I've traveled a fair amount by air over the years, but just encountered this uncomfortable situation for the first time last month. I was on a smallish, United Express plane, on a three-hour flight. My seat was on the aisle, with one next to me at the window.
My seatmate was a very obese woman, so large that the armrest could not go down between us. She took up about 1/3 of my seat, too. I had to 'sit' all scrunched to the left, into the aisle, with my right arm and elbow awkwardly held across my lap, flesh-to-flesh with this woman the entire trip. It was not comfortable in the least. I could only use my left (aisle) arm and hand to turn pages of my book, to eat or drink, and could not put down the seat-back tray, or reach below me for my belongings. It was so unpleasant.
I felt bad for the big woman, as she was probably embarassed. She tried to squish against the window the entire time to take up as little space as possible. But nothing she could do would have shrunk her into one seat.
To make matters worse, I discretely went to the back of the plane to quietly and privately ask the solo flight attendant if I could move to another seat in case there was one vacant. She was quite rude, and loudly asked me what was wrong with my own seat? There wasn't a vacant seat anyway (what a surprise).
Then, during the flight, the plane had such a narrow aisle that the attendant would bump against my left arm every single time she went by. I began to think she was purposefully trying to give me the message that I was in her way-- but how on earth did she think I could move over??
Anyway, thank goodness it wasn't a flight longer than three hours, because it was also quite turbulent which added to my discomfort.
I was also thinking about the safety of the situation, as this woman could not have easily or quickly moved down that narrow aisle to exit in an emergency. She probably had to board and de-plane by herself, and take her time doing it.
I'm not sure how the airlines would do it, but I truly believe they should charge for two seats in cases like this. If you've not gone through this, you might not be able to undertstand how unpleasant it is. And, please, this is not to start a food fight. This is NOT a question of discrimination against the obese, or a discussion of why people are obese, or whether or not it's their fault to be large, or insensitivy to her obvious discomfort, ...
I believe the armrest is the dividing line, and if it won't go down, you need to buy both seats. Otherwise, it's very unfair for people who have paid for one seat, but only receive about two-thirds of one.

Maureen
I agree with you, but what can do we do about it?

How did the armrest go up in the first place?

I am sorry that you had such unpleasent experience Maureen. I was on a charted flight (5.5 hrs)in a middle sanwiched between 2 hunks and that was bad.

I think the seats in economy are getting small legroom though.

I'm kinda wide myself -- but I still fit into a seat, with armrest down (whew!).

Didn't I read about how airlines were charging wide folks for 2 seats now?? If not, I agree that they should.

But back to your experience -- I would have complained before the plane took off. Not loudly, but definitely early. If the plane was indeed full, there probably was no recourse unless you wanted to take another flight. Write to the airline with a clear complaint, a request for a full refund, give them a clearly-worded suggestion for policy in this situation -- and see what happens.

Hey I just thought of something -- aren't armrests _required_ to be down? I know that Bob and I often pull up the armrest between us (snugglesnuggle), and more than once we've had a flight attendant tell us that "policy" requires that the armrest be down.

Mebbe "policy" is per airline, as opposed to FAA??

Hmmm...mebbe you should cc the FAA on your complaint letter!

I made a fairly innocuous comment a couple years ago and nearly got crucified, so I'll refrain.
SO (after 45 years in commercial aviation) says if they cannot fit out the escape windows, they should not be on board.
M

Good point re: armrest down policy, auntiemaria. I might look into that. Anyone else know about it being an FAA regulation?
I have already sent a letter to United about it, so I'll report back when, and if, they respond.
Underhill, the armrest was already up when I took my seat. The lady had probably boarded early and put it up herself to get settled in.
Re: complaining before the flight-- I didn't know of the situation until after boarding, of course, and I don't think there was another flight to Denver that day from Santa Barbara. It would have been more trouble for me to de-plane and stay overnight, than to put up with the three-hour discomfort.

mikemo, an excellent point. This woman definitely could NOT have fit out the escape window-- another thing I'll highlight in my correspondence to United. It may be all useless, and do me no good with United, but I'll at least document it to them.

I've seen on that Airline show on A&E that Southwest Airlines makes people who are over-sized buy 2 seats.

This is a real problem that needs a a solution, but requiring at flight time that some people buy two seats for themselves is not it.

Airlines sell transportation to people, they don't sell space. (How many are charging extra for each carry-on item?) And when you start to talk about charging different people different rates because of their physical characteristics (as in requiring them to buy two seats) there is no way you can avoid discrimination issues.

Like other people, fat people are not always flying for pleasure. They are sent on mandatory business trips by their employers, like other people. Employers are not around to decide whether or not to buy an extra seat if demanded on short notice to get an employee to a business meeting or appointment. That is if they are at all so inclined, if they do not fire the employee because the possibility of greater cost for their transportation cuts into profit margins. Should fat people be barred from jobs which may require travel?

That fat person on the plane may want to avoid flying because they do not want to endure the embarrassment of situations like the ones which MaureenB describes, but may be on the way to bury a family member or be with one who is dying. Are you really ready to tell a person that they must miss the last moments, or the funeral, of a parent or a child if they can't come up with the unexpected demand for a second fare at the airport?

Airlines already accommodate people with many different needs in many different ways, most of which involve little or no extra charge. People by the head are what passenger airlines transport, not packages by weight or dimensions, and the fact is that people come in different sizes. Even in the economy seating sections, there should be some larger seats, to be assigned at flight time solely at the discretion of the flight attendants, to those who must have them for their comfort and the comfort of others.
(And while we're at it, how about a separate soundproof compartment or two for those with constantly crying infants?)

Maureen: Such a sad story!

Personally, I dislike United. Don't take the rudeness personally. It's spread generously among many passengers.

If United Express has more than one class, they could have put either you or her in an empty seat in that other class, particularly after the flight had begun. Just MHO.

Something definitely needs to be done about it, and I think auntimaria's suggestions are right on. My DH is no tiny might, so I understand. He can get the armrest down, but it's tight!

That said, with the trend towards severe obesity increasing, maybe they SHOULD consider weight &/or width in the price of a ticket. Maybe that would serve as at least one motivator to trim down? I wonder what they would have done if both of you had been equally as large? What if your seatmate is casted with elbow out to the side?

If the trend towards obesity continues, and say, we're ALL severely obese, won't the airline HAVE to do something about it for safety considerations? There's got to be a limit! Plus, with gas at a premium, more weight, burns more gas!

I really think anything that personally invades another person's space should be considered as 'extra'. I had to just about hold my breath on one long flight due to severe body odor of the guy behind me (think no bath in a month or two & same clothes).

And JBC411: If the person keeps enlarging, he/she will eventually size themselves out of traveling out of their own bed or floor! So, I don't think blaming the airline for determining a maximum size/weight would be appropriate.

If your neighbor builds his/her house over the line, there ARE repercussions. People don't stand for it!

Belle

I feel caught in the middle of this issue, as I am the 110 lb person in a family of obese people. Both of my parents are quite overweight, one of my younger sisters weighs 250 pounds, the other weighs 150 and she's only 5 feet tall. I've seen the pain that obesity has caused all of my loved ones. It makes me sad because to me they are all beautiful.

Yet I can relate to Maureen's position as well. Last January I flew to Paris and my seatmate was a very large man. Although we were able to put down the armrest, he did spill over into my seat just enough to make a long flight in coach even more uncomfortable.

As one who has evacuated an aircraft due to a fire, I am genuinely concerned for safety. I evacuated a Boeing 777 which has wide doors and wide evacuation slides. On that type of plane it wouldn't be so bad because there's more room. But it would be a lot harder to evacuate a large person from a small commuter aircraft, especially if that aircraft only had one or two doors.

I have watched the show "Airline" where heavy people are asked to pay for an extra seat. On one hand my heart is sad for that person, yet at the same time it seems like the only viable solution. I wish there were a better answer.

On a flight from Bradley to PHL an extremely obese man was seated in the emergency exit row. He required three! extension belts to accomodate his girth. I am sorry he is in that condition however I felt he presented more than an inconvenience, he was a danger. He labored to get down the aisle of the plane to his seat and was having terrible mobility problems. Is it at all likely he could have gotten the emergency exit open and exited quickly so that others could follow? No. When I said so to the USAIR flight attendant she said he was seated there for his comfort. I realize the conditions for being seated in the exit row would have precluded him being there, but the FA put him in the seat. I did write to USAIR after the flight. What would you do?

Being seated next to a severely overweight person has happened to me at least twice. Once time,the lady asked if she could raise the armrest and I surprised myself by saying that I'd prefer she didn't. (I was a snotty, bratty college kid at the time and don't know that I really considered her discomfort, only mine.)

The 2nd time was fairly recently. I quietly approached a FA and he was very nice. There were no extra seats but he offered to switch my seat w/an unaccompanied minor's. I appreciated the offer but didn't want to make a little kid who might have been already scared move, so I stayed where I was and endured the close quarters.

In both instances, the heavy woman did try hard to stay in their designated areas but there was only so much they could do. I feel bad for people in those situations but at the same time want all of my seat....

Sometimes when you fly, you know it's going to be a tight squeeze for the entire time, even if your seatmate isn't grossly overweight. I've been wedged between two large men (not fat, just big) many times and that's no fun either. Is the airline going to charge extra for the 6'4" guys with broad shoulders who have to fold themselves into their seats or demand they sit in biz class where they want to be anyway?

PM: I think we all sympathize with the situation. I come from a long line of short, stout women and have to fight it with all I'm worth! Me, with my big sweet tooth!

I also have close relatives, young and old who are morbidly obese.

However, in the health care field I'm in I'm seeing more and more of this. Most of us friends/relatives are enablers. And most of us feel we in some way 'deserve' our reward of fattening foods.

Have you noticed how, in America, everything is a celebration? If it's not a major hoiday, it's someone's BD or other 'significant event', another reason to make an exception with our diet. It seems to start in kindergarden, and just progresses!

We simply must learn that hunger pains are not always a sign we need to eat! Sometimes it's a signal to drink water! And certainly, we need to try to make good choices when we do!

What's to say that I shouldn't have your sympathy because I sometimes go hungry in order to maintain my weight... I surely feel pitiful at those times!

All the above should not have any bearing on paying by size/weight...it could be much more fair, if you ask me.

Belle

I posted a similar post a few years ago and it raised some hackles before it was finally yanked by the editors. I still think it's a growing (pun intended) problem in the United States, with larger portions, food higher in fat, and fewer than 10% of Americans doing some kind of exercise at least 3 times per week.

Maureen, I was in the same position as you, only *I* was in the window seat! You cannot imagine how awful it was for me to be squashed up against the window. Literally, there was no room for me to move--when the large woman boarded and saw me in the window seat, I wonder now why she didn't say, "Hey, let's trade seats" from the beginning, instead of immediately sitting down and making me squeeze against the window. Fortunately, there was room on my flight to change seats, and the flight attendant was very nice about it.

JBC411:

Regarding your statement:
Airlines sell transportation to people, they don't sell space.

Actually, they sell _seats_ to people. So if a person fills more than one seat, don't you agree that they should have to pay for the additional seat?

As for the large person being seated in the exit row -- yiiiiiikes! That's something about which I would have complained immediately. To jeopardize an entire planeload of passengers rather than risk offending one person??? Shame on that airline!

After I made my last post I went outside to rake leaves. While I was raking, I was feeling bad in case my earlier post has upset anyone. That certainly wasn't my intention, so I came back to the board to express that to everyone.

The problem is that there is no easy answer to this issue. It seems like no matter what we do, someone will lose. I hope we can come up with some good ideas for being fair to everyone without letting this thread get ugly.