Feeling uncomfortable after sharing a seat with a very obese passenger

[Bayleaftree63]

On public transport earlier. A very large woman sits nexts to me. She couldn’t get the seat belt
round her. Her body spilt over into my seat, leaving me squashed with what little space there was left.

On the journey I couldn’t help be annoyed at the lack of space I was left with and questioning how do people let themselves get to that size. Talking morbidly obese, not just larger - whatever the medical
term.

This isn’t about shaming, more I’m in disbelief people being that big are happy? Why wouldn’t you want to loose some weight for a healthier lifestyle.

Oh, woe is you. Having to actually breathe the same air as an obese person. Gasp. Gosh. The embarrassment.

HOW DARE YOU MOAN ABOUT HER WEIGHT? You don't know her circumstances. I've no doubt that she's had a lifetime of fat shamers like you who have decided she's " let herself go, " etc.

She may have genuine physical or mental problems relating to her weight; she might be suffering crippling periods, menopause, or have some sort of physical disability that stops her exercising/weight controlling. She might be OK with her weight - think of Dawn French.

She might actually just be a big, fat lazy slob that does nothing but eat; there could be a trillion reasons why she's so obese, but I fail to understand what business her body is of yours.

And how do you know she's ''happy''? I would definitely not be if I had to sit next to a pompous motormouth like you.

Grow up and get a life.

Theys hould have a selection of larger seats that people can choose to buy

They (the airlines) often do...possibly/probably not on their short haul fleets but on the Long Haul side of things many have Premium Economy or Business Class or even First.

ilovepixie

I'm so sorry for your losses and everything you're going through.

I'm amazed how many people don't know the difference between lose (no longer have) and loose (free/untied/unboundaried) and not just on MN.

So am I @ilovepixie

I don't know why people don't catch themselves about being so unkind in their attitudes.

Yes, I agree, although you cant point out SPAG errors as it's seen to be a bit petty 😳🤣 (no apologies from me though, as I'm an editor so I guess I'm doing it too often in my job so I notice it more 😉)

In rural areas, they often use coaches for longer distance "bus" services which do have seat belts.

And yes, @ilovepixie sending you hugs. ❤️

I don't "require" Two though. My body fits into one seat. But I'll be squashed against the person next to me.

Do you not think the airline have some responsibility. The seats are small for many people. Thin people are also squashes into each other

All of which is irrelevant if the other person takes up YOUR space and makes YOU uncomfortable. That's just not fair at all.

I was morbidly obese for many years and always made a point of not encroaching in other peoples' space wherever possible. I'd always aim for a seat with no one sat next to, or even stand on a very busy bus/train rather than trying to squeeze into a sit next to someone. On planes, I'd book the emergency exit seat if available (over wing where it's 2-2 instead of 3-3, to seat with DH), or a front extra legroom seat or if all else fails, an aisle seat rather than a central or window seat, or sometimes, business class. I never felt I had any right to make someone else uncomfortable or squeezed it.

I'm sure if people were willing to pay 50% extra for their tickets, the airlines would convert their planes from 3-3 to 2-2 configuration! How else do you think they could recoup the lost revenue. Flights run on tiny margins anyway, so carrying fewer passengers would increase fares by at least 50%.

You can't book the emergency exit seats over a certain size
I was told you cant have a seat belt extender in those exit seats (which is where a lot of the extra leg room seats are)

Why on earth would you be amazed. For a start, English is not the first language of many people on here.

And before anyone writes "if you live in England - you should speak perfect English".

I've seen LOADS of English people living in Spain, who can't speak a word of Spanish

“I’m in disbelief people being that big are happy? Why wouldn’t you want to loose some weight for a healthier lifestyle”

I’m in disbelief that people who can’t spell or use question marks properly are happy. Why wouldn't you want to spell properly to improve your communication?

See, not nice is it? YABU.

I can't think of anywhere else where overweight people are expected to sit in a chair that is clearly too small for them.

Agreed...

On something like a 737/A320 family aircraft going 2/3 would remove maybe 25'ish seats, 2/2 takes out 50, plus or minus, depends on the exact variant.

Even if you only took, say, the first three rows of 3/3 out and converted to two rows of 2/2 (so potentially more width and legroom) that's taken ten seats off the aircraft.

With margins as they are somebody has to pay.

Yes, but back to my point. Would you be happy to pay 50% more? Which is the only alternative if you want a bigger seat on a plane. The prices/costings are based on the current seat size and number of passengers.

lol this…prepare for an absolute shredding of OP and rightly so.

headline news: thin person wonders why fat person doesn’t want to be thin.

ill give you a clue…they probably do 🤦‍♀️

I've seen LOADS of English people living in Spain, who can't speak a word of Spanish

This I can believe!

No I wouldn't. I couldn't afford it. I fly regularly to see family in another country.

I would be happy to pay the same price for a larger chair that actually fits my body.

@SilenceInside @ilovepixie this might seem like an odd suggestion. But I would try a SMART meeting online. It is for anyone suffering from any sort of addictive behaviour. It is CBT based and all about getting to the core of the issues.

I do one weekly, there are people there for all addictions - alcohol, drugs, prescription drugs, gambling, and food.

If you don't feel ready for a meeting you can look at their website there is a library of free 'tool kits'

https://smartrecoveryglobal.org/smart-reocvery-tools

We need to not make up quotes. This is absolutely absurd

@Badbadbunny Just checked and its definitely a rule

Some sites suggest that youd need an extender and wouldn't be able to sit there if you are more than a size 22

Some seatbelts are wider but youd need to be confident that you could fit to rely on it for the room

It's not the only alternative

The other alternative is that health and safety regulations regulate airplanes better, and tell them that they need to have seats that people can actually fit into

Which can't happen because fewer passengers means the flights would become loss making. So you'd not have a flight at all if you didn't want to pay more for your wider seat.