greenery

The number of very overweight Americans is incredibly high. Many of them are flying. I can not believe the situation is going to get any better. In fact all the experts say that people are going to be alot larger 5-10-15 years from now. Will the Airline industry have to change the size of seats to adjust to the new American?

TierFlyer

I figure they're trying to dehydrate the fatties.

No, seriously, I have been wondering that for quite a while. Coming out of Vegas to Columbus I swear I was the only person fit enought to work the emergency exit.

oldpenny16

I wouldn't count on airline seats getting a bit larger. The plain fact is that for most people who purchase economy tickets, comfort is not going to happen. Especially if you happen to be sitting next to a larger person who has a lot of nerve.

guy999

i wholeheartly agree with making them buy 2 tickets. maybe if your bmi is a certain number then we can figure it out. should be easy enough to do, all of those scales are around.

one of my relatives is fat and he thinks that the airlines should redesign their planes around him.

i'm not svelte, but the number of people with morbid obestity is getting out of control, we are actually seeing the lifespan of americans decreasing and this is the reason.

lg10

I've often been tempted to get two seats, though I am actually quite
slender, even underweight when not pg.
I just don't like being crammed next to people, particularly
strangers. (Particularly, I'm thinking, the stinkier people get on
these no-fluids/gels flights.) I think often it would be cheaper to buy
two coach tickets than one higher-class-of-service ticket. But, I've
never actually tried it.

My MIL, feeling as I do, bought
three coach seats internationally when flying with just my FIL, and they
had marked her as "oversize passenger" (she's not). She thought it was
funny. When she showed up, though, the airline asked her if it was ok to
just upgrade her and FIL to business class (2 seats) so that they could
sell the third seat. They said yes, enthusiastically.

I read a magazine article written autobiographically by some guy who had
lost like 200 lbs to get back to normal weight. He talked about going on
an airplane and being squashed and asking the person next to him if she
would mind if he raised the arm-rest. She said, "yes, sorry, I would mind"
and he was all offended in his magazine article about this. I read the
article and thought, heck, I'd feel just like she did. No way do I want
to share my precious few inches with someone else's body parts.

Of course, part of the problem is how crammed airplanes make the seats,
but realistically, they make economic decisions based on what people are
willing to pay for how much space.

So here's a practical question - if a person wants to buy two seats for
herself, whether for body-type or general-preference reasons, can she do
it on the airline's web-site? If so, are they both under the same name?

--LG

Traveller

Another POS thread. How long will this one last before getting locked?

747LWW

Sorry, what is a POS thread? By the way, what about the standing room concept...no seats at lower cost?

obscure2k

"POS" means "persons of size." Now, a gentle reminder to please keep this thread on topic and civil. Every time the issue re: POS comes up the thread detiorates and, ultimately, is closed. So, please stick to the original topic or this thread will be closed in a hearbeat.
Thanks..
Obscure2k
TravelBuzz Moderator

guy999

I was wondering someone else it said in here that they had in the past bought two seats so they would be a little bit more comfortable.

Could I call American Airlines and tell them that I feel like I'm a little too large and would like to have two seats next to each other and then go ahead and pay for the two seats. I'm paying for an upgrade to London but because of the fact that American requires you to pay for the upgrade and use miles it would actually be cheaper for me just to buy two seats. I wouldn't be getting a business-class seat but it wouldn't be too bad. Just wish I could get double the miles

KSinNYC

Great questions. My parents once bought 3 seats for the 2 of them, and they had an extra seat between them. Then a few years later they were going to do that again, but they were told that they could end up with seats 34A, 34B and 51A. If they bought 3 seats and said that they were POSs, would that ensure that they'd get 3 seats together?

RustyC

As long as we play Blame-the-Victim on obesity, the problem itself won't get any better, but the airlines will have enough wiggle room to say "not our fault" and continue downsizing seats. So you'll continue to get the worst of both worlds.

I wish I could be more optimistic, but there's a strong cultural tendency to put everything on the individual, even though whatever we have BEEN doing obviously hasn't been working. If you've traveled to foreign settings for extended periods and have lost weight without feeling deprived you know that the environmental factors do make a difference. Athletics and competitiveness also smother physical education at many high schools, especially the big ones where most people won't make a team even if they go out and will just internalize the non-jock self-image for life. Membership costs at private gyms become a real barrier in later life, while public parks and facilities go way underfunded even though the sales on sporting goods and "stuff" are huge. No wonder it rots in closets.

But all of this is just "whining" to some, who'll continue to put all the blame on the individual. And continue to get the same results.

Palal

I'm more concerned about the fact that airlines currently estimate only 200lbs/pax (including luggage) in weight and fuel calculations.

lg10

I think this is an excellent point. The airlines need no extra incentives to
foist all kinds of things onto individuals, e.g. bringing your own comfort
measures (including water...arrgh re the ban...). I also think it is a
well-deserved thing to complain (whine?) about the paucity of airplane
width and pitch, no matter what your size.

I can't think of anyone past the age of 6 years old who would really be
physically comfortable with the space allocated in a typical coach airplane
seat - overweight or not.

From my perspective, I'm kind of hoping that the shift in demographics and
the increasing size of Americans will lead to more space allocated per
person. But, I'm not holding my breath, and that's why I asked about how
to go about buying extra seats for oneself.

--LG

jsimmonds

I personally find airline seats ramped even for thoes like me who or not or a few kilos overweight they should make the seats a little wider

lg10

BTW in addition to small seats and small seat-pitch as issues for persons of
any size, I think that the aisles and bathrooms are criminally small for their
designated uses. However, as long as airplanes can make a profit with the
tiny-can space, I don't realistically see any improvements happening.

Also, even in upper classes of service, the bathrooms are still much too tiny.
I wonder what's up with that. Well, for that matter I think most public
bathroom stalls are too small to be comfortable for even a small woman to
maneuver around when wearing anything more complicated than slip-on
slacks. If you're wearing a big skirt or anything that needs tucking/adjusting,
forget it....

Interestingly, on cruise ships the bathrooms actually don't seem to me to
be as terribly cramped, which surprises me considering that they also have
significant space constraints. I wonder if that's because there are a lot
of women wearing evening gowns who have to use those bathrooms.

--LG