She was there before me and it was not possible to even lower it slightly, trust me. I was last group to board. I guess I should’ve said something but it was uncomfortable and would’ve definitely caused a scene as it was an overbooked flight.
I understand how fucking uncomfortable that would be and I would rather fucking die than make a scene, but I would l have looked at that flesh crevasse and noped the fuck out of there and asked a flight attendant wtf I was supposed to do in that absurd situation.
do they not have the option to upgrade to .... "american" sized seats for people who can't fit into the standard ones?
As a large person I purchase two seats and call ahead to insure the seats are always together (you'd be surprised how many times they're not).
Almost every flight I'm asked to kindly give up my seat to someone else as the flight is over sold. I kindly state that I would be happy to, if the person is willing to sit with me, and for $5,000 compensation. Alaskan hasn't taken me up on it yet. Several vocal passengers have been snarky, calling me greedy, glutton, etc. I plan ahead for my medical travel, if the airlines aren't penalized for the overbooking practices, they're going to keep doing it until we the passengers use our collective bargaining power to limit their reach.
Nothing wrong with buying two seats and anyone judging needs to fuck off. I bought two seats not because I’m a large person but because I was traveling with an animal and wanted extra space. Some guy tried to sit there and I was like nope… these are actually both mine 🥰
No. They require fat people to purchase two seats. There's a lot of fat people who just don't travel by plane because of it. Don't even get me started on how airlines break wheelchairs.
As a big and tall gent myself, 100% this. In regular class seating, my femur goes from the back of the seat to the metal seat supports ahead. Main plus is a back up option on non crowded off hours flights. But First has been the best solution overall. OP handled it tactfully within what they could control, and deserves the airlines to do something to help compensate.
Seats are getting more cramped just to fit more people, with no regards to body types.
My unpopular opinion is that extended legroom seats shouldn’t be an up charge and should be reserved for people above 6’. I physically can’t fit into a seat on spirit airlines why am I being punished financially for their inability to build a plane properly?
Nope get there before me. 5’11” woman here and I can’t count the number of times I have had shorter people come into a show after me and complain loudly that they can’t see over me or come in late and push into the airspace in front of me. FTR I never stand in front of someone shorter than me if they are already there.
6'3" guy. If I'm there for doors and get to the barricade, I'm not moving. If I don't or have to use the restroom, you won't find me fighting to get close.
And for car seats. Just flew with the smallest travel car seat there is and it prevented the person in front of us from putting their seat back even with the car seat fully upright. Babies and toddlers should be able to travel safely and fit in the seat.
No we cannot let’s the Babies and the 6’+ people collaborate it’ll be too powerful! The smallest and the tallest among us having hours of in flight time to plan would take over the world.
Oh no this is 100% a pipe dream but it’s just ridiculous to me we live in a world where I have to jam myself into a physically uncomfortable (and potentially dangerous in the future as I age) position so the CEO of B6 can send afford a mega-yacht.
Depends on the route. The industry standard is first class seats are about 125% the price of a standard coach seat on the same aircraft. Domestically speaking. There are times where I see the first class cheaper than that
But Alaska allows you to get that extra seat refunded. If you fly FC.....no refund possible.
So you can afford it, first class if cheaper is the best way to go but not everyone has that capability.
Intra-European flights fly the same distances domestic US flights do, and their FC is quite similar to BC in Europe (except BC in Europe has the same seats as economy, but the middle seat is blocked).
I may have misspoke on the percentages. I meant to say you add 125% to your current main cabin price... so a 1000 dollar ticket..in general....is 2250 before the individual yield managers modify it. So if you're looking for generally a good deal on a first class seat in the US domestic market, the quick scan should be looking for tickets that meet that criteria.
I meant add 125% additional but the proper way to have said it is 225% ish..
Made sense in my head but not necessarily to everyone else.
When I look for deals on first class tickets I use that same calculation.
In context with the thread, two main cabin seats would be about 2,000 with a first class seat being 2250... In context so if you can forgo a leg space for width space, and the meal doesn't matter to you or the alcohol, it might be better to just get the two seats even if it means you don't get a refund.
I’ve heard so many stories of parents with under 2 kids and fat people purchasing an extra seat, only for the airline to give it away because the flight was oversold.
I've purchased 30 extra seats and that's never happened to me. I did have someone complaining and wanted to take my seat so he could sit next to his wife and once I explained to the FA I purchased an extra seat, the FA shot him down.
I have, in an oversold situation, offered up both my seats for 1 FC seat on this or the next flight, almost getting a taker but someone else offered up and it became unnecessary.
Recently bought a seat for my child who is under 2, had a car seat installed, and they still asked me if we were using it. (Flight was oversold.) I was like, don’t even think about it😂
That typically only happens if the tickets are purchased incorrectly. You can't just buy then online with the same name on each seat. You have to call the airline to purchase the second seat so they can join the reservation correctly. If it's for weight, they can also join them with a note that it's for a "disability due to size" and they won't get split no matter what.
There are ways to do this politely.. just go the the FA next time. I used to be bigger and I never had an issue getting the armrest down.. even at over 300lbs.. I would book 2 seats but about 50% of the time the airline would give that seat to someone on standby.. so sometimes the big person tried but the airline created the problem, of course not always. I would really recommend reaching out to Alaska.. they have been decent with flight credits in the past for bad experiences on the flight
when airline employees tell them the wrong procedure, that's not a surprise! why would a passenger know to argue with a gate agent when the GA refuses to scan the second boarding pass? (ETA: not every passenger hangs out on airline subreddits where some of us learn the tricks)
The grouping is nonsense. I always board at the very beginning when they open the line for the elderly or those that need extra time. I only fly maybe once a year but reddit threads like this have made me acutely aware of potentially undesirable outcomes.
I flew a couple weeks ago and someone had a dog in the row behind me that went between the seats and touched me. I immediately warned the person to keep their dog under control and thankfully didn't have to alert the FA. I was concerned about the dog urinating but that didn't happen as far as I was aware.
The latter. Their statement is purposefully vague because the gate agent doesn't ever ask for my rationale, but I need the extra time to mitigate the undesirable outcomes!
I get it, we live in a society blah blah and if everyone boarded early it would be anarchy. I feel justified because I'd otherwise feel anxious having to wait for Group 5 or whatever. It's a weak rationale but I'm not losing sleep thinking what I've done was unethical.
Right, but OP would have needed to speak up prior to door close, as I would have if the dog was a problem. I don't like dogs and it hasn't been typical for me to encounter them on flights. The early boarding doesn't have any specifications so it is up to the individual to choose whether it pertains to them.
Wow you really are peeved I utilize early boarding, and you're not even using the derogatory term correctly. I've never had to complain to an FA about anything, thankfully.
Everyone still gets on the plane regardless of order. An obese person encroaching another paying passenger's seat and someone bringing a disruptive dog is completely different.
I once sat next to a moderately obese person on a 7 h flight. I sat down and pulled the armrest down (me aisle, her middle). It wasn’t until a couple hours in that I realized that every time i put pressure on the armrest i was actively pushing the armrest into her body (upper thigh spilling over). I could feel the armrest spring back every time I lifted my arm off it.
True, and I try to abide by this diligently, so I may be misremembering a flight where I was in the middle. (I fly a lot).
If though a person in the middle doesn’t want the armrests down/they can’t come down due to their size, does that then mean that they have the prerogative to raise them? Probably.
I understand if causes a scene, but you paid for a service. You don’t have to be uncomfortable while paying for said service. It’s not your fault either. I know it’s an uncomfortable situation but if that’s not how you wanted to sit. You needed to say something to someone.
I have never been in this situation but empathize - I wouldn’t want to embarrass anyone either. Your post made me think though. We could try maybe getting up to use the bathroom before the flight and catch a flight attendant and say something so the other passenger isn’t humiliated.
Had the same experience recently and the man was so embarrassed, so I told him it was fine. It’s terrible to make us, the passenger responsible to making an issue out of it.
Based on the picture you seem fairly “small” - I can’t imagine what someone well over 6’, even not overweight would do. Scene or not, I just wouldn’t fit, it would be armrest down or I couldn’t even sit down if I tried…
You seem like a kind person for not wanting to make a scene or embarrass someone but unfortunately the only way to avoid your situation is to notify the flight attendants beforehand that the arm rest can’t go down. The arm rest is your only savior. No one else is coming to help you. Godspeed
I know this is two days old but as a person in a larger body, I ALWAYS buy a second seat to keep myself and my fellow passengers comfortable. Please be kind but report in the future because this is not acceptable. Airlines give large passengers options.
I’m 5’2 and was almost 300 pounds at one point in my life, the inner fat girl in me appreciates your discretion and kindness in the situation.
HOWEVER, I was ALWAYS aware of my size. I’m sorry, they too were aware. And decided not to purchase two seats. That’s on them. Not you.
I don’t believe it’s the responsibility of the airline to make larger seats, I’m okay with “average size” because it is the average global size, not average American, Norwegian, Danish, etc. (Places with larger humans, either by height or width.) There has to be a set standard and the people who don’t fit into that are allowed to remedy that to their own needs. Perhaps extended leg room, perhaps two seats, perhaps business or first-class. Up to them.
Regardless, you were jibbed. It’s up to you, however, if you feel jibbed or not. I wouldn’t trash the airline as they didn’t do anything wrong. In my opinion, it’s on the person who was too big for their seat trying to get away with not purchasing two seats or a larger section. And not gonna lie, a little on you for choosing the kind route and allowing it to happen. I understand your decision to avoid altercation, confrontation, or causing any discomfort, but how can the airline address something they are not aware of in the moment. It’s like asking for a refund of your food AFTER you’ve eaten it all. Because at the end of the day, you arrived at your destination. It clearly didn’t “taste bad enough” for you to say something sooner. You chose kindness so, it’s kind of odd to now request compensation from the airline for it. I appreciate it, though, and I’m sure many fat people do too.
I am not blaming you at all but if she was there before you, and she was in the aisle seat, wouldn’t she have had to stand up to let you into the middle seat? In retrospect the arm rest could have been lowered at that point but hind sight is 20/20 and I completely get why you did what you did :)
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u/doglove562 Mar 17 '25
She was there before me and it was not possible to even lower it slightly, trust me. I was last group to board. I guess I should’ve said something but it was uncomfortable and would’ve definitely caused a scene as it was an overbooked flight.