of BO and cold smoke took the seat next to me. I started panicking, raised heart rate, headache and nausea settled in, but I managed to remain in my seat for the hour long ride (no other seats were available anyway). I've avoided the issue since by sitting in the aisle seat. On a plane, I always preferred the window seat, b/c I could look out and it made me feel better than sitting in the aisle. But if person of size was next to me, I would totally freak out in the window seat now! Any advice on how to address this? I feel uncomfortable talking about my claustrophobia, esp. while it's happening to me. I'm afraid I'll be the one getting off-loaded, when the person spilling into my space is the one causing my issues.

AnaTravel

Kobolcs, no hate from me. Explaining issues is helpful. I've learnt quite a bit from this thread. Your idea of having 1.5 seat width seats on offer may be commercially viable on certain routes. Some American airlines offer 'big seats' up front on domestic flights.

I do feel sorry for FAs having to sort these thorny issues out. Instead of dismissing passengers outside the seat tolerance height or width. airlines should look for commercially viable solutions.

corporate-wage-slave

There is a report now trending on the BBC website on this. Core details are as above, however one snippet which made me think this isn't a straightforward case (since it was presumably a 9-a-row 777-200 aircraft, which is fairly generous for longhaul economy seating) - the neighbouring passenger who allegedly hurt the claimant here did not need a seat belt extender. Which suggests someone not so far down the Bell Curve.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-46233158

LTN Phobia

I recommend getting professional help if you haven't already.
It will make your life easier if you can find a good professional who can help you with your claustrophobia.

altabello

Thanks for your advice. I've talked to a therapist and did some research. Both seemed to indicate that claustrophobia, like other phobias, is an irrational fear and it's best to NOT give in to them, i.e. don't go down the road of imagining worst case scenarios (for me, a full-on panic attack, where I couldn't control my actions and imagine myself to climb over the other passengers in the row while screaming or crying, & not being able to breathe, not sure where I would go from there). To me, and I'm sure others with various phobias, the fear doesn't seem irrational at all though, and the more I focus on it (recognizing the symptoms, trying to breathe calmly, etc.) the worse the panic gets. I don't think that this therapist helped at all, but not sure what kind of professional to best see about this (I live in a rural area - crowds are rare, but so are specialists).

Yachtman

I’ve encountered persons of size seated adjacent to me twice. The first time was on Emirates, I can’t recall the type by think it was a 2/4/2 seating configuration and a lady was sat in the front window seat with the armrest up overflowing significantly into my aisle seat. I really wasn’t quite sure what to do, but thankfully a cabin crew member came along and offered the lady a more comfortable seat at the back (crew rest blocked seats perhaps?). If it had been a full flight I’ve no idea what they’d have done.
Recently was on a short haul and there was a large young girl (late teens/early twenties) who had to force the arm rest down. It was slightly uncomfortable but I could handle it for an hour or so that the flight took. The only thing that surprised me was when she pulled out a large bag of snacks for this short flight, all sugary and high carb, and demolished them all.

corporate-wage-slave

I am no expert in this area, but thank you for sharing your feelings, which must frustrate you as much as they prevent you from doing things that you presumably want to do. It helps people like me - who don't have these feelings - to see the difficulties that people around me sometimes have to contend with when flying. But I think that talking about it probably will help. You'll doubtless get a range of reactions from helpful to hopeless but still I would be surprised if internalising this is in anyway going to get you further forward. If you don't have a spouse / family member who can be some sort of buffer, you may want to seek out a travel buddy, I know that may not be straightforward particularly if you live in a rural area - that's something I do share with you. And these forums can perhaps help you to find out seating options that will help, and other tactics such as getting premium cabins for less money. In the specific case of BA, cabin crew do get some training in this area and from what I can make out do try to help those for whom flying is not easy.

RGS5526

BA once had such seats. I have experienced them on short haul, not sure which types, could be on any or all of Trident, 737 and 757. They were also used on the upper deck of 747-100, which was sometimes Y and sometimes C.

I rarely sat in the expanded configuration, but don't recall them as particularly uncomfortable.

LTN Phobia

I do understand where you're coming from as a fellow claustrophobic, although I have slowly started to cope with it more over the years. I still avoid certain seats because they tend to trigger that panicky feeling, like the seat directly behind the curtain because it's 'in my face' and feel like something is closing in on me, particularly if in the window/middle seat.

You might like to consider trying cognitive behavioural therapy, although I am not sure if it would be easy to find someone in a rural area. The quality of professionals vary a lot though and so does the 'fit' between them and their clients, so don't lose hope if the next one you try doesn't work very well. Hopefully at some point you will be able to travel without having too much fear of the claustrophobia attack.

nancypants

PJSMITH0

Geordie405

Given that you actually have three years from the date of injury to even start proceedings, getting it to trial in a little over two seems pretty good going given all that is involved in managing a personal injury claim.

NWIFlyer

I'm not sure how much detail was in the BBC report at the time of posting, but it also now includes evidence from the CSM that the armrests fully lowered and the aisle passenger did not experience and issue of overspill from the gentleman in the middle seat. In addition, it's clear the CSM monitored the situation because he also stated the plaintiff was able to sit normally for a Y seat and was able to walk off the aircraft without a problem at the destination.

Based on that, and it's probably still early days in terms of evidence, I can fully understand why BA is choosing to defend this rather than settle. I can also see them making an application for costs if the case is dismissed.

Nicc HK

[QUOTE=Badenoch;30436552]His second mistake was not taking a picture of the large passenger which would go a long way to helping his case in the public forum [QUOTE]

Be careful on this one, if the passenger in question objects or you post on a public forum without permission this can raise legal issues, especially in the EU.

pandablood

I'm 1,91m and around 120kg. not by far the tallest or fattest. but I struggle with 17" and especially with 31. your proposed rule is arbitrary.