Flyin'Mom

For all who want overweight folks to buy extra seats or stand between sizewise fanny poles, remember...some of you big wide shouldered guys could be next in line to have to buy 2 seats.

Yes, it is difficult to be seated next to a very large person....whether it is their butt, their gut, or their shoulders taking up extra space.

A couple of years ago I flew SLC/ANC on a packed plane. I was in a window seat way back in steerage and as the plane boarded, miraculously the 2 seats next to me remained open. You know that smug feeling that starts settling over you when you find yourself in that position? I was feeling it! It was my lucky day, no doubt about it.

Then, right before the boarding door was going to close, TWO really big guys got on. Think sumo wrestler. And they were headed straight for me. When the first one arrived, he flipped up the armrest between B and C, sat down, flipped up the armrest between me and B and slid over. I kind of hit the wall with a little whomp. Somehow the other man wedged in too, but I don't know how he managed it.

It was a long flight and I was really squashed to the wall. When the flight attendant came around selling headphones for a movie I was able to maneuver my arms around - they were kind of thrust in front of me in my compressed position - and get a $5 out of my fanny pack. But the flight attendant simply couldn't see me on his first 2 passes through the cabin. Finally, he noticed me squashed against the wall waving my money franticly, giggling like a loon at this point because frankly I saw the situation as hilarious. He took one look at me and the two sumo wrestlers and handed me a headset but wouldn't take my money.

It was an uncomfortable flight...but I've been just as uncomfortable when seated next to a broad shouldered man who claimed the armrest as his personal territory and proceeded to read his paper in stretched out glory.

While I can see the humor in being squashed in by two really big overweight guys I can't see any humor in an arrogant person taking space because he feels it is his given right to do so.

kanerf

Keep in mind while much is said about an airlines seat pitch, that is the distance between rows, little is ever said about seat width. On some aircraft, the width is a mere 17-17.5 inches. Get out a ruler sometime and look and measure that distance. While I am overweight, many who are not overweight but simply larger people will find that painful to sit in for 3+ hours. I heard a tale that the standard seat width was based on an old Coast Guard standard that recommended 17" for the seat width required for each person in a lifeboat!

Given that the seats are uncomfortably small and the people are getting larger, perhaps the airlines need to start looking at ergonomics instead of just profit margins. I think that the seats could be redesigned out of thinner yet stronger materials just like the planes are so that they could provide more room for each passenger. I always look at the 3 or 4 inches of wasted space next to the window where the curve of the planes fuselage is. Why not design that one side of the standard 3 seat row to curve on that side giving passengers a few more inches. Also, I know the aisle is already narrow, but since we don't get a meal service any more anyway, why not design the seats to slide apart a little into the aisle like the seats on some buses and trains do?

Cholula

Thanks to my early wrestling days, I’m broad shouldered. In fact, my physique used to resemble a Yield-Right-Of-Way sign. As the years progess, I‘m now starting to resemble another type of street sign but I digress....
It’s the shoulder-tango thing that also gets to me. And is one of the reasons that, if I’m flying coach, I prefer WN where you can select your seat. When I board, I try to sit next to some kid who is not likely to bang shoulders with me. Everything is just fine if I’ve got someone of small stature next to me. No physical contact occurs. But if I have to sit next to a linebacker type, we’re both uncomfortable.

AllanJ

(copied from another post)
The aggrieved pax should have at least at first got up and asked to be reseated himself,prior to departure. No need to point out someone else's appearance or make fun of someone else.

I woujld think that the airline would lose the court case if the court found the airline did not provide seating that was "decent and proper", even though the contract of carriage did not say so.

The airline does not have the right to give away one of the two seats a large person has purchased. The airline does not have the right to subject a pax to being sat upon or pushed or shoved. As far as the F/A saying "there is nothing we can do" that is a false statement. The airline can ask for volunteers.

Travel tips:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/travel.htm

>>> I kind of hit the wall with a little whomp.
A super loud scream might have been an appropriate immediate response!

USA_flyer

Um have you seen a legacy American carrier make a profit recently? No? Me either.

Actually you're required to give up that seat if the FA deems you a hazard to pax between the aisle and the window. Same goes for disabled pax. If you don't like it, too bad.

sibley

It peeves me that POS are almost always depicted as rude gluttons, but it's a whole other story when we talk about tall passengers or passengers with broad schoulders. Flyin'Mom is correct, inconvenience is inconvenience, regardless of the source.

I recently underwent a nasty course of steroid treatment for a medical problem, which packed 30 pounds on my 5'2" frame. I'm certainly not morbidly obese, the seat dividers are safe, and you wouldn't be saying the "please don't let the fat person side beside me" prayer as I walked down the aisle. However, I notice a marked difference in the way I fit into a seat. It makes me uncomfortable; and it makes me wonder if it is at all realistic for seats to remain the width and pitch that they are today.

Bottom line: If you're going to charge for two seats, that must be the rule for anyone who "spills over" any part of the seat, whether obese, a linebacker, or over a certain height. And it has to be enforced 100% of the time.

JAX Flier

The article listed by the OP is over 2 years old, so this may be the same case. Regardless, the issue seems to arise every few months on forum or another.

The lady that bought 3 seats (together! with the reason stated to the airline) when she and her husband travel should be commended. That is taking personal responsibility and being aware of one's own situation. Any airline that then broke up the three seats should certainly be financially liable to her and her husband.

While we can argue all day about seat widths, they are what they are. When one is too big to fit inside, one needs two seats. I get mine - I don't share my seat. If I can't drive my car for some reason (a handicap for instance, and most talk about obesity as a handicap), then I must pay to modify the car so I can drive it. If I need to fly, I must modify my seat, by buying two, so I can fit.

WNs response is perfect. You buy two seats, if the plane is not full and you could have had an extra seat without paying, you get your money back. If your need for two seats keeps a revenue pax off the plane, you don't get your money back. If all the airlines did this, there would be far less animosity between persons of size and those they are sitting on!

John C

Agree completely. I think the vast majority have nothing against people of size but we have no sympathy for inconsiderate souls. There is no such thing as a perfect person. We all have our "faults". I have nothing but respect for anyone who acknowledges and deals with whatever situation might be present - whether it be size, undue coughing, or parenting a child so that he doesn't kick the seats with impunity.

Agree again. Market forces work. When the market truly demands larger seats (and will pay for them) then we will see it. Until that time, people should pay for the extra space if they need it. We don't all have the same sized cars or the same sized houses. And we certainly pay vastly different prices for those things depending on what we decide to buy. This, to me, is just another example of people needing to buy and consume what they need.

And we agree yet again. Though I would stress in no uncertain terms that when someone pays for two seats, they should never be separated or reassigned. If you buy the seat, you buy it. Period.

AllanJ

>>> For those who feel that fat people should not block the exit...

Fat people are not obligated to let skinny people exit first in case of emergency.

USCGamecock

I've had the same happen to me before. I do make sure the armrest stays down with my arm on it.

mikey1003

Quit talking about Cholula

mikey1003

This happened to me a few years ago...I shoved the armrest back down and told her "I dont think so!"

Cholula

You’ve apparently got me confused with someone else, mikey1003.
I’m the guy with a g-string and sandals not a tanktop and shorts.....

sibley

I can't bring myself to do that (though I've certainly thought about it). What if you physically hurt the COS? Could be a real can of worms.

thesaints

How about tall people ?
I've been seated next to somebody really tall (763 transatlantic), I mean "NBA tall". Of course he wouldn't fit and had to sit askew, with one leg in my area. Uncomfortable for both; guess even a little more for him

I imagine the cabin is designed so as to accommodate "comfortably" people of average size. They cannot take "extremes" into account, unless they are willing to give up substantial revenue. These people do exist, though, and they do travel by air. I think a sensible way to deal with that, when on a full flight, would be giving the inconvenienced passenger some freebie like a fistful of miles, drink coupons, an upgrade certificate, etc. If DL did that spontaneously, they would certainly avoid being sued and would gain in customer satisfaction.