AIBU to think airline seats no longer fit average-sized adults?

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Do any airlines have adult-sized seats? Not obese adults, just regular adults?

We've just flown with Jet2 and my back is still in agony from the trip there. I was in the middle seat between my friend, who is slightly overweight but also short, so proportionately, she is not much wider than an average height, average weight woman, and a man who was maybe bordering on obese, his ass fit in his own seat, but his shoulders took a good three/four inches of my seat. My friend's shoulders took maybe a cm or 2 of my seat.

I'm not on the small side myself; I'm not overweight, but I am not what you'd describe as skinny. I needed all my shoulder space to myself. I was unable to sit back the entire flight because I literally didn't fit. I had to hunch forward with my shoulders rolled in.

On the way back, I was sitting between my friend, a short, slim lady. I could sit back, but I was touching both people on either side of me, and there was no elbow space or wriggle room.

For next year, I need either my shoulders shaved down and a few ribs removed or actual, people-sized seats. Do such seats exist?

I’m 5’1 and 55kg - so short and a healthy weight. I find short haul flights really cramped, long haul are fine although I always go for an aisle seat as my bladder can’t cope with getting trapped.

Well no because many slim people people find them uncomfortable and cramped

As a matter of interest I just consulted Google and it would seem that
the airlines with the smallest seat widths are British Airways, Jet2, KLM, Norwegian, Ryanair, Tui and Aer Lingus, which are all tied with 17 inches. Meanwhile, Vueling is in the middle with 17.5 inches.

They all advocate buying an extra seat if you're overweight, but of course not many people want to accept that they're fat enough that they actually NEED two seats, and also don't want to spend the extra money.

Precisely. The people sat next to me were not obese; they were average-sized people. The seats are not fit for purpose if 3 average people cannot fit in them.

I might be wrong about the man; maybe he was obese. I don't think he was. He didn't look obese. I know I am not obese. My BMI is 22/23 so well within the healthy range.

My friend has been on WLI for the last 7 months, so I know she is overweight not obese, because she rang me in happy tears a couple of months ago to tell me her BMI was 29 and she was no longer obese; she has only gotten smaller since then.

Jet2 seats are absolutely fine and quite spacious compared with Ryanair. DP is very broad shouldered and muscular and we always take window (him) and middle (me) because that means he has a bit more room, which he does need, but we have plenty of room to sit both properly against the back rest. I have plenty of space in the middle seat even though I'm tall and a size 16 so far from tiny.

It’s dreadful - embarrassing for some people and irritating for others.

I once flew to Australia between a father and daughter. I suspect they had booked the window and aisle seat in the hope the middle would remain vacant. They were both very obese. They needed seatbelt extenders. The flight was full and I couldn’t move seats. It was a very long flight and I spent as much time as I could walking up and down the plane because they were pressing against bother sides of my body.

While I don’t blame them- and I know this can be very embarrassing for people- I paid the same as they did yet, I couldn’t fit in my seat because they took up so much of it.

I flew Air Canada in December after my last few flights being Ryanair and I was very pleasantly surprised at how much more room there was. I'm 5'8", 74kg and I can sit ok in a Ryanair seat, but it was lovely having more space.

We booked an extra legroom seat on a Dreamliner on the way home from our last holiday, they were front row and had boxy chunky arms and dh was so uncomfortable we ended up swapping with the people behind us before we’d even taken off. The were indeed extra legroom but the space within the seat itself was smaller than normal because of these weird extra wide arms between the seats! He is overweight but not obese- it was weird!

Just back from a Jet2 holiday - flight was 4 hours and the seats were fine.

im 5’4 and a size 14 - had an aisle seat. Quite a big man in the middle seat, and his smaller wife by the window.

i thought the seats were quite roomy. Could have been a different plane though - and middle seats are horrible so you have my sympathy.

the extra wide arms in the leg room seats are for the tray tables.

I was a size 20 when I flew Jet2 in the middle seat last year and was very comfortable. That said I do think the seats are getting smaller.

I found the leg room fine in regular Jet2 seats, not spacious by any stretch of the imagination, but if I stretched my feet under the seat in front of me, I had space. Ditto hip/ass room. It was shoulder space/elbow room I didn't have.

My friend's butt didn't encroach on my seat at all. The man's did slightly, but I had extra room around my hips, so that didn't feel uncomfortable. It was shoulder space I needed.

I’m 5’9”‘and have my knees against the back of the seat in front in most economy seats.

It depends on the airline, they all have different seat pitches. I'm a normal BMI but nearly 6ft with most of it leg and I will never fly wizz air again- literally couldn't fit my legs in. I find a lot of theatres very uncomfortable too.

Width wise is usually ok but if you get a couple of overweight people in a row it does decrease the overall space available. And worst on very budget airlines (easyJet aren't too bad). It's all to maximise profit.

I think there’s a lot to be said for build. I’m broad shouldered and long legged (but not overweight) so airline seats are hell for me. Someone with a different body shape to me, even if overweight, could find the seat fine.

Just did 3 hours on Easyjet. I'm 5'6 " and small size 14. Room was fine. I could even cross my legs.

I fit fine. Airlines don't make much profit, its just enough room or you would have to pay more.

I’m a large (but not very fat) male and have never had a problem with fitting in an airline seat and don’t think I spread into the next one. I think the focus should be on people losing weight not seats getting bigger.

Its a predictable comment because its true. We have absolutely lost sight of what a healthy weight looks like in adults and children. If you think statements of fact are a dig, its you who has the issue, not the person stating reality.

But...but..fatties should be shamed and punished! This is MN. It's the law.

No, I'm not, before you all assume.

many years ago the seats were wider and further apart. People did not magically shrink. The airlines just lobbied regulators to allow them to squeeze in more people.

people with perfect weight still don’t fit when they have broad shoulders or long thigh bones.

we also shouldn’t be blaming people for being anything less than perfectly on target for weight. No, an airline seat doesn’t need to handle every single extreme, but it should be sized to handle the vast majority of the population. Right now seats are inadequate to purpose.

higher ticket prices may result with changes. I don’t think that is a real problem.

Another solution is making it simpler for people to buy multiple tickets. Right now when people do that they often lose their second seat even when they follow airline instructions perfectly. It also doesn’t solve the legroom problem and not everyone is qualified for the emergency row.

I'm obese, and have never had a problem comfortably sitting in an airplane seat, nor have I ever needed a seatbelt extender. Admittedly, I've never flown Jet2, but I frequently fly Easyjet/Ryanair.

Oh yes, must just be because I'm a massive fat cow. Nothing to do with big business wanting to squeeze more people into the space in order to make more money...

Interesting. Do you remember who you flew with?

I find Jet2 to be fine. We usually take our main holiday with them & I find both seat width & legroom OK. I never need a seat belt extension with them.

However. I am fat & am flying next week with Ryanair. Their seats are narrow, their seatbelts short. Luckily I’m travelling with DD who despite being tall is a very slim 15 year old, so our collective impact on other travellers should be minimal. I struggle with the leg room & arrive hobbling due to that (Ryanair) but it’s only a 60 min flight this time.