Flying across country, 6 foot 280 pound man.

[beachmouse]

I posted a link upthread to Southwest's Customer of Size policy, which give you a way to get two seats if you really need them. (You buy 2 seats at check-in so their inventory control picks things up right, and then you're supposed to get a refund for one of them after the flight)

[JoeCollege]

Get an aisle seat.

[Mini-apple-less]

I think it's ridiculous to charge twice as much for a 280 pound person. That's not really all that big if the person is muscular and 6 feet tall. I'm 6 foot 1 and weigh about 260 and while I'm definitely not skinny, I'm far from being horribly obese.

Edit: I misread your OP

[John7777]

Originally Posted by Dingo99

I have not flown in over a decade. Business class will cost over 2x what a regular ticket would cost. Should I spring for it regardless? Just how uncomfortable would coach be?

A typical seat at a movie/game/concert is not uncomfortable, so in theory there should be no issue, but I know how bad of a rap flying gets.

Any thoughts/suggestions?

I think that at 280 lbs, you're not that heavy. And let's face it, it doesn't take that long to fly across the country. I wouldn't worry about it. It's not as though you're taking an 18 hour flight to Singapore.

[Cloudship]

Size wise I don't think you will have a big problem - I am larger than you and fly all the time. Personally, on longer flights I always prefer to fly first. You didn't say which cities you are flying between. But some pointers:

1. Look for a connecting flight. Some airlines even do two connections depending on where you are flying. While this means more time (and more time in the air) it is broken up and you can stretch out in the airport in between.

2. Book an extra legroom seat. Even though it doesn't give you more seat width, the legroom does make a difference.

3. Pay attention to what planes you fly. Look for the E170, E175, E190, and E195. These have some of the widest seats domestically in coach. Avoid the C100/C200, the E140/E145, and domestic configuration 777s (use Seatguru.com to see which ones).

4. Seats towards the back, but not all the way at the back, sometimes have one or two empty seats in the row. Not too often anymore, but sometimes.

5. Avoid exit rows and bulkheads. in most cases these will have tables in the armrests, which mean wider, unmovable armrests which harrow the seat even further.

6. You can, if you want to spend a little more money but not first, book an extra seat. You have to check the website to see how to do this on each airlines. I suggest trying to find 767s, MD80s, or E series jets for this - as they have two seats per row in at least some part of the plane, which means you get your own row.

7. Lastly, invest in noise cancelling headphones. These help isolate you from all the noise and commotion.

[Larry Siegel]

I'm not quite that big but big enough for it to be a problem unless the person next to me is tiny. Look around for deals on first class/business class. They exist. 2x the lowest coach fare is a good deal and I would take it.