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

Less serious than incursion into the actual seat but still inconvenient if you've hoped to get some kip is when you can't recline your seat because there's someone's knees up against it. IME such people are usually apologetic rather than taking the entitled attitude of a few of the posters on this thread

I've had a person in front get arsey because she couldn't recline her seat because of my knees. She did calm down a bit when I pointed out that in order for her to do so, I would have to stand in my seat.

I'm so glad that most budget airlines are moving to non-reclining seats.

No it's not since you claimed what you claimed🤷‍♀️

That "overspill fat" is part of an actual human being. So I think stick with "please keep to the seat you have bought and paid for and don't encroach on mine". Or "I am going to put the armrest down, you need to stay on your side of it". Anything that's just "this is my space, that is yours, stay in it".

And if the person is of such generous dimensions that they can’t stay in it, then what?

You don't seem to get it. People are not unreasonable for wanting the seats they paid for.

You seem very quick to throw out 'fatties, 'skinnies', 'fat shaming', yet you are missing the genuine point people are trying to make.

They want their seats and it's not fair that they are being spilled on when the overweight person, knowing they are overweight could book 2 seats.

I think stick with "please keep to the seat you have bought and paid for and don't encroach on mine". Or "I am going to put the armrest down, you need to stay on your side of it". Anything that's just "this is my space, that is yours, stay in it"

I totally agree; much better to at least try politeness rather than being downright rude and hurtful

Trouble is, as we see on these threads all the time, it takes hardly anything for the claims of "fat shaming" and "everyone's being nasty" to start. Even health professionals, who really are responsible for suggesting better choices, get damned in the same way no matter how gently their advice is offered

Everyone's different of course, but it seems that some don't want responsibility for their own choices to be mentioned rarely ... or tactfully ... or only by certain people. They don't really want it mentioned at all, and if that means others are inconvenienced - well, too bad

To be fair, on a train @mummysbusy could put the daughter on her knee as there is more space in front of the seat? Especially if it’s a table seat.

I’m just confused as to why she I totally said that people would be stuffed if they sat next to her or her DH on a plane but later said they always book 3 seats together. Either you do, or you don’t spill into other peoples seats

We book three seats because theres three of us. I said that if we didnt have our daughter then you'd be stuffed (i was being flippant, clearly a massive mistake). We never travel on a plane wothout our child, so we never have to book only two seats.

We fit on a ducking train seat.

And if the person is of such generous dimensions that they can’t stay in it, then what?

Personally, I think this is something the airlines need to plan for before everyone is on the plane. If it's not a full flight there is the possibility of moving people. If it's a full flight obviously that isn't the case. IMO airlines do need to work out if there is going to be a problem before you're all on the plane and then if the flight is full, anyone too overweight to fit in a seat has to wait. I'd be fairly brutal about this but I would make it clear to all passengers before they travel.

It really does need to be before boarding though as once people are in that space, tempers fray and then airline staff have to placate. 30k feet up in a tin can is not the place for an argument. I think seriously overweight people would quickly become much more inclined to book more seats or larger seats if they realised they risked being pushed to later flights otherwise. It needs to be easier for them to book extra space but they do need to do this.

I commute to work by train and occasionally a larger person will next to me and their hot thigh (sounds nicer than it is) is against mine the whole journey regardless of how far I try to twist and contort myself away. It's an unpleasant and uncomfortable sweaty feeling which I resent. Yes the seats are narrower than they used to be on trains as well as planes, but when a normal weight person occupies the seat the uncomfortable overspilling does not occur. It's annoying enough on a short commute but would be unbearable on a long flight.

I sometimes stand up to avoid sitting next to them, which they must know why I have chosen to give up a seat rather than remain in an uncomfortable position, but I don't worry if they are offended. I am offended by being leant on. (Man spreading also riles but that's a different thread.)

I think really it would make more sense for the airlines to have a strict policy on width. It would take the issue away. They could then sell wider width seats for more and stop making it an issue for passengers.

No one deserves to be fat shamed but people have a right to their seat without encroachment. Clear policy would solve this.

I will say I think there have been some very harsh comments to Mummysbusy here I just saw her being lighthearted in the initial remark.

This kind of highlights the problem though - without a strict policy it just pits passengers against each other and air travel is stressful enough.

Yes the seats are narrower than they used to be on trains as well as planes, but when a normal weight person occupies the seat the uncomfortable overspilling does not occur.

So, what is your conclusion? That only "normal sized" people should be allowed to board trains? Or allowed seats?

it isn't that easy to lose weight and keep it off

Life isn't easy but somehow we manage

colehawlins Simple solution, obese people should buy 2 seats.

"Life isn't easy but somehow we manage"

🙄🙄🙄

So, what is your conclusion? That only "normal sized" people should be allowed to board trains? Or allowed seats?

This is exactly the type of post which ruins the discussion....

Simple solution, obese people should buy 2 seat

It's not that simple because an obese five foot nothing woman takes up considerably less than an obese six foot something bloke.

Perhaps having to tick a box confirming that you agree that your waist measurement will not exceed 40" on the day of travel might be one way.

It's the health and safety aspect that concerns me.

Firstly, if people are just generally bigger now than they were 20-30 years ago then that's a lot more weight per plane load for just 'average' people e.g. If the average person weighs 10 kg more now than they did 25 years ago then that's an extra 2000 kg on a plane of 200 people, not counting the extra people for the extra rows of seats squashed in.

Additionally surely someone who is really large, say over 20 stones, would they not hamper other people getting to the exit if there was an emergency landing or they had to exit the plane via the chute?

In terms of comfort of other passengers I think there should be a few wider seats on all flights, like the extra legroom ones, and people over a certain size should have to pay to book these otherwise they won't be carried on the flight. Anyone who flies budget is used to paying extra for any seats other than a random allocation anyway - e.g. We pay to ensure 3 seats together.

I think some people just want to be offended and are the professionally outraged at the suggestion that normal weight people are unhappy about having their seat spilled on.

The mere suggestion that anyone overweight might be unreasonable the outrage come out.

If people took responsibility for themselves, and in this case overweight people, it all drama and 'people are fat shaming'.

No, people just want to sit comfortably in the seats they have paid for. It's that simple.

@colehawlins If I thought that sitting down on a seat meant that I was causing discomfort to others I would stand myself, travel off peak or lose weight.

Additionally surely someone who is really large, say over 20 stones, would they not hamper other people getting to the exit if there was an emergency landing or they had to exit the plane via the chute?

Accident investigations suggests otherwise. Children and the elderly are the main problem during emergency evacuations.

But you can't guarantee two seats next to each other on a train, so how would that work?