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

@Blahblahblah111 there is no reason for airline to tell you you can't book extra seat because you are not big enough. Ryanair has it as extra comfort seat. If in doubt, call the arline you will be flying with and tell them you need to book double seat.

I think there should be a weight allowance per passenger which includes the person and the luggage. If you are over, you pay more.

The seats have got smaller and people have got larger. I cannot see the airlines upping the seat size without financial repercussions to the passenger. Larger seats are available at a premium.

However, most overweight and obese people have made themselves that way and their size should not impact on the comfort and safety of other passengers. I am amazed that in these days of health and safety zealotry that airlines turn a blind eye to the armrest being up on take off/landing. They need to buy two seats and not expect other passengers to share their discomfort because of their obesity.

Whilst nobody should feel embarrassed or humiliated by their size, the onus is on the individual to mitigate circumstances so that they can fly in comfort without inconveniencing others.

The seats need to be made bigger regardless. Im obese, but my husband is just a well built, tall man; neither of us fit in aeroplane seats. Noone would dream of complaining if he was "spilling" into someone else's seat, but i'm fair game apparently. and i dont man spread

No one would dream of complaining if he was "spilling" into someone else's seat

I'd complain if he was spilling into my seat. Sounds like you're having a pity party to yourself tbh.

Mummys why don’t you book an extra seat between you so you both don’t impinge in others’ space

MummysBusy

I would complain.

You need to book 3 seats in a row and reserve the seats so you have a line of 3 and then you and your husband are not spilling onto someone else.

We fit into seats, but after 1 flight where the middle seat was empty, I am actually considering purchasing extra seat just for that super comfort. Was heaven.

If it's 2 of you having a fit in problem, third seat would sort it. It's usually very much affordable on short hauls with budget airlines.
Many times I flew for £15 each way.

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?

Nobody would ban disabled folk outright, but again there are requirements around what assistance they have and what their impact is likely to be

No doubt airlines differ in small ways, but FWIW here's United's regs again - it's under Rule 15, covering "Medical Services": www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly/contract-of-carriage.html#tcm:76-6640

If it's 2 of you having a fit in problem, third seat would sort it. It's usually very much affordable on short hauls with budget airlines.
Many times I flew for £15 each way

You would have to pre-book your seats though. It would be pointless to have the three seats dotted at random around the plane.

I’d complain, MummysBusy . What do you mean by nobody would dream of complaining?? Most people would.

No pity party. I just find the whole subject really eye-rolly. Large people are large for different reasons. It's ridiculous to expect them all to fork out for extra seats when airlines could maybe just stop shrinking the space in favour of bigger profits.

Marsha, you're missing the point that i was trying to get across, but we do. Our daughter sits between us. If we didnt have a daughter then you'd be stuffed though, we cant afford extra seats.

No I’m not

And if they made the seats bigger for you across the board they’d be more expensive so you still won’t be able to afford them

I dont believe any of you

You seem to be missing the point that most people fit into the seats perfectly well, Mummy. The fact that you and your dh don’t is not due to the shrinking seats.

The airline market is tough and not like it was 30 years ago

Cheap flights are in high demand - we created this by wanting those £15 flights

And people get annoyed because they don’t want to subsidise you, which is fair enough

Large people are large for different reasons. It's ridiculous to expect them all to fork out for extra seats when airlines could maybe just stop shrinking the space in favour of bigger profits.

You do know that lots of airlines are going bust so yeah massive profits all round

Also if they had bigger seats then the cost would go up anyway so you would be paying extra in the long term.

I pay for extras which includes nicer bigger seats. Seems to me people just want the 'extra' space but are not prepared to pay for it.

If we didnt have a daughter then you'd be stuffed though, we cant afford extra seats.

You need to factor it in your cost.

No way should someone else be squashed because of you. Knowing you will squash them, and knowing how you can prevent it but choosing not to make you incredibly selfish.

Actually even Ryanair says that in some circumstances they may have to deny travel even to disabled person if they may endanger others etc. And they have seating restrictions as in the person cannot sit by the emergency exit for example. It's not a discrimination imho. It's question of a safety of 200+ people.

@RottnestFerry ryanair seat reservation fee starts on £2.50. That's doable

@MummysBusy lots of airlines have gone bust in recent years as cheap flights are unsustainable.

Either the seats get smaller to accommodate more passengers, which people don't like, or airlines increase seat sizes and stop discounting tickets so heavily. Flights should be expensive.

But then people will complain about that as well as they can no longer go for a cheap holiday.

Our daughter sits between us. If we didnt have a daughter then you'd be stuffed though, we cant afford extra seats

Then maybe consider other forms of transport which would suit your needs better?

Unfortunately, I'm not surprised to see that your post about buying extra space come down to "why should I?" - which is hardly an answer for anyone's sake

@mummysbusy I’d complain about you or your husband if you were taking up my space. And I’d be having the arm rest down whether you liked it or not so I’m afraid it would be you that would be stuffed if I got sat next to you.

Why do you think your rights to fly trump other peoples rights to the space they paid for? Unbelievable