A United Airlines passenger wonders what to do when the man sitting next to them has his arm resting on theirs. The aisle seat passenger doesn’t fit inside the confines of their own seat, and he extends into their middle seat. He takes up two armrests, even though the one between him and the middle seat passenger is already taken.
If there’s an empty seat on the plane, the middle seat passenger should ask a flight attendant to switch. If the plane hasn’t departed yet, they can get off the aircraft and take another flight. But it looks like physics won’t allow for any solution on a full aircraft for everyone to stay in their space. They’re going to have to grit their teeth and bear it for the duration of the flight.
In economy on a domestic (narrowbody mainline aircraft flight) there are generally three seats on each side of the plane. Correct default armrest allocation is as follows:
- The passenger at the window gets the armrest next to the window
- The passenger at the aisle gets the armrest next to the aisle
- The passenger in the middle gets two armrests
Also, for the enterprising amongst you, armrests can be shared using an armrest divider.
When a passenger is too large to fit in their seat and spills over onto an armrest (or into the seat beside them) this is not acceptable. They are taking – stealing – something that belongs to someone else.
Here the middle seat passenger purchased their seat, which comes with a bundle of rights. Whether the larger passenger is at fault for their situation or not, they are taking something that someone else has paid for. The correct thing to do is for passengers to buy the product that they need. In this case, the aisle seat passenger should have purchased two seats.
Southwest Airlines generously refunds the cost of that extra seat if the flight doesn’t wind up full. Indeed, they’ll give a whole row of seats free to overweight passengers. United does not. But United sells products that correspond to the amount of space a passenger needs, such as selling customers an empty middle seat or a first class seat.
Maybe you think it’s unfair to make someone pay extra for the space that they occupy but they are literally taking that space from someone who has paid for it. There’s only so much accommodation that makes sense when it comes at the expense of others.
For instance there’s a campaign to get government to require airlines to provide extra seats for free. That would take seats out of inventory that other passengers can’t have to get where they’re going. It would limit supply of seats, raising ticket prices for everyone.
Extra seats wouldn’t be the end of it, either! Big Curvy Olivia demands wider aircraft aisles for passengers who can’t make it through United business class – not realizing this would mean narrower seats unless aircraft manufacturers are required to spend billions of dollars redesigning their fuselages, which would also mean redesigned engines, and less fuel efficient aircraft (not great for the environment).
Lol and the First Class cabin has much more space than economy pic.twitter.com/YCAh501hF3
— Ben Kew 🏌️♂️ (@ben_kew) May 18, 2023
Every accommodation comes at a cost. The only question is who bears it. Clearly here it should be the passenger taking up more space.
It’s battery. You respond in kind.
Get up and discreetly inform a flight attendant that there is a safety issue at your seat. The passenger next to you is too large, encroaching on your seat, creating a safety risk. Flight crew will find another seat(s) or offload the passenger. Be sure to emphasize it’s a safety problem, or they may not do anything.
Whether one seat is sufficient to accommodate one person could be determined in the same way carry on luggage is judged to fit in an overhead – have sizing portals at the gate. If one can not fit and go thru the portal, then one would have to pay for an extra seat. No exceptions.People of size should not be allowed to infringe into the space of another who has paid for their space.
She should tell her husband to take his arm off of hers. I’ve only had issues with a POS a couple of times. One of them was recently on a Southwest flight from RDU – BNA. I boarded in the first of the A zone and took a window seat about 10 rows back. Pre-borders had grabbed everything in front of that. Shortly after I sat down a monstrous guy took the aisle seat. He had to raise the armrest to sit down. The flight was full and we got lucky and a very trim girl took the middle seat. I whispered to her to lean my way and I would lean into the window. The FA saw what was happening and after the flight told me I should contact corporate. I told her US airlines aren’t really concerned with customer service and I wouldn’t waste the time of writing an email.
A lot of this stuff happens because crews and gate agents don’t want to do their jobs and enforce their own policies. They pretend to not see the issue or look the other way to avoid the confrontation or the risk of being labeled fat shamers.
Looking at the picture, this person doesn’t even seem to be a person of size, just a big guy.
I recently switched flights and could only get window seats, and ended up with a guy in the middle who just had broad shoulders. Spent the flight pressed into the fuselage trying to balance the space available.
I didn’t think the other passenger (who was within normal size for anywhere other than a plane seat) should have bought a second seat. I thought economy seats are small and uncomfortable.
Correct about flight attendants who just don’t want the hassle. I was on an AA flight last week, just before the door was closed two women boarded and sat in the exit row across the aisle from me. It quickly became clear that the younger woman was intellectually disabled and she was unable to answer whether she was willing and able to operate the exit. The older woman aggressively said “yes for both of us” and the FA accepted that.
Was this you Gary? I mean the fat guy.
Humans come in all shapes and sizes for various reasons. The airlines greed is the only reason this is and issue. If they made seats to fit everyone instead of cramming everyone in like cattle to make and extra billion dollars. Corporate America has taught all of us that any issue is the problem of the customers. If we had high speed rail across this country as a viable cheaper option then you would see a drastic difference in quality of service. But as everyone knows politicians are all bought and paid by corporations so they kill anything that really helps out the people. So keep shaming and blaming your brother and sisters much easier than putting the blame where it belongs.
I have sat in the coach window seat with two big guys in the middle seat and the aisle seat. We swapped heat and sweat the whole flight. Not unlike wrestling in the gym during high school. Really no biggie. Others can buy the expensive seats for a lot of extra room. I have more of a problem with middle seaters who poke their sharp elbows over into my area. Less of a problem with the aisle seat lady who fell on my shoulder when she nodded off (A380, upper deck, two wide aisle and window seats.) She also almost fell into the aisle later.
I fondly recall one of many times a person in the middle seat encroached on my space. Not someone who was not overweight. Just a massive dude. A 7 footer and shoulders that occupied a 1/3 of my space.
After a few exchanges where I summoned my best Joe Pesci energy he agreed to lean forward so he didn’t occupy the space I paid for.
The dude could probably have crushed my skull like that scene from GOT. But in the end decided it wasn’t worth the prison time or calling the FA to admit he was intimidated by someone half his size. Or he was just a nice guy. Honestly wouldn’t have done that with someone who was overweight. Play the man, not the cards.
Regardless, he shouldn’t have been allowed to occupy a space that didn’t fit him. 1st class or take the bus. Flying is a privilege, not a right. If you can’t fit in the space provided it doesn’t give you the right to occupy the space I paid for unless you compensate me.
1. the etiquette of armrest allocation is non-existent these days as there are too many “new” flyers.
2. in these high inflationary times (thx JB), no one is spending any more than they absolutely have to (no 2nd, 3rd ticket for 1 obese person).
3. best case, the passenger encroached upon should grin and bear it (i hate that but don’t see any other solution that doesn’t require a new flight/itinerary) and request compensation from the airline. i’ve had this experience myself on more than 1 occasion and each time i have received a substantial amount of miles
it would be nice if once an airline is made aware of the obese passenger taking up more than their own seat, they are forced to buy 2 seats up front or 3 in the last row of the plane. an obese person has no right to take up more space than they have purchased
Been in that situation. Usually have some sympathy for the middle seater if they’re a pleasant person, such as a comment from them that they are a big guy/gal, and a “hey sorry, I got to squeeze into that middle seat, we may rub elbows, nothing personal”. If that happens, I’ll work with that and do my best to make things good for both of us. But a couple of times, a guy was doing way to much seat/arm rest encroachment, so after a bit of this, I just said loudly “please don’t touch me”. That worked almost instantly.
@Gary – Your Pirate’s Code rules (your personal guidelines) about armrests aside, the very large person should have tried to show some basic courtesy when apparently they did not. That said the large person wasn’t stealing anything although that’s an interesting assertion. Of course in no small irony you and I are diametrically opposed on recline as well, where I feel that someone is stealing your space but you don’t. The quirks of us inconsistent humans I suppose.
Perhaps this passenger and “Big Curvy Olivia” should spend less time at the Golden Corral desert bar and move time at the gym.
I’ve always said if the physical contact you have with someone next to you on a plane happened elsewhere, law enforcement would be called.
I think it can be a safety issue and then the airline has to address it. Safety has to be their primary concern. It’s my law.
SEA-SFO, pre covid. Got a scrawny 20-something (7B) next to me (7A), who insisted on working on his laptop (nothing wrong, I did too) and elbow me as he typed as if the keys were going to eat him.
When I asked him to stay within his seat, he barked atme thusly —
“I need this space. You can’t tell me what to do. Shut the ** up and sit there.”
I stared at him in disbelief while he continued–
“Do you know who I am? I work for I make a lot of money.”
I asked him why he was in the “poor class” if he was so rich.
The dude got mad and called the FA.
Knowing nothing good can come of it, I kept quiet and made sure to get up thrice to go to the bathroom.
Un**ing believable….but believe it. It’s etched in my memory…..
Wtf FlyOften. Did he at least say WHOM he worked for? Was he in tech, law, or private equity?
If he was in tech, good chance he was a high functioning autistic. In that case he wasn’t even aware of his rudeness because it doesn’t compute in his brain. He’s neurologically defective and there’s nothing to be done in flight to solve that.
Anyway, this is a good time to accidentally spill your drink on his pants.
Airlines recognize obesity as a disease. On a Delta full flight, in response to notice of passenger encroachment on the full economy fare seat I paid for (arm rest up), the flight attendant offered to put me on another flight. The Corporate Headquarters response to my related, post flight, discomfort claim was two free drink tickets for my next Delta flight….Suggest all who require space accommodation fly Delta.
As a POS myself, I try really hard to stay within my seat boundaries. I never use the armrest so that I don’t accidentally ooze into someone else’s seat. This person is beyond the pale. Can’t imagine anyone laying their arm on top of someone else’s. That’s just wrong, no matter the size. Who does that?! (This guy, I guess).
BTW, for the person who made the Golden Corral comment, I am actually a very light eater and exercise regularly. I have a hormonal imbalance that causes me to keep weight on. So please, don’t lump is all in the glutton category. And actually, the worst flight I was ever on was one where the boney lady next to me kept poking me with her pointy elbow. I had a bruise from it. So we POSs are inconvenienced as well.
It actually wouldn’t cost them a lot of money to redesign the cabin to make seats larger. They could go back to the exact same design they had in the early 2000s. Most of these planes are the exact same 737s and similar that used to be 5 across until the airlines got greedy(er) and figured they could cram more people into the same space and make them fight amongst themselves.
This is a classic example of the person with all the cookies telling someone with one cookie that the other guy wants their cookie.
Fat people should be made to sit in a standard seat before being allowed to board to confirm that they will fit. Just like we have to demonstrate that larger carry ons will fit before they are allowed onto the plane. If not, they should be required to purchase a second contiguous seat if one is available, or denied boarding if one is not. It is clear that too many of them have no respect for their fellow passengers (or they would have bought a second seat or a first class seat in the first place.) Since they can’t consistently be courteous as a matter of course, courtesy needs to be enforced on them. Just disgusting, on multiple levels.
So some people who are bigger want the aisles made bigger. Well what about the extremely tall people. Shouldn’t they get more leg room and head space? They can’t get shorter.
Flights should accommodate the majority. Larger people may need to pay for an extra seat.
I do say that Mario ride at Universal studio was made so small because it was made after verison in Japan where people are skinner so most people can’t sit in here. So airlines are not making their seats small they just aren’t making them love seat size. Maybe they should have two very large seats at the back of the plane. The reason I say at the back of the Blane is some times there are just two seats instead of three. So you could have one large seat on each side. And then it would be a first come first serve to those seats.
I once flew on an aircraft with a 3 – 2 configuration. When I went to my seat (on the 3 side) I saw that I had two seat mates that were over my 6’3″ stature. We sat like a hand of cards for a 2 hour flight.
Why did the FA on @Ronny Rosenberg’s flight offer to put him on another flight? Surely the fat offender should be the one to be inconvenienced by being reaccommodated.
And whenever has 2 free drink vouchers been adequate compensation for being put in this situation?
I cross my arms. I have done that for a five hour flight if my neighbor is inclined to touch me. I cannot stand that. That fat dude could do the same. You don’t need your arms flopped down by your sides.
I have a flight coming up in June 2024. My son will be with me. Maybe if I encroach on anyone’s territory it will be him. We don’t mind. We sit in the same chair at home. This subject about overweight passengers comes up so much. I have thought about it and I feel that the airlines should not have shrunk the seats in the first place. The airlines want to make the most money they can. It seems to be a no win situation. They make the extra money by cramming the passengers in together like sardines. The problem is we are not all small like sardines. So with the smaller seats issues come up like these. People also talk about deregulation where a wider variety of passengers can fly. The price of economy doesn’t seem that low to me and business and first class are outrageous. A truly poor person could not afford to fly. They couldn’t even afford Greyhound. I would love to drive my car but it’s kind of difficult going from Texas to Europe. And if you think shaming the overweight person will help, think again.
What these people fail to realize is, flying is not a right, it is a paid service. If you are to fat to elf down the aisle, or are so big that you occupy two seats, your worker find another mode of transportation or your pay for the space you occupy. You can’t expect an entire industry to redesign aircraft because you allowed yourself to get so big that your can’t walk down an aisle or for in a seat.
David Miller…my daughter has said this for years! Too many times I have had half a seat because that that should by 2 tickets don’t. I had thyroid cancer and gained 40 lbs. I said if there is not 2 inches on either side of me, I would either not fly or buy two seats. Luckily it did not get to that. I have been slammed at a 45 degree angle on a full flight because I could not sit correctly in my seat. Ended up with paramedics as it cause a pinched nerve. Being a 1K 2 million miler with United, I have complained about this until I am blue in the face. They don’t want to offend anyone. I always choose window exit row. One flight I had 2 people in that row that BOTH needed seat belt extenders. They could barely get into their seats. How are the supposed to act quickly in n emergency? UNITED IS THE ONLY AIRLINE THAT ALLOWS SEATBELT EXTENDERS IN THE EXIT ROW!!! sorry to vent but 40 percent of my flights I have to deal with this.
I also dont know why we blame some people for being larger than others when it’s the AIRLINE that has chosen to have seats that are under 18 inches wide.
If the airline shrunk the seats because they think most people fit in them, they should provide a free seat for those who do not.
So purely because I am over 6’4″ with a wide stature, not overweight, you think that I should be forced to pay twice as much to fly as a smaller person?
Is that the argument you are making?
I didn’t have a choice in my size.
When you’re crammed in like cattle in.a slaughter house……
Obese people should be required to buy extra space. Period. An obese person could not show up to a Rollercoaster or other ride and expect to fit in a place they can’t fit. Or show up to a car dealership and demand the car manufacturers to add extra space or weight to make their seat functions work etc. Flying is NOT a “right”. Maybe the government should worry about bus or train travel for morbidly obese people. But not flying. It’s also an extreme safety issue and they (the airlines) don’t know the size/weight of passengers before they show up. Imagine having 3-7X the average weight in one point on the plane? Dangerous for takeoff/exit/emergencies. All because society doesn’t want to be honest with delusional people.
USA airplane seats should be required to fit the average USA man, 20 years of age and up, plus two standard deviations (95% of such men.) 95% of men weight 290 pounds or less and the average height of men is about 69 inches (CDC sources including NHANES). This is a scientific approach. If such requirements were implemented, the seats would have to be significantly wider on many USA airlines. Maybe they would return to the seat sizes that airplanes had 30 and 40 years ago. Shaming people of size is bigotry, really not a lot different than being racist and/or sexist.
Exactly why, when I fly coach, I chose to purchase 2 seats so that nobody can infringe on my space. My choice even though I am not a large person. I have been stuck with a large person flowing into my space one too many times. I do get funny looks from flight attendants, But, I am always comfortable.
I fly more than 15 RT flights per year and this happens 50% of the time when flying coach. Americans are just fat, they eat too much and prefer unhealthy processed fast foods. Just look around you at any US airport and you will see lots of fat people. Make them pay for 2 seats if they can’t fit in one. Once I had to keep the arm rest up because their butt didn’t fit. Just disgusting.
@TucsonRose (or any knowledgeable flyer)- curious question, when purchasing 2 seats on an over booked flight, or a flight with parents and children spaced apart, have you encountered your extra purchased non-occupied seat being moved away from you by FAs?
As a larger guy, I’m incredibly aware of the effect I have on those around me. First off, I only buy aisle seats. Secondly, I cross my arms and pull them together to allow as much space as possible to those around me. Third, I make sure I’m not encroaching on anyone’s space. This guy clearly just doesn’t care or hasn’t flown much at all.