Advice on airline booking for overweight traveler
 

An embarrassing question, but here goes. I fly somewhat regularly from the New York area (Jersey City) to Santo Domingo, DR. The only airlines that fly direct are United (from Newark) and JetBlue (from JFK).

I choose JetBlue all the time because an emergency row seat accommodates my weight without a problem whereas I'm uncomfortable in a regular seat and I make the traveler next to me uncomfortable. United does not offer such big seats except in business or first class. There is no economy plus on United to Santo Domingo (and I'm not sure if those seats are as big as the emergency row seats on JB). I'd much rather prefer United since Newark Airport is 20 minutes from me while JFK is twice the distance and cab fare.

I also find myself going out of my way to use JetBlue for other destinations, like unnecessarily taking connecting flights in order to get the larger seat.

Do I have any alternative (other than losing weight, haha... I'm working on it.)

Probably not the answer you're seeking, but you do have the option of booking a second adjacent seat for yourself. The cost may prove to be preferable to the greater driving distance and time to JFK, especially if you can find a deeply discounted fare.

You also can just bite the bullet and buy an F/J seat. At least you'd achieve status quicker that way.

Advice on airline booking for overweight traveler
 

With united you can always try and upgrade .. You can check with seat guru to see how wide are the seats .