No, you are not guaranteed that the armrests are movable just because there's no notation on seatguru. But, in general, seats in the exit rows and bulkheads will have immovable armrests. If you are not in an exit row and see a row of seats immediately in front of your row on seatguru, the chances are very good (almost certain) that you'll have movable armrests.

I don't think you'll have problems. The only reason I hesitate to give the total all-clear is that I don't know what men's waist size that corresponds to, and even if I did, men and women are shaped differently.

Peaches, you SHOULD be fine. A friend of mine is your height and over 300lbs, and she fits without issue. Of course, it all depends on where your weight is. If it is all in your stomach, it may be tougher. If it more in your top, bottom, and legs, it will be easier.

Peaches:

You are about my size in terms of pants size (24). I would say if you were traveling alone, buy another seat - 17" is not enough for our hips :) However, if you are occupying a section with your family, and they are amenable to being squeezed, then you should be alright. Just make sure to book early so you can get your seats together!

MOST planes have movable armrests, except the bulkhead and exit rows. However, I've been on a transatlantic plane where all but the last few rows were unmoveable. We asked to be moved to the back, which was fine with those switching with us :)

A note - sometimes the armrest closest to the window and the one in the aisle don't move either, just the ones in the middle. I would recommend anyone who is tall have the aisle for the extra legroom.

Good luck!

PS - I want to laud all who have posted on this thread for a rancor-less and polite debate about this issue. Yay us!

The armrests are movable on NW planes except for bulkhead and exit row. The A320s have wider seats than the others, but none are particularly cramped. One the DC-9, the seats are arranged 2-3, so you can try for a 2-side and have one less person to worry about.

Can anyone buy 2 or 3 seats?
 

I am 5'9", 135 lb, and fit into even the smallest of economy seats.

However, I do like to fly comfortably, and would be prepared to buy 3 seats in a row if I could lie down across all 3 and get FF miles for all 3.

Do you think this is possible? I'm especially thinking about transatlantic flights, which I do a lot.

peaches44 -

Thanks for taking the time to post. My whole point in starting this thread was that if you are potentially in this situation, you can deal with it beforehand. You are, and that's excellent.

I think your situation is a bit different. You are travelling with two family members. I'm assuming that you can impose on them a bit where it wouldn't be appropriate with a stranger. In addition, having three seats for your group, you have flexibility in your configuration.

Glad you're here and glad you're looking at this ahead of time!

I am sure anything is possible if you're willing to pay for it. That would be one expensive transatlantic flight....

I don't think any of the carriers give miles for multiple seats. I don't think that's fair, but it is the current system.

If you buy the tickets, they should give the miles!!

Many aisle armrests don't seem to move, but there's often a little catch on the seat frame under it, near the back, to unlock it. No tools required, not hard to spot now that you know where to look. (If it wiggles a bit, there's probably a catch. If it feels solidly attached to the seat frame, there may not be. If there's a tray table in it, it definitely does not move.)

It messed me up too the first time I saw POS.

To Peaches44
 

Although I'm 65 pounds lighter than you are, I also wear a size 24 pants.

I've never been regarded as a COS by any airline and never needed a seatbelt extender, with the exception of my previous post. But even that was not related to my size.

I think we need to ban the acronym of POS on Flyertalk!

I agree. That's why I always use COS ("Customer of Size"). Unfortunately, it's the airlines themselves that use the more unfortunate acronym.