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AIBU?

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Original poster

AIBU to think airline seats no longer fit average-sized adults?

237 replies

Frequency · 04/04/2026 20:21

Do any airlines have adult-sized seats? Not obese adults, just regular adults?

We've just flown with Jet2 and my back is still in agony from the trip there. I was in the middle seat between my friend, who is slightly overweight but also short, so proportionately, she is not much wider than an average height, average weight woman, and a man who was maybe bordering on obese, his ass fit in his own seat, but his shoulders took a good three/four inches of my seat. My friend's shoulders took maybe a cm or 2 of my seat.

I'm not on the small side myself; I'm not overweight, but I am not what you'd describe as skinny. I needed all my shoulder space to myself. I was unable to sit back the entire flight because I literally didn't fit. I had to hunch forward with my shoulders rolled in.

On the way back, I was sitting between my friend, a short, slim lady. I could sit back, but I was touching both people on either side of me, and there was no elbow space or wriggle room.

For next year, I need either my shoulders shaved down and a few ribs removed or actual, people-sized seats. Do such seats exist?

OP posts:
Felinefoster · 06/04/2026 11:52

Flying is awful full stop.

YANBU

Original poster
Frequency · 06/04/2026 11:49

vickylou78 · 06/04/2026 09:24

Why didn't you ask the man to lean to the aisle a bit so you could sit back into your seat?

I didn't want to draw any attention to the fact that my friend was very slightly on my seat too. She was very anxious about flying and her size. This holiday was her first since she was a child due to her size and the whole reason she started WLI. She's done amazingly well, and I didn't want to do anything to take that away from her.

I did try to sit back a few times, which resulted in me lying on him and him huffing and puffing as if I was the problem. It did get him to shift slightly, but as soon as I got up to stretch my legs or leaned forward to get something out of my bag, he was back, so in the end I just gave up. Squishing myself between him and my friend wasn't any more comfortable than leaning forward anyway.

OP posts:
Bulbsbulbsbulbs · 06/04/2026 10:44

vickylou78 · 06/04/2026 09:24

Why didn't you ask the man to lean to the aisle a bit so you could sit back into your seat?

As someone who used to fly for work twice a week for years I would say doing this carries a risk. You are stuck next to an angry man for however many hours which is rather unpleasant.

A man kicked off because I asked him very nicely to remove his elbow from my waist, threatened to have me arrested then followed me through the airport.

vickylou78 · 06/04/2026 09:24

Why didn't you ask the man to lean to the aisle a bit so you could sit back into your seat?

Bookaholicwithwine · 05/04/2026 22:18

FatFace99 · 05/04/2026 19:23

Thing is I am 6ft ,+ approx 11 stone female and fit in a regular seat. Legs 36".
When you talk of average, what size are they?

Not sure Would want to pay more due to average person growing in size...why have they grown? 🤔

Edited

lol don’t , I told op I was obese in bmi and 5 5 and fit fine in regular seats and she attacked me claiming I wanted her to diet to reduce her height 😂 literally said nothing about her ! Mad

DugnuttEyeBoogies · 05/04/2026 22:13

whiteblackwhite · 04/04/2026 20:34

I find people are usually wrong about what they think obese is. People often think people who are obese are just ' overweight', and that overweight people are a healthy weight.

Many people have lost sight of what a healthy weight is.

BINGO!!!

Gettingbysomehow · 05/04/2026 22:04

Im flying abroad next month for the first time in years. Ive already started worrying zbout being a human sandwich. Im pretty thin and dont wamt to be crushed to death.

Bambalama · 05/04/2026 22:00

CheeryOchreCat · 04/04/2026 20:54

I think there’s a lot to be said for build. I’m broad shouldered and long legged (but not overweight) so airline seats are hell for me. Someone with a different body shape to me, even if overweight, could find the seat fine.

I think this is really key - I am technically although not massively obese, and I carry a lot of of my weight in front. So I have narrow shoulders and not very wide hips, but a huge bust and quite a belly. I fit in airline seats fine and, even though I’ve been much bigger, have never needed a seatbelt extender. Airline seats usually fit me fine, but I have been in some that have been ridiculously small. Once I sat on a long haul flight with a tiny skinny older lady who put her elbows right into me, even though I was completely contained within my seat area. She was absolutely maximum a size 8 but she took up much more than her seat width. I have no idea why, but it was a very uncomfortable 13 hour journey!

Rookrook · 05/04/2026 20:37

Haven’t been on a plane for couple of years. But there is no space on buses if you have bag of shopping or a laptop bag. No space on floor so have to put on your knees. No chance if you have two bags.

notimagain · 05/04/2026 20:31

OldJohn · 05/04/2026 20:03

I'm quoting myself because I was not clear in what I was thinking. Airlines claim that the charge extra for overweight luggage because it costs them extra money for extra jet fuel. That is why I suggest setting an average weight for a passenger and luggage combined would make sense. It might be 100kg it might be 120kg, they could decide.

Show quote history

Main justification for the baggage charge is it's a source of ancillary revenue and also someone has to pay for the personnel and infrastructure needed to move the stuff around, onload, offload etc.

Those charges might be more significant than any increased fuel burn due to extra weight and TBH I don't think there's much of an appetite, especially amongst frequent flyers, for getting on the scales before every single flight.

ChristmasCwtch · 05/04/2026 20:12

I’ve not noticed an issue with plane seats. The seats on my train to London are so much narrower than they used to be!

I fit on the seat (both shoulders and bum) so refuse the twist my back when the person next to me is too big. Plenty of squidgy pressing up against strangers until they move back onto their own seats, especially the irritating man spreaders who don’t need to sit with their legs wide apart 😵‍💫

Bookaholicwithwine · 05/04/2026 20:11

Frequency · 05/04/2026 18:47

Yes, shorter people do tend to be narrower, but I'm not 5 ft 5. I'm 5ft9 and no amount of diet or exercise will cause me to shrink 4 inches or narrow my skeleton, so I'm not entirely sure what your point is?

Not everyone is short. Some of us are tall, and it's not because we overeat. My BMI is not obese. Obesity had nothing to do with my discomfort.

Show quote history

Sorry I didn’t say it was down to you being obese. I was just explaining my experience Your post was about an average sized adult . I think I average sized . Most women I am friends with / work with are the same height as me so I didnt think I was that short ! I didn’t say anything about your body and needing to adjust it so not sure where that all came from ? Also I’m not narrow . I have pretty broad shoulders . My point was I fit in the seat fine therefore was answering the question you asked !

OldJohn · 05/04/2026 20:03

OldJohn · 04/04/2026 20:34

I am a fairly normal weight and size, I weigh 74kg. I think every passenger should be asked to step on a set of scales with all their luggage.If the total is over 95kg then they need to pay for the excess weight. That would mean the seriously obese people pay extra and so can get bigger seats

I'm quoting myself because I was not clear in what I was thinking. Airlines claim that the charge extra for overweight luggage because it costs them extra money for extra jet fuel. That is why I suggest setting an average weight for a passenger and luggage combined would make sense. It might be 100kg it might be 120kg, they could decide.

Bookaholicwithwine · 05/04/2026 19:42

Frequency · 05/04/2026 18:47

Yes, shorter people do tend to be narrower, but I'm not 5 ft 5. I'm 5ft9 and no amount of diet or exercise will cause me to shrink 4 inches or narrow my skeleton, so I'm not entirely sure what your point is?

Not everyone is short. Some of us are tall, and it's not because we overeat. My BMI is not obese. Obesity had nothing to do with my discomfort.

Show quote history

Sorry I didn’t say it was down to you being obese. I was just explaining my experience Your post was about an average sized adult . I think I average sized . Most women I am friends with / work with are the same height as me so I didnt think I was that short ! I didn’t say anything about your body and needing to adjust it so not sure where that all came from ? Also I’m not narrow . I have pretty broad shoulders .

Worriedreparents · 05/04/2026 19:32

I think the issue with the jet2 seat i was in was that it was bolt upright, like 90 degrees, even a couple of degrees of recline would have made it more comfortable

Bulbsbulbsbulbs · 05/04/2026 19:24

I'm 5 foot 2 and normal size. I feel I have to kind of draw my shoulders in to become narrow enough to fit in an economy seat on BA long haul. I'm sure the seats are smaller than they used to be.

FatFace99 · 05/04/2026 19:23

Thing is I am 6ft ,+ approx 11 stone female and fit in a regular seat. Legs 36".
When you talk of average, what size are they?

Not sure Would want to pay more due to average person growing in size...why have they grown? 🤔

dizzydizzydizzy · 05/04/2026 19:23

DemonsandMosquitoes · 05/04/2026 19:07

This. Same height and my legs are long. And Jet2 seats are worst because the seat in front has a hard back so no give at all.

Show quote history

We seem to have the extra long thigh gene in
our family!

DemonsandMosquitoes · 05/04/2026 19:07

dizzydizzydizzy · 04/04/2026 20:52

I’m 5’9”‘and have my knees against the back of the seat in front in most economy seats.

This. Same height and my legs are long. And Jet2 seats are worst because the seat in front has a hard back so no give at all.

Original poster
Frequency · 05/04/2026 18:59

brunettemic · 05/04/2026 18:57

Honestly just sounds to me like you’re underestimating how overweight you might be.

Hmm
OP posts:
brunettemic · 05/04/2026 18:57

Honestly just sounds to me like you’re underestimating how overweight you might be.

Original poster
Frequency · 05/04/2026 18:47

Bookaholicwithwine · 05/04/2026 18:34

I mean … I’m 5 foot 5 and 84 kg. That’s an obese bmi . But when I flew jet2 a few months ago I fitted in my seat fine . Was next to a middle aged man (I was in window seat) and our shoulders didn’t touch. He wasn’t skinny either but quite stocky

Yes, shorter people do tend to be narrower, but I'm not 5 ft 5. I'm 5ft9 and no amount of diet or exercise will cause me to shrink 4 inches or narrow my skeleton, so I'm not entirely sure what your point is?

Not everyone is short. Some of us are tall, and it's not because we overeat. My BMI is not obese. Obesity had nothing to do with my discomfort.

OP posts:
Bookaholicwithwine · 05/04/2026 18:34

I mean … I’m 5 foot 5 and 84 kg. That’s an obese bmi . But when I flew jet2 a few months ago I fitted in my seat fine . Was next to a middle aged man (I was in window seat) and our shoulders didn’t touch. He wasn’t skinny either but quite stocky

worldsgonemadnow · 05/04/2026 18:27

Pinkgin00 · 04/04/2026 20:30

I think Jet2 seats are smaller than others ,seems to be the case in my experience. Also flew long haul with Virgin last year and they were tiny too! I am not overweight or tall.

I have recently flown to Portugal, flew with TAP Airlines for the first time and the seats were so much comfier and spacious. It just depends on the plane, some are definitely more cramped than others.

I agree. They're definitely smaller than easyjet.

Flamingojune · 05/04/2026 18:15

Justbloodydoit · 05/04/2026 08:30

Yes, of a normal healthy adult size. HTHTC

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What does hthtc mean