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AIBU?

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Original poster

Too fat to fly

968 replies

loobielousplaits · 02/04/2019 23:55

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

OP posts:
CallipygianFancier · 05/04/2019 11:07

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

You're currently booking three seats anyway, clearly you can.

GinUnicorn · 05/04/2019 11:08

It’s tricky and certainly emotive. I don’t think fat shaming is right at all.

If you have paid for a seat though you have the right to occupy all of your seat and not be forced to share it or have your space encroached upon. That could actually be seen as a consent issue.

I honestly think the only solution is have extra width seats available at extra cost (like the legroom ones) and just have note advising passengers who are wider than a certain width to book these.

MummysBusy · 05/04/2019 11:11

Lellow i never said anything of the sort! My rights dont trump anyone elses. But it's my experience that people are quicker to react to the way i take up space than they are my husband, and that winds me up.

And puzzled, i certainly never said 'why should i? I said 'we cant'.'

Two comments and suddenly we're budget flight demons that love to rile the skinnies on our 5th flight of the year.

Dont blame big people for budget condtions. Airlines ARE going out of business because its not feasible to pay £15 for a flight. They shrink the space per customer to compensate. Its uncomfortable for everyone. The solution is not to blame fatties, its to not give them business and create such a problem in the first place. AS YOU HAVE ALL POINTED OUT: if you want comfort, pay for it.

And for what its worth, purely because i dont like this dogpile, we fly once in a blue moon. We do not use budget airlines because we know we'll run into issues like this. We dont do long haul. We have been known to take a 6 hour train journey over a 40 minute flight. Alas, sometimes we have to fly, regardless of how selfish that may seem to some of you!

MarshaBradyo · 05/04/2019 11:11

There is an extra width solution already - the comfort seat - no need to change things

MarshaBradyo · 05/04/2019 11:13

Mummy A comfort seat won’t be much more than a child one so you can afford it - especially if you plan ahead. Cheap as anything.

TheGrey1houndSpeaks · 05/04/2019 11:15

If you want comfort, pay for it. Do you think the person who fits comfortably into their own seat should pay for your extra seat rather than share theirs? Given that their comfort level has only been compromised by you sitting beside them and demanding a portion of their seat?
You bloody pay for it, if you’re the problem.

MummysBusy · 05/04/2019 11:16

Can’t believe a person who can’t fit into a normal sized seat is actually arguing for her right to flop some of her excess flesh over into someone else’s. Have you no self awareness at all,Mummy? Or dignity?

See, this is Peak Eye Roll. You wouldnt use that language to describe my partner, and it shows how ugly people can be when we talk about fat.

MarshaBradyo · 05/04/2019 11:18

Mummys how much does your partner impinge on the person next to him?

CallipygianFancier · 05/04/2019 11:18

Why wouldn't we use that language to describe your partner?

TheGrey1houndSpeaks · 05/04/2019 11:18

If your partner was posting here spouting the same nonsense, I would. It’s not you being fat, it’s your attitude that other people should be the one’s to make adjustments for you that grates.

YaBumsOnFire · 05/04/2019 11:19

love to rile the skinnies

Wow. Your attitude is terrible.

I'm a normal weight, your comment 'Its uncomfortable for everyone'. I don't find flying uncomfortable.

You have said you don't fit in the seats. You need to buy 2 in that case. Your attitude that someone else would suffer and that was tough luck is selfish.

MummysBusy · 05/04/2019 11:22

Bums i dont follow. I was commenting that we were being painted that way, not that we felt that way.

LellowYedbetter · 05/04/2019 11:22

I’d say exactly the same about your partner if she was taking my space. You have to consider other people @mummysbusy

You can’t honestly think it’s tough shit if your family spoil another persons journey?

LellowYedbetter · 05/04/2019 11:22

*he

InspectorClouseauMNdivision · 05/04/2019 11:23

The solution is not to blame fatties, its to not give them business and create such a problem in the first place. AS YOU HAVE ALL POINTED OUT: if you want comfort, pay for it.

I am really sorry but this honestly reads as "If you don't want to unwillingly share your seat, just pay extra"...

The shrinkage is not that big. On a leg room, yeah. But average of 3cm on a width, does not make a big difference.

RottnestFerry · 05/04/2019 11:23

I'm tall and big built but easily fit in a seat between the armrests even in the narrowest budget seats. My width is across my shoulders, not my middle. I never sit in the middle seats, only aisle or window so I can lean to one side and not squash the middle passenger.

BlueSkiesLies · 05/04/2019 11:25

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

This shows how little you understand about travel and the world.

Airlines operate on slim margins and it’s actually a pretty shitty industry to be in, hence the drive to fit more people on planes and increase load factor on every flight.

WhoAteMyNuts · 05/04/2019 11:26

Its uncomfortable for everyone. The solution is not to blame fatties, its to not give them business and create such a problem in the first place.

Actually it isn't uncomfortable for everyone and no one is blaming the 'fatties'. Firstly you assume everyone here doesn't have battles with their weight because most of us do and we can sympathise but equally don't want anyone to take up our seat whether that's a thin person leaning on us, an obese person overspilling or an ignorant person taking up more than their paid for space.

This is one of the reasons I haven't flown economy in years. I pay to be away from these issues because I find that when you are put into an area full of strangers there will always be a few that are inconsiderate to others around them.

MadMillie · 05/04/2019 11:28

love to rile the skinnies

Mummysbusy has been the only poster on this thread I've seen using language such as 'fatties' or 'skinnies'.

BlueSkiesLies · 05/04/2019 11:28

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Kennehora · 05/04/2019 11:31

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Driftingthoughlife · 05/04/2019 11:32

MummysBusy
Your attitude would mean I would lose about 3 days of my holiday in pain due to being squashed up and unable to move due to to my disability. Which as I said earlier in the thread happened once
So you can bet your life I would be complaining and the chances are if no other seats available one of you would have to leave the flight.
Someone posted about a women ending up getting a DVT due to being squashed and unable to move so it’s not just about comfort. Your actions could have serious consequences for the other passenger, but that’s obviously ok as long as you are happy.

The picture of the guy earlier half in the Ailse just gives me the rage. He would have known before that this would happen and also WTF were the people on the gate thinking allowing him to board with one seat. So the poor guy next to him has to wait for another flight while this guy gets a row all to himself which means next time he flies he will do the same again.

Hope the guy who got the later flight got some compensation

LellowYedbetter · 05/04/2019 11:33

Imagine if 3 obese people were all booked to sit together? What would happen if they physically didn’t fit in the aisle? Would families be split to accommodate them?

PooFlower · 05/04/2019 11:36

@Kenehora I wrote that in reply to the first post you tagged me in. I did read your other posts later.
Anorexia, bulimia, non-purging bulimia, binge eating disorder. They are all medically recongnised eating disorders which can cause early death. One does not trump another.
As a sufferer yourself surely you must have some empathy for other people who are also suffering, allbeit in different ways. Flowers

Kennehora · 05/04/2019 11:36

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