Fat Fliers and the new wider seats

[Shelf]

So I am fat. Big deal. I sit in my own seat and have hardly ever invonvenienced another flyer.

Unfortunately I cannot say that I have received the same consideration. If a person is going to selfish or rude then size does not matter in the slightest.

- I have sat in aisle seat with a tiny female in middle seat who thought it was her God given right to both armrests
- I have sat in aisle seat with a male in middle seat reading a Herald/Australian newspaper with fully stretched hands
- I have sat in aisle seat with "big" male in middle seat. Not fat but very broad shoulders and sat back for the entire flight. It meant that I had to lean forward as his shoulder was taking up where my shoulder would have rested
- I have sat in aisle seat where person in middle seat leans on the armrest between us to give person in window seat more room. So why choke me?

And then let's not get started on the other flithy habits people bring with them out in public....

I'm 188cm tall, I have broad shoulders and an expanding stomach

However I keep to my seat and I don't encroach on my neighbour.

/sarcasm
I've had a few experiences with petite females who have an unfortunate medical condition where their elbows seem to be stuck like chicken wings. This causes them to require both arm rests.

/end sarcasm

 

[extracta]

Agreed - those "larger" people should be the ones paying for the extra space they require

I think that the skinny people and people with short legs should have to pay more as they have relatively more space and legroom than the larger person and fly in relative luxury

 

[robd]

I think that the skinny people and people with short legs should have to pay more as they have relatively more space and legroom than the larger person and fly in relative luxury

So, you're not one of them then?

 

[Moopere]

I always get a smile from the perennial fatties thread like this one. I wonder if, ultimately, it should be imposed upon airlines to fit seats that will reasonable fit the average sized passenger? The size average will change as time passes and social factors also change but as we've seen from countless threads of this type, there will never be a 'weight tax' or size limitation imposed voluntarily by airlines due to discrimination law (or the fear of it).

I'd like to know what happens if 3-4 fatties are all placed into a single row of adjoining seats in Y. If we're complaining about spillage ... how would that work? Would they all meld into one another? How would those in the middle get out to the aisle to use the facilities? Sounds like an OH&S issue to me.

 

[Foreigner]

I always get a smile from the perennial fatties thread like this one. I wonder if, ultimately, it should be imposed upon airlines to fit seats that will reasonable fit the average sized passenger? The size average will change as time passes and social factors also change but as we've seen from countless threads of this type, there will never be a 'weight tax' or size limitation imposed voluntarily by airlines due to discrimination law (or the fear of it).

I'd like to know what happens if 3-4 fatties are all placed into a single row of adjoining seats in Y. If we're complaining about spillage ... how would that work? Would they all meld into one another? How would those in the middle get out to the aisle to use the facilities? Sounds like an OH&S issue to me.

Looks like a weight and balance issue to me. And on smaller airplanes centre of gravity issue, too.

 

[samh004]

I think that it is quite simple. If you cannot fit in the seat that you paid for you should be required to buy enough seats to fit all of you. We need to consider the passengers next to the larger one. People cry discrimination this discrimination that. I think that airlines should simply say 'you are required to purchase enough space to fit your entire body'. Done. I don't see why fat passengers can encroach on my paid for seat when they were too cheap to pay for enough space for themselves

You must've met some fatties in F for them to get into your space!

I joke, I joke…


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[samh004]

I totally see and understand your point, but is it fair and reasonable to expect to at least get what you pay for? not some unfounded an entitlement to more space.

Some of us cant afford J or comfort seats, so simply thrusting the flog; "pay more" as Bam1748 suggests is not a workable solution.

My angle is more about those on the receiving end of the stick, as opposed to someone who gets or wants more based on the size of their girth.

I can also see where you're coming from.

You do get what you pay for, as the website clearly spells out the space offered for each product (can't directly reference as I'm on an iPad). So with everyone know exactly how wide and long and all that a seat is, you get what you've paid for.

At the end of the day, air travel is a choice, it's not required, and if it is maybe you should take the space issue up with your employer, and not the airline


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[zachary.august]

You must've met some fatties in F for them to get into your space!

I joke, I joke…


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Actually it was on a QF Link flight to Canberra. He was on the other side of the blocked seat thankfully

 

[trippin_the_rift]

I've been paying the tall-tax for years... if you need more space then you pay for it. At least large people have the choice to keep the weight or not....

 

[k_sheep]

- I have sat in aisle seat with a tiny female in middle seat who thought it was her God given right to both armrests..

Not meaning to be inflammatory, but isn't it? I always thought the unwritten law was the poor sucker who got the middle got the armrests.

 

[blackcat20]

Or kg x BMI. That way you could pay less if your BMI is lower than average. Maybe it would inspire some to lose weight?

The problem with BMI is that it's not a good indicator of size; it doesn't descriminate between fat weight and muscle weight..

I've been paying the tall-tax for years... if you need more space then you pay for it. At least large people have the choice to keep the weight or not....

Exactly! Us long-legged people have to pay extra for more leg room; why shouldnt people have to pay more for extra seat width?

 

[blueflamenco]

^ I agree with this. If tall people must pay for extra space when they physically cannot fit their larger legs into a seat then wider individuals should suffer the same fate (pay for wider seats for their larger parts).

 

[robd]

^ I agree with this. If tall people must pay for extra space when they physically cannot fit their larger legs into a seat then wider individuals should suffer the same fate (pay for wider seats for their larger parts).

I have never heard of anyone being charged extra for a seat because they are too tall. Tall people don't impinge on other peoples comfort - or do they splay their legs into others space to fit?

 

[blackcat20]

Paying for exit row seats?

I do impinge on others because my knees push into the seat in front if I try to sit normally. Otherwise it's stick them out into the aisle and hope no one steps on them...

 

[blueflamenco]

^^ Exactly. If you are very tall and you want comfort for yourself and those around you, often you must pay for an exit row or a premium class. And yes, as blackcat20 mentioned - being super tall can indeed impinge on others comfort! I have heard people groan and moan that they could not push their seat fully back because my boyfriends legs were in the way (being crunched)! A bad situation for the passenger who cannot recline fully and having knees in the back of their seat and a bad situation for the tall person who is getting crushed for their long legs. Many people have the ability to lose weight if they wished to but a tall person cannot simply carve off inches of leg by declining dessert.

 

[jb747]

I guess we could just follow the Ikea example, and flat pack people when they arrive at the airport. A decent press should have no trouble making all fit the same sized box. Save on seats too...

 

[Happy Trails]

I guess we could just follow the Ikea example, and flat pack people when they arrive at the airport. A decent press should have no trouble making all fit the same sized box. Save on seats too...

Nice idea, but what to do with all the loose bits left over after reassembly?

 

[Moody]

I think that airlines should be obliged to supply an economy product that is suitable for passenger size up to (say) 2 standard deviations from the mean, and an enhanced economy product up to 3 standard deviations. Something like the space of premium economy but without the other frills, so it should be possible to supply it for about a 50% uplift. If you are a basketballer or sumo-wrestler then there may be no other choice but to suck it up and pay for business class.

 

[zachary.august]

I think that airlines should be obliged to supply an economy product that is suitable for passenger size up to (say) 2 standard deviations from the mean, and an enhanced economy product up to 3 standard deviations. Something like the space of premium economy but without the other frills, so it should be possible to supply it for about a 50% uplift. If you are a basketballer or sumo-wrestler then there may be no other choice but to suck it up and pay for business class.

Why should it be the airlines responsibility to do that for fat travellers when it could be much easier to simply make them pay for an extra seat. It would drive up prices whilst the reconfiguration happened, reduce space for other passengers and hike up prices in the long term because they couldn't fit in as many seats If your to big for a regular seats either buy two or buy a J ticket!!!It is so simple! If you can't fit in a seat without spillage you have to pay for the area that you are spilling into.

 

[Peabody]

Make people who need more space buy it! I have been on flight SYD-MEL and requested I be moved as much of my seat was being taken up by the person who was in the seat next to me and I was in a window seat, at least the pax in aisle seat had space to breath. I had a passenger of size on one side and a wall on the other!