Too fat to fly

[loobielousplaits]

Is anyone/has anyone watched this?

It's a documentary about massively obese people being interviewed about being taken off flights/too fat to flight.

While I absolutely agree it's a 'fat shaming' programme - I can't agree with some of the comments from the interviewees that have complained they had to leave the plane due to an armrest not being able to go down - a woman wasn't able to visit the toilet, another who couldn't understand why someone would be offended that half their seat was taken up by overspill - a 32 st man was offended that he was asked to leave the aircraft because he couldn't safely fit in the seat and should have paid for two - pilot decided he wasn't safe to fly.

I'm torn - I absolutely understand weight is a huge issue (I was anorexic in my teens) and it is not easy to control your weight but come on - seriously? You cannot expect to be OK to fly if your weight affects health and safety and you can't fit safely in a seat

So @feelingverylazytoday the words of @LittlePaintBox are not hurtful or vile then?

Not seen the programme but want to now!
I’ve experienced this!
I was flying home from Turkey.
We were late to board the plane because it was so hot I wanted to keep my 9 month old in the cool air for as long as possible.
As we arrived I was shown to my seat which was half taken up by a fatty next to me. So on that whole flight my seat was occupied by 3 people. It was the worst flight.
I didn’t feel that I could shame the lady next to me by asking to be moved so probably my own fault but the crew saw the impossible situation I was in and didn’t offer to move me which was annoying!
As far as I’m concerned, if you need a belt extender you need a second seat.

“Perhaps we should weigh people and their luggage together and charge by the kilo.

I believe that there is an airline that already does this.

“I've been on a small plane where we were all weighed before boarding and the larger people were positioned by the pilot to "balance" the plane. How's that for fat shaming?”

That’s not fat shaming. It’s for safety reasons.

My parents had to fly long haul many years ago with their very overweigh labrador which they had rescued. The dog's airfare was based on its weight. So my Dad put the dog on a strict diet and exercise regime and guess what, the airfare was massively reduced.

Maybe that should be an option for overweight human passengers who want to fly and prevent them spreading onto fellow human passengers?

How is what LittlePaintBox said hurtful and vile?

Genuinely asking as I just read what she said and I don't see it.

Someone has probably already said this -
If airlines make their seats bigger they won't be able to take as many passengers so they'll put their prices up to cover their costs.
They're not charitable institutions.

I guess because it could be read that I'm accusing someone of being greedy and lazy for being overweight? Although a large number of posts on here are saying exactly the same thing about overweight people, and expressing a great deal of disgust by the choice of words to describe the fat of the people they don't want to sit next to.

This is the second thread on the same subject I've seen on here in recent weeks, it just reads to me like an excuse for fat-bashing, so I should know better than to read it or join in. I honestly thought from the title that the OP was someone who had been told they were too fat to fly. Instead, it reads like 'two minutes hate' against fat people.

Apologies for sounding hurtful and vile for echoing the words of other posters, though that certainly wasn't my intention. But I did have a serious point, which is that it isn't that easy to lose weight and keep it off, as many on this thread are asserting.

It's not easy to lose weight but overweight people will just have to get over it and accept that life on a plane is going to be harder for them if they are too big for the seats. If you spill over and need more space, you pay for that space.

Of course it isn't easy to lose weight. Most of us battle our own food issues all the time.

However, that doesn't make it less uncomfortable to be sat next to someone invading your space because they can't fit into a seat.

Most of us battle our own food issues all the time.

Exactly! Do fat people just see healthy weight people and think we don't also live in a society where we have abundant access to cheap and unhealthy food?! Do they think we don't also walk past the chocolate / crisps / insert other unhealthy food and struggle with the thoughts of thinking we fancy it but know it's bad for us?! Ugh!

Great to see that all the stereotypes about ft people still abound. Lazy, greedy, unhealthy etc. As Rumor a pp put it, there are many reasons people become fat. Personal and societal, including, massively diet culture. There are no proven ways to lose weight and keep it off, therefore how about we treat fat people like everyone else and accommodate them?
And actually the assumption that fat=unhealthy is bollocks and steeped in diet culture. It is perfectly possible to be fat and engage in healthy behaviours which mean you are healthy. You can't tell how healthy someone is by looking at them!

The day when people have to declare their weight at online check-in is only days away, so the systems can seat the obese next to the underweight, is imminent.

Accommodate them how on a plane Lovely? What’s your solution on a packed plane with seats as they are

If someone is overweight to the extent that they ate squashing someone in the next seat I don't think it's massively out there to think that they're not a healthy weight.

I've seen a big man wedged diagonally in his seat so why oh why not pay for a front seat/bigger seat?
If someone is morbidly obese there's no point expecting airlines to routinely cater for their size or denying they have an problem, they do, being hugely overweight on an aeroplane is becoming a problem and for the extra few quid, get a suitable seat! I think we will have to declare our bmi/weight in the future and if its clearly underestimated at boarding, they could stop that person boarding. It's not discrimination, its keeping people safe.

I have recently had the discomfort of a 9-hour flight in economy, next to someone obese. It was uncomfortable, but the passenger was lovely and I enjoyed his company.

Anyway, I think threads like this just make fat people feel shit.

I fly often, and hardly ever get squished by my neighbour.

This is not about healthy/unhealthy. Everyone is just getting sidetracked by that.

This is about a plain and simple fact, that if someone doesn't fit into 1 seat, they must purchase 2.

Hi I haven't watched any of the programme sound's like crash TV- exploiting the odd one out is becoming the norm and the exploitative love to watch, it makes them feel better about themselves. Airlines need to address the issues of the 21 century- more hand baggage space and larger seats. Problem is a larger fleet of re designed DC10's costs billions and we are always looking for cheaper flights..quid pro quo

How big would the seats have to go though? Someone is always going to be too big.

There are no proven ways to lose weight and keep it off

WTAF are you joking because this is bollocks.

Quite big then you’re looking at PE prices

There are no proven ways to lose weight and keep it off

So nobody has ever lost weight and stayed slim
What a load of crap.

A small proportion of people have medical issues. The rest have chosen that lifestyle.

I am slim because I make sure I stay slim. There’s no way around that.

There are no proven ways to lose weight and keep it off

Eat less, move more.

(Accepting that this may be harder for people with underlying health conditions)

There are plenty of proven ways just none are easy or fun.

This is about a plain and simple fact, that if someone doesn't fit into 1 seat, they must purchase 2.

^^ This.