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I know this has been brought up before, however after my flight I am in serious need of venting. Why do airlines put a size limit on people? I had to sit next to a gentleman so large he was partially in my seat.
I don't know what the 'fair' solution would be, but it is very unfair when someone doesn't get a full seat. I was scrunched to the window, no room to put my backpack underneath the seat. We were delayed for an hour on the runway. My back is in such nots from scrunching up. Rant over
This has happened to me several times, the worst is when the overweight person has the armrest up so their bulk can occupy your seat too. I usually put the armrest down and make sure I take up ALL of my seat. Stewards aren't usually very interested in helping in this situation and airlines don't reply to complaints made.
Put down the armrest and insist it stays down. That is your right. If the person can't fit, they should have purchased a second seat. Not your problem. I have escalated this to a CRO in the past, and would do it in the future.
On the flip side ... I'm a plus size woman, but I manage to fit in my seat with the arm rests down. I sit in the aisle seat so I can lean away from the passenger next to me and afford them as much space as possible.
Most of the time, I don't have any issues (I'm a frequent flyer). On a recent trip however, I was seated on a full flight next to a truly horrible human being. He made it very clear to the flight attendant (and everyone sitting nearby) that he did not appreciate having to sit next to "this fat person." Continued to whine all through boarding, even calling someone on his phone to whine more, saying "SHE'S TOUCHING ME!" (which elicited giggles because he sounded just like a whiney little brother in the back seat of the car) Well yes, I was touching him because he was sitting with his legs spread as wide as he could. His leg would have come into contact with even a skinny person sitting like that. I didn't say anything other than to apologize to him, which didn't seem to have any affect.
Unfortunately because the flight was already operating under a delay and they were trying to get boarded and off the ground in a hurry, the flight attendants were very busy and couldn't do much about the situation. But once we reached cruising altitude (and I was thoroughly mortified), the gentleman seated in front of me stood up and said to me "my wife would like it very much if you would take the seat next to her for the remainder of the flight. I can handle sitting next to this *******." God bless that couple.
The underlying problem is that the airlines keep making the seats smaller and smaller until they are now smaller than the average size of American customers. The only thing that is going to solve space issues is to make the seats bigger and further apart, because they now lack sufficient leg room for people of ordinary height as well as being too narrow for most people.
Buying two seats doesn't work well. I bought two seats once, because I was meeting a friend in Las Vegas and she was flying home with me, and paying for 2 round trip tickets was the only way to get us adjacent seats on the same flight. When boarding I had the attendants try to move someone into my vacant seat 4 different times. I had to vigorously defend the space I had paid for. That extra seat cost me $350. I wasn't about to surrender it because the airline had overbooked and was trying to get an extra passenger on.
Then during the flight, an attendant tried to move another passenger into my spare seat. The fellow next to me tried several times to sprawl all over the extra seat.
After that, I can see why large passengers don't want to pay for two seats and be forced to fight off invaders for the entire flight. Everyone on board thinks that if they can see a few empty inches that they are entitled to take them over.
The underlying problem is that the airlines keep making the seats smaller and smaller until they are now smaller than the average size of American customers. The only thing that is going to solve space issues is to make the seats bigger and further apart, because they now lack sufficient leg room for people of ordinary height as well as being too narrow for most people.
Buying two seats doesn't work well. I bought two seats once, because I was meeting a friend in Las Vegas and she was flying home with me, and paying for 2 round trip tickets was the only way to get us adjacent seats on the same flight. When boarding I had the attendants try to move someone into my vacant seat 4 different times. I had to vigorously defend the space I had paid for. That extra seat cost me $350. I wasn't about to surrender it because the airline had overbooked and was trying to get an extra passenger on.
Then during the flight, an attendant tried to move another passenger into my spare seat. The fellow next to me tried several times to sprawl all over the extra seat.
After that, I can see why large passengers don't want to pay for two seats and be forced to fight off invaders for the entire flight. Everyone on board thinks that if they can see a few empty inches that they are entitled to take them over.
Seat widths haven't changed in years. Passenger size sure has. Pitch is adequate for the average height passenger. (Average male in the US is 5'10") Those who are taller can pay more for seats with extended leg room.
I'm confused by your story--you are of average size and bought two seats?
On the flip side ... I'm a plus size woman, but I manage to fit in my seat with the arm rests down. I sit in the aisle seat so I can lean away from the passenger next to me and afford them as much space as possible.
Most of the time, I don't have any issues (I'm a frequent flyer). On a recent trip however, I was seated on a full flight next to a truly horrible human being. He made it very clear to the flight attendant (and everyone sitting nearby) that he did not appreciate having to sit next to "this fat person." Continued to whine all through boarding, even calling someone on his phone to whine more, saying "SHE'S TOUCHING ME!" (which elicited giggles because he sounded just like a whiney little brother in the back seat of the car) Well yes, I was touching him because he was sitting with his legs spread as wide as he could. His leg would have come into contact with even a skinny person sitting like that. I didn't say anything other than to apologize to him, which didn't seem to have any affect.
Unfortunately because the flight was already operating under a delay and they were trying to get boarded and off the ground in a hurry, the flight attendants were very busy and couldn't do much about the situation. But once we reached cruising altitude (and I was thoroughly mortified), the gentleman seated in front of me stood up and said to me "my wife would like it very much if you would take the seat next to her for the remainder of the flight. I can handle sitting next to this *******." God bless that couple.
It's unfortunate that there are so idiots in the world, but when you say you can put the armrests down--can you do so without spilling over into the seat next to you either in the hips or arms/shoulders? I don't like strangers touching me--on a plane or anywhere else. My prerogative. I would be respectful about it, but if you were spilling over into my seat I would nicely suggest that you speak to the flight attendant about being re-seated, because I don't share the space I've paid for with strangers.
By the way, I can't stand men that do that, and have "accidentally" whacked more than a few knees that were well into my space with my laptop over the years. I have long legs and manage to keep them in my own space.
The underlying problem is that the airlines keep making the seats smaller and smaller until they are now smaller than the average size of American customers. The only thing that is going to solve space issues is to make the seats bigger and further apart, because they now lack sufficient leg room for people of ordinary height as well as being too narrow for most people.
Buying two seats doesn't work well. I bought two seats once, because I was meeting a friend in Las Vegas and she was flying home with me, and paying for 2 round trip tickets was the only way to get us adjacent seats on the same flight. When boarding I had the attendants try to move someone into my vacant seat 4 different times. I had to vigorously defend the space I had paid for. That extra seat cost me $350. I wasn't about to surrender it because the airline had overbooked and was trying to get an extra passenger on.
Then during the flight, an attendant tried to move another passenger into my spare seat. The fellow next to me tried several times to sprawl all over the extra seat.
After that, I can see why large passengers don't want to pay for two seats and be forced to fight off invaders for the entire flight. Everyone on board thinks that if they can see a few empty inches that they are entitled to take them over.
BINGO!! It's bad enough how the airlines nickel and dime everyone to death but they want to squeeze and I do mean squeeze as many people into coach as they can.
The only way to avoid this is flying first class and average people can't afford that...hell they even charge extra for exit row seats because of the leg room and they used to be standard coach prices.
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