Do I need to book two plane seats?!

[allthelonelyppl]

I’m flying for the first time this summer. I’m a UK size 18. I’ve just had the horrible thought that I might have needed to buy two seats?! Do I?! Flying easyJet and Ryanair.

If I do, do I just ring them and ask?!

You will be absolutely fine and when you check in you will see people of all sizes. I am tall and a 18 and done 3 easyJet flights this year and been fine. I did have middle of the plane extra leg room seats on one flight and they were great. Beware of row 1 ones though as the seats have solid sides and fold out trays from the side and are more tight. Enjoy your flight.

Don’t be ridiculous. 18 is pretty average these days.

Surely height matters?

A 6ft woman at a size 18 would be slimmer in the hips than someone like me at 5ft. If I were a size 18 I think I'd definitely need the extra seat as all my weight is carried around bum/ hips/ tum.

Average just means there are a lot of people that size not that they fit the seats!

Normal? Really.
You sound charming.

Op keep it simple as pp said , measure your rear and look at seat width.
As pp said as long as your not in someone else's space fine .

I feel feeding six people for a week with one chicken will be popping up soon…

Yes if you think you will spill over into your neighbors seat.

a size 18? No. But I would see if you can get an aisle seat.

If you’re relying on the fact the sides of the seat aren’t solid then you’re encroaching on someone else’s space.

Nope! Unless you have a very, very disproportionate sized arse.

They do fit in the seats, though.

Doesn’t matter anyway. If you book two seats they can still give away you other booked seat if they oversubscribe the flight. It’s scandalous.

Touched a nerve clearly!

Is there something lacking in your life @HollyMcDolly that makes you feel the need to make bitchy comments to strangers on the Internet in order to feel better about yourself? Or do you just enjoy being unkind?

If the seats with solid sides are tight for you then you are spilling onto other people’s seats when you have regular arm rests. If you don’t fit in your own seat without spilling onto other people’s seats and you aren’t travelling with friends and family who don’t mind sharing their space, then you should be buying two seats.

None of which is necessary at size 18

Clearly it can be necessary at a size 18 considering that the poster I replied to is a size 18 and found seats with solid sides tight.

I voted that you were being unreasonable, but because I don't think you need to worry as a size 18 is not a size I would think required two seats. Hope you enjoy your holiday :-)

Window seat sounds a good idea to me, as it actually has a bit more space than the other seats. No one is supposed to hang into the aisle so that one isn’t actually more spacious.

I think size 18 sounds fine - it’s not a size I’d think of as two seats large at all.

Obviously no one should be hanging into the next person’s space but I wouldn’t have thought you would at an 18.

I ran it through AI and you’ll be fine:

Ryanair’s standard seats are roughly 43 cm / 17 inches wide, so they are fairly narrow. As a very rough guide:

• UK 8-14: very unlikely to extend beyond the seat itself.
• UK 16-18: generally still fine, although someone broad through the hips may find it snug.
• UK 20-22: more dependent on body shape. A particularly hip-heavy person may start to make contact with the armrests or neighbouring space.
• UK 24+: increasingly likely that a standard 17-inch seat will be genuinely tight and there may be some encroachment, particularly at the hips/thighs.

I agree with this though.

All seats should have solid sides to prevent people taking the space of others, that can be removed by a flight attendant with a key for those who are eg travelling with a small child (who wants to rest on them) on request, or for someone who has purchased two seats.

I just don’t think it sounds like OP will be overspilling though. Esp with the sensible precaution of booking the window.

At a size 18, you will be completely fine please stop worrying

You may need a seatbelt extender because it's somebody has already explained the seatbelts frequently get shortened due to damage and can end up very small whereas you could end up in a seat with a new seatbelt that is much longer. It's really no reflection on the passenger, just on the life the seatbelt has lead!!

Please don't buy one online either lots of airlines won't allow you to use private ones and they have plenty on board. You just need to ask one of the crew for One and don't be embarrassed about it because lots of smaller people need to ask for them too.

I understand how stressed you are, been there done that, if you really must measure yourself and the seat With do it by measuring a chair with arm to sit in it not by measuring your body and comparing, that really doesn't work.

Do you frequently look at seats in places that have arms and think I'll never fit in there??

You'll be fine, honest 💕