Is it unreasonable for airlines not to provide wider seats for obese passengers?

[Kag13]

I have today spent a four and a half hour Jet2 flight seated next to a young man who was at least 20 stone, probably larger. I could not use the left hand armrest as his body (fat) buldged over it and into my personal space (which on a budget airline is not that large) and his leg was resting over part of my seat.
Luckily I am only 5’2” and not that big but what would happen if someone of the same size was seated next to him?
it made for a very uncomfortable flight for me. Am I being unreasonable to think this is not right?

Pricing is complicated enough as it is even without new seat numbers and reconfigurations. There may come a time when it makes sense to do it but it would be an insane headache.

You also couldn't guarantee that larger people would want or manage to get those seats.

I don't know what the solution is. People shouldn't be shamed and embarrassed but they also should be able to use their seats properly and safely.

😂

My DH is a big chap, not overweight just a big man, when we book if we can't get extra room seats we book window and middle, it's ok then as he only encroaches on my space but I did have a flight where there was another big man ( again not over weight just fucking massive) the other side of me and I felt squashed! Thankfully only 2 ish hours flight.
It isn't about weight it is as someone above wrote about how bloody wide you are and trying to be respectful of the person beside you, if you know you encroach on someone else's space and comfort, book an aisle seat or 2 or even together if you have a smaller partner with you.

some of the comments on here are really sad. what a horrid way to view your fellow human beings

Agreed. Nothing wrong with not wanting another person spilling into your seat and potentially blocking your exit, or wanting a conversation about it, but there's no need to be spiteful about it.

Maybe those are the people who most need a holiday.

Out of interest, what is the process for buying two seats for one person? Doesn’t there need to be a (different) person for the second seat?

But old seats and flying just wasn't cheap. The average family wasn't going abroad for holidays.
Its probably like comparing business class ti economy.

However going by Wikipedia Boeing in the 1950s seats were 17inch although Airbus argued 18 should be minimum.

Really not much has changed in the width of cheap seats just the leg room has got shorter and people have got bigger.
There is an element if look at people in the 70s and 80s on any pictures or old photos - nobody was fat and 6ft was unusual.

The police used to have minimum heights 5ft 4 for female, 5ft 8 for men few young adults wouldn't hit those heights now.

It is easily solved by having extra wide seats - same as seats with more legroom for those with long legs. Just charge more. If someone wants one of those seats that aren't tall or overweight, they can still book them for the extra comfort.

There are no space for larger seats but I think the question of excess size needs to be asked at the point of booking. It is unacceptable for somebody to spill over into the adjacent seat.

Depends on the airline.

Some have a process which involves a phone call to ensure it's coordinated, it can't be done on-line.

For example see "Booking an extra seat for additional space.."

https://www.britishairways.com/content/information/seating/reserving-your-seat

People have described it as buying a 'comfort' seat. Also used to carry precious cargo like instruments.

I just don't think it can be comfortable in an way for people to be across 2 seats

I think in the vast majority of cases it’s nowhere near as bad as made out

Ok, this appears to be from 2010 so possibly very out of date, but interesting.

It's definitely wrong that if you do buy two seats, you aren't guaranteed that they'll actually be next to each other.

https://living400lbs.com/2010/02/17/flying-while-400lbs/

It's not that simple though is it. To put in an extra wide seat you need to 'delete' the seat next to it. That extra wide seat needs to then be sold for the twice the price for the airline to not lose money.

For a problem that exists such a tiny amount of the time the airline is not going to want to lose revenue for it.

The only logistically and financially viable option is for extra large passengers to have to purchase two adjacent regular sized seats and for the central armrest to be removable. If Mr or Mrs Obese does not buy two seats they must risk being refused boarding if they do not fit into a conventional seat.

How is this an easy solution though? It relies on the people who needs those seats being prepared to pay the extra for them & being able to get them booked.

Why would you be told this? If someone was stuck in their seat that doesn't stop anyone else from getting off except the people sitting beside them if the fat person was in the aisle seat. Also, they wouldn’t be hoisted off - airplane seats can easily be disassembled, the arms in particular are very easy to take off. If someone was stuck one’s stuck, a hoist won’t help.

I doubt it's beyond the ability of the designers to reconfigure for wider seats, but the issue is still what happens if obese people go on not buying extra space.
Same with tthe booking process if some prefer not to disclose and believe they (and everyone else ) will just "manage"

Hence the suggestions of having a "test seat" at check in - preferably somewhere discreet - so that those who simply can't fit can be obliged to buy extra space if available

I was surprised myself, Soontobe60, which is why I originally thought it was a silly rumour, but the confirmation came from the gate staff

Obviously I don't know where the lady was seated on the aircraft, only that they said it couldn't be completely disembarked, but whatever they did to get her out of the seat it was definitely a hoist which offloaded her

How exactly do you go about booking an extra seat on a flight? I’ve never seen that option on a booking page, and as someone said earlier in the thread, she saw a woman who’d booked two seats which turned out not to be next to each other so the plan didn’t work. Lots of people say obese people should book an extra seat but how do you actually do that?

Nothing worse than being stuck between two larger passengers on a flight.

A couple of years ago I was wedged between a couple who were incredibly inconsiderate, spilling into my space, constantly knocking into me, talking non-stop shit, asking the most ridiculous questions, and eating the whole time. They were goss. It made for one of the most uncomfortable journeys I’ve ever had.

Pay to put the seats together?!

Thats why you do it as a extra wide seat, 3 normal seats becomes 2 extra wide.

Theyd all ways be someone whos willing to pay for a bit extra space on a flight, but can't afford the step up to business

Airline dependent, those those airlines that do faciltate it usually need a phone call, it's often ot usually an option available on-line.

What clothes size would you actually need to be to need a seatbelt extender? I’m a size 18-20 in skirts (smaller on top), I count as obese according to BMI and I’ve never been even remotely close to needing a seatbelt extender. I always have plenty of extra room inside the belt.

@Puzzledandpissedoff

I doubt it's beyond the ability of the designers to reconfigure for wider seats

I have a friend of a friend in that line of work (at Airbus)

Problem nowadays is they've nowhere left to go to get width- the ultimate constraint is the internal diameter of the fuselage barrel...so more seat width means a whole new aircraft design or reducing to a 2/3 config in economy..

So we're back to money...