To dread flying because of my size?

[annauk1]

I am going on holiday in a few days. I should be really happy but the flight is really making me not want to go.

I flew last year and needed a belt extension which was fine, wasn't much of a problem, but the thing that petrifies me most is that DP and I won't be able to sit together and if I end up sitting next to a nasty person who is ' a fat-phobe' and huffs and puffs at me the whole 3 hours for taking up more than my (tiny) seat space. I am flying with Monarch who are notorius for their tiny seats. I am a size 26 btw.

Veg

you're right the world is full of stupid, you only have to read the comments on here to see that. Look how many people on this thread are showing acceptance of morbidly overweight people. There is a thread somewhere (not this board) about how when someone stated he was "fattist" what a jerk he was.

If you want to stand up and say I hate fat people, you are shouted down as being unfair and unkind. It is not acceptable (and nor should it be) to laugh at someone for their size, but as a society we as individuals (not medics and other health bodies) are actively discouraged from saying anything that may offend someone who is over weight.

You read newspapers and other media I presume; it is frequently about people having a positive body image, no matter what size (when discussing weight issues). Personally and it may be just me, if you are morbidly obese, you should not have a positive body image or see anything which encourages that. You should be told by society to lose weight and be healthy.

even if technically you are not paying for a seat you are paying to get to where you want to be surely you should be able to do it without somebody invading your space,

Also....armrests ALWYAYS down for take off and landing
Safety issue

Well, yes, it is a bit selfish. But no more selfish than any other obnoxious behaviour you see on many flights.

I am slightly overweight (but working on it). We already slam fat people all the time for being unhealthy and disgusting, and now people are proposing that even if a person can sit in their seat with the armrest down and the belt buckled up, their disgusting fat bodies pressed up against our own repulse us so much that they shouldn't be allowed to fly like normal people. Even though the airline says it's fine. Lets shame them. Because absolutely no one has ever turned to food because they have felt to worthless and ashamed of who they are.

The fact is, the airline says it is OK. There are a couple of airlines who force people over a certain size to buy two tickets. If it bothers you so much, only fly with those ones.

If you aren't paying for a seat, they should install benches and get rid of seat numbering. I would get there early to bag a 1st class bench.

Bar stool type thingies once proposed by O' Leary

Put me off flying altogether after my long haul flight in 98.

You should be told by society to lose weight? thats not a society dearie thats called a dictatorship and I for one am glad we don't live in one

Fat people are the new smokers-the government can no longer target smokers because they bring in too much revenue so now its fat people. Because marginalising people soooooooooo works

Fyi-I am a size 16 and perfectly healthy-perfect blood pressure and chlosterol

The obese person on the flight may have been able to put the arm rest down for a few minutes during take off and landing but the had to put it up to avoid injury themselves, injuring the other passenger instead.

This is not just a comfort issue (which is reason enough not to encroach into other passengers space) it's also a safety issue.

Agree with Shatze.
Wouldn't bother me op. There are worse things in life.
Hope you enjoy your holiday.

I think that people DO turn to food when they are unhappy.

I really do. But they should address this unhappiness when they reach size fourteen, otherwise they are going to be more unhappy.

Jeez. The OP was just worrying about her flight and now people are going on their soapboxes giving her a guilt trip about how she must lose weight for good of society.

Someone even said their family members will get cancer and not get treated because the OP will use up resources.

Ridiculous.

Which is what I said - they should be able to sit in the seat with the armrest down. Clearly they were not able to do this without hurting themselves, so they were not able to do it.

I give up on here because people persist on seeing being overweight as some sort of weakness on the other person's part.

Steroids for inflammation, plus arthritis and other mobility problems, makes my weight almost impossible to lose. I do manage to maintain it where it is and not get bigger, but I've been trying to get to a size fourteen for almost eight years, since my disability started. Fact is, I can't cook for myself most days, I don't have the money to join a slimming group, I'm trying with the assistance of the NHS to lose the weight, but so far I am not able to prioritise it with my health issues, social issues and other bits of life getting in the way.

Hopefully I'll get there eventually, but until then I'll have to deal with the "fat shamers" calling me lazy or greedy, and with a society that doesn't cater to me, even though I am the national average size.

ShatzePage

Yes and my Nan smoked all her life and lived to a ripe old age, proves nothing.

And people giving guilt trips about those who are starving in the world?

Have heard it all now.

Hope you all have no unvirtuous habits at all and buy no luxuries.

The thing that horrified me about that link is that there's such a thing as the "National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance" - what the Jeff?

I am large myself and although I've never had to ask for an extender it's sometimes been a bit of a squeeze. I don't think that people should be discriminated against, insulted or thought less of, purely on grounds of size.

However 'Fat acceptance' ?? It is unhealthy to be overweight - I really am disturbed that there are some self-deluding people out there promulgating the idea that it's okay to be obese.

I think we should definitely accept others whatever size they are.

I did not realise it was a crime to be overweight.
I think some people need to catch onto themselves, and like fanjo said, I hope you all lead perfect, blameless lives.

Let's not shame them; let's try to help and understand them. They are shortening their lives and are imposing an unrealistic burden on health services. Let's not pretend it is acceptable to be overweight. It may be average but it is not healthy. And on planes it is a huge discomfort.

But if you can't fit into the seat that will get you to your destination you need to pay for 2 seats to get you to your destination.