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

Out of interest, I went and looked for the policy on the airline I am flying on soon. There isn’t one

If it were me and there wasn't a policy I'd google and look for what was the general consensus on policy that numerous airlines have.

I'd also email the airline asking them what their policy was.

And they can just suck it up and share their seat or be forced to leave the plane. Awesome.

Is there really any need to be so aggressive?

I'm petite and completely agree with @MadMillie
I've paid for my seat, I'm entitled to be comfortable, be able to use the arm rest, my tray table, the entire seat
I've been lucky flying and generally had average size people who keep to their seat. I'd have no issue voicing my annoyance if my seat was being encroached on. It's not fat shaming for me to get what I pay for and expect comfort for my money

But also it's a safety issue, think evacuation or turbulence.

www.tripsavvy.com/how-european-airlines-handle-overweight-passengers-54032

While the airlines above at least have policies on handling passengers of size, some carriers don’t have any rules on their websites, including: British Airways, Lufthansa, SAS, Turkish Airlines, Ryanair, Austrian, EasyJet, Aeroflot, Swiss and Alitalia. So if there are any questions about policies, it's best to contact the airline directly for more information. Quote from above article

What would be your solution then?

I agree with that but not the 'permanent' aspect - does that mean that if someone who is obese and doesn't meet the criteria is forever banned from United Airlines?

I very much doubt it - the obesity part was point 9 of a 'Refusal of Transport ' list, which I would assume included things like being drunk and disorderly, abusive, or physically violent. I'd expect the violations which could also constitute criminal offences would be the ones liable to incur a permanent ban, whereas other factors would only lead to a temporary ban for as long as they were relevant. I haven't looked at the list but I'd guess (hope!) it would include eg someone with a serious contagious disease - analogous in terms of not a matter for shaming, but a necessary restriction for health and safety.

They could make seatbelts a certain size and if you can't do it up you can't fly. Not recommending this but people were discussing how to police passenger dize

Whereas premium economy is an option for some long haul flights it isn't for European holiday travel.
Extra legroom seats are available however so I'm not sure why the likes of Easyjet don't make a certain amount of extra wide seats available
Eg by making the configuration 2x2 rather than 3x3. Obviously people in those seats would pay extra but maybe I'm naive to think that (all) extra wide people would pay for extra wide seats.

Mentioning your own eating disorder explains your view of overweight people. The appalling language you use to describe people (who still have feelings) shows how frightened you are of fat, you’re afraid that one day it could be you.

I’ve flown BC short haul and that’s basically just wider seats - and a bit better food

So that’s what it would be, nearly that expensive

@Kennehora
I’ve had both bulimia and BED and binging without purging is also horrifically uncomfortable. However there’s obviously a big difference between binging (which is an eating disorder regardless of whether or not someone then purges) and overeating (which is not an eating disorder, it’s a lifestyle issue)

@Kennehora people with non-purging bulimia use other compensatory behaviours, such as fasting or over exercising, following their binges. It’s still dangerous and can lead to a lot of health problems and injuries.
People who just have repeated binging sessions without purging or compensatory behaviours are generally classed as having binge eating disorder, which is now a recognised condition. It’s not the same as just overeating.

@Kennehora I do agree there's a lot of misunderstanding (at both sides of the scale) when it comes to weight issues.

I had a friend who was obese who said to me once that she wished was anorexic.

What she meant was she wished she could be thinner, and wished she could appropriate the 'willpower' part of the illness.

I can only assume she didn't mean that she wanted a life threatening mental illness that could kill her.

At the other side of the scale, thinking that being obese is only due to being greedy is unfair and untrue. It's a wider issue of education, work hours, access to support and our current fastfood and convenience culture.

However, people should take personal responsibility to be as healthy as possible to live life to the fullest and prevent obesity related disease.

In answer to the OP, if you think fat people who can't mobilise themselves shouldn't be allowed on a flight - what about disabled people? Should they be banned too?

I think if you know you're going to be taking up lots of room, buying two seats seems like a reasonable option.

I don't think it's up to airlines to cater for plus sizes. It's further normalising obesity and we shouldn't encourage that.

loobielousplaits

Errol was correct; the full list (which I didn't include as it would have made a huge post) included things such as D&D which might justify a permanent ban

The trivialising and appropriation of eating disorders by overweight people to deflect criticism and avoid responsibility is another kick in the teeth for those whose lives are totally ruined by them

Very well said. As with the cries of "fat shaming" which get trotted out if anyone so much as mentions obesity it can be just another way of avoiding responsibility

It's the same with the avoidance of buying a second seat - an obvious solution which is plastered all over any google result on the subject. I've no wish at all to be rude to the obese, whose circumstances are frankly none of my business; all I want is for them to take some responsibility so that others aren't inconvenienced or put in danger when flying

@Kennehora, I dont know if you read the link but it isn't just stuffing your face. It is cycles of bingeing followed by periods of extreme fasting or calorie restriction.

@PooFlower I think you may be projecting your weight issues in the thread.

@Harrysowl not at all. I am just politey explaining that being fat isn't always simply a lifestyle choice.
I have stated several times that it is never acceptable for a large person to encroach on someone elses seat regardless of the reason for the weight issue.

• politely

Blah I don’t see why not but you can check. Just looked Air France are good as if the plane isn’t full you’ll get a refund. I’m sure others do too.
Etihad lets you bid on a Neighbour after seat but that isn’t a guaranteed

Given the refund thing above and that airlines have dimensions for when you should book two seats on their site I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t book two. There doesn’t have to be any shame - no one else will know

Neighbour Free seat