I've always been of the opinion that they should charge an extra 'tarrif' for over the weight limit (they do for baggage). and /or have some wider seats for folks who need them. I think that if you pay for an entire seat, you are entitled to it...it is your problem but I know what you mean...they need to get the most bodies in the least amount of space...BA has the worst arrangement, as far as I'm concerned. We usually book Business, if at all possible...the extra money is worth it for me. I hate to arrive all hassled and mad.

"Maybe they should have a section of seats at the ticket counter like they do the baggage bins...if you can't fit in this seat, be prepared to buy a second ticket."

seashell

Do they make shoe horns big enough to get someone out of the bin if they get stuck?

Every year people get bigger & bigger. Soon they will require a forklift at every airport terminal.

Fliers beware. My boss (women's size 34) only flies Jet Blue because "their seats are so much wider..."

Hi everyone and thank you again for the great posts! I needed a laugh after a rough day at work and got some from your posts, especially this comment:

>>Soon they will require a forklift at every airport terminal.<<

Geez, that might be the truth.

I've had a horrible 2 days at work and right now escalating this to starting a website- causing some media attention is sounding good to me. Yes, neck and back hurt a lot for a couple days but don't think there would be an attorney to take my case on.

Sadly, the FA was serious about the lavatory remark. I was laughing, and said to him - 'is this for real,, I have a dreadful business trip to Alaska and now I have no seat on a red-eye and am told to sit in the bathroom all night???" He wasn't laughing. He said it would be like having "my own private plane".

Oh Lord, what has my life come to lately?!!
Maybe I should include the posts from all of you -- if that is okay with everyone..we are all anonymous anyway.

Well, I am going for a stress reducing run now because I overindulged in junk food due to stress and heck if I'm going not fit in between the armrests someday!!!!

There are now two separate rows on the roller coasters at Universal for those with "unusually large upper bodies." I actually saw one zaftig woman get up and leave the Hulk because she couldn't close the restraining bar. And, as another poster suggested, there are sample seats outside the coasters for test sitting.

I don't want to post my entire thoughts because I don't want to appear insensitive. All I can say is be more assertive! The meek do NOT inherit the earth. Don't allow yourself to be a victim to such rudeness, again.

The fact is that airlines need to provide more realistic seating. Even a small/average size person barely has room in coach.

I'm confused about why your inability to assert yourself with a passenger should cost the airline money? What should they have done, returned to the gate and removed the woman?

This occurred because you allowed the other passenger to treat you like a doormat. Why is that the airline's problem?

MikeT-
I respectfully disagree. alexa35 is not the one at fault. The airline owed her 100% of a seat and did not take steps to insure that she received it. I have the sense that she is far from finished with this episode...so she cannot be faulted for not standing up for herself.

Once the plane took off, what were the FAs supposed to do? They can't have the obese woman standing because she would have blocked the aisles.

I agree with MikeT - I don't see it being the airline's fault when the OP didn't speak up BEFORE take-off that there was a problem with the seat. Once they were in the air, there's not a lot they could do to resolve the problem. It was a full flight, there were no other seats available.

Should the FA have gotten on the intercom and asked for volunteers to sit next to the fat woman so the OP could have a different seat?

Had the OP made the REAL problem known before take-off, the FAs could have done something.

Also, nowhere in the OPs posts does she say she ever told the FAs the actual problem. They were told in the beginning that the OP was feeling claustrophobic.

I can see why the airline is refusing to give her anything more than a $300 coupon - they weren't the cause of her problem.

HI Alexa....MIkeT is being blunt, but he is correct. I have to reiterate that it is not your job to consider the "feelings" of people who are in the process of depriving you of your rights. This needs to be the practical application for you of this difficult experience. Otherwise, it is destined to happen again even if the details are different.

Could we just stop pretending that the FA did not understand what Alexa's problem was?

This whole thread is making me mad about the times I've been stuck in the middle seat between two men who both hogged the armrests with bulging arms. Ever tried to eat with your arms practically crossed in front of you?

If you are sitting next to someone who irritates you follow these instructions:

1. Quietly and calmly open up your laptop case.
2. Remove your laptop.
3. Start up
4. Make sure the guy who is annoying you, can see the screen.
5. Close your eyes, tilt your head up to the sky & move your lips as if praying
6. Then hit this link http://boortz.com/mp3/archive/countdown.swf

I respectfully disagree, Orlandovic. If the FAs don't feel like dealing with a situation, they won't. This isn't 1970. Alexa35 should've immediately spoken up after seeing that she was going to be uncomfortable due to an obese seatmate. That seatmate knew she was obese, so sparing her feelings really shouldn't come into play for discussion of the crowded area. As I said, be more assertive!

I remember when we went to a football game at Stanford, this year. The game was at noon, in September, and it was very, very hot. A huge man sat next to my husband. This man crowded halfway into my sweet husband's seat, which in-turn, crowded the rest of us. Who wants to touch each other when it's so hot? I leaned over to the man and told him that we paid a fortune for our tickets, the seats are clearly defined and he needs to stay on his own seat. He looked shocked. He moved a little but was still crowded into my husband's seat. I told him he needed to stay on his own seat or sit somewhere else. He moved. My husband was stunned that I would be so assertive but I wasn't going to sit in that glaring hot sun, miserable with sweaty people and crowded seats. It was so hot that people were passing out. We left at halftime - couldn't take it. People are just plain rude and if you choose to allow them to be rude to you, it's your own fault if you suffer. You have no one else to blame. Sure, the airlines can do better but they're not so it's up to you to make sure you're comfortable.

TTess, while I admire your ability to speak up for yourself (really, I do), I doubt most people would be comfortable addressing the "seatmate" in this situation, nor, in my opinion, should they have to.

(P.S. I think we were at the same Stanford game -- against UCLA -- I know we had to move into the shade shortly after kickoff!)

So, what is the actual obligation of the FAs in this situation, and how do you assert your rights? Before the lfight takes off? Get it in writing?

People are crazy. I'd be very hesitant to take on these sorts of confrontations alone. You don't know how it could go down. I think this very clearly falls into the realm of FA responsibilities.

The real issue, regardless of how Alexa addressed it to the FA is that the seats are small even for people of average size, and will just not accomodate really large ones. The woman cannot shrink herself (at least not in the time alotted), and the FA's cannot produce more seats on demand. Yes, they have a tendency to do just about anything they can think of to get all the passengers buttoned in and the plane in the air, but the only other option I can see open to them is to have left either Alexa or the large person in Anchorage! I don't know how much investment the airlines have in changing the situation, but there must be a solution. Having truly obese individuals purchase an extra seat may help, but it is obviously not consistently enforced, and sometimes the seat may not be available. And what do you do with the individual who turns up, with a ticket, without a clue that they may not fit into the seat, and then cannot pay for an extra seat, or finds that one is not available. And it is cruel to tell them that they should not be so large. They know that. And my DH, who while not skinny, is not terribly obese either, but has a really massive upper body (torso and shoulders, and is in the process of adding a belly, which doesn't help) and is very close to that 300lb marker that someone suggested. He does fit in the seat, as his hips are relatively narrow, but he has trouble with ride harnesses sometimes, and has ever since he was around 220. He never sits next to the stranger, but has a smaller family member act as a buffer (usually myself or his cousin). Good thing he doesn't fly alone.
Seriously, there either needs to be a consistent and reasonable place to put the large people, or an extra seat for emergencies.

alexa35, you're getting alot of mileage out of this story, but I find it disingenous.

Your last whine about spilling the hot coffee just marks you as a chronic complainer or hyperbolic exagerator.

I just don't buy your stories.