Comments

1. It happens. Airline gate agents are just not going to police their airline’s own policies re: Obese passengers (it’s not like it’s something life crucial as carry ons! :))
   Best way to try to avoid it is trying to fly upfront as much as possible., but still it can happen.
   I had only one time in my life thus far this happened to me, but it was a doozy…Flew JFK-ORD, and flight was full. I was flying coach that one, and sat next to a very large man, who was also wearing one of those scratchy sweaters. I was wearing just a short sleeve T-shirt, and his scratchy sweater burned my arm the entire flight.

2. I have had similar issues on AA before. The obese passenger could not even pull his seatbelt on – I told the FAs, and despite the safety violation, they refused to address the situation with either removal or a seatbelt extender. In cases of rough turbulence a la the recent Singapore Air case, having a morbidly fat man hurled around the plane and onto fellow passengers could be very dangerous. I take it with a bucket of salt when FAs insist that they are here for our safety but refuse to take into account and engage basic safety rules.

3. This happened to me on an hour flight. I was in the window seat. Two morbidly obese people were together. Aisle and middle seat. The middle seat woman spilled into my seat over the armrest. Her legs were crushed against mine. There was really no escaping. Were there to be a reason to deplane, I would surely die. The issue was her body heat and sweat. My clothes were wet from the contact. I had a scarf with me so I draped it over my head and tried to meditate. The smell was quite pungent. Apparently, AA only ejects African American/Black passengers for alleged body odor. I paid for my seat space. There is a “right to the quiet enjoyment of the premises” law for rentals.

4. Writing to the DOT is a waste of time — that will only result in a form letter sent from their CR department with a lot of blather that doesn’t even address your complaint — (is their CR Dept now just robots using ChatGPT?).

   When I worked for United and a “person of size” was taking up two seats we would solicit a volunteer to yield their seat in exchange for a “Switch in Time” ticket. It cost little, everyone was happy, and the flight will have left on time. But AAL is not known for civilised behaviour and since this was policy 40 years ago probably not to-day’s UAL either.

5. At least American has a clear policy, even if it isn’t uniformly enforced.

   Delta tries having it both ways with obese passengers. Delta says they don’t require a fat passenger to book two seats but if you occupy two seats they reserve the right to charge you for the second.

   https://pro.delta.com/content/agency/us/en/products-and-services/special-services/extra-seat—personal-comfort-.html

6. The real issue is that gate agents look the other way and pretend they don’t see it so they don’t have to deal with it and instead have YOU deal with it. Because now if you call morbidly obese people fat then you’re fat shaming. I’d be flying off the handle if that happened to me. Either lose weight or buy two seats. People who only eat normal portions don’t need to deal with your bullshit.

7. The arm rest must go down. Period.

8. Did the passenger complain? How would anyone know he was uncomfortable if he didn’t complain? He doesn’t need compensation because it sounds like he was perfectly fine to sit thereunder wanted to sit there to play victim. I wish we didn’t live in a society where everyone was looking for a pay day.

9. All persons 275 pounds and more should be made to sit in the cargo area.

10. Thanks for printing the American Airlines policy document, Gary !!! Not sure where or how you got it, but it’s now on my iPhone so that I can speak with the Gate Agent or FA if this happens to me on a future flight. As with virtually all issues, this should always be addressed between the aggrieved pax and AA, and not with the other pax.

11. 100% the armrest goes DOWN and stays DOWN for the entire flight. If they still continue to “touch” me, I advise them that they are touching me without my permission and will take any further contact as assault. Then I call on the crew, pilot, etc and whatever else it takes to enforce my rights, including the right not to be assaulted by another passenger on their flight. If they throw me off the flight so be it, because I will be 110% polite but firm the whole time, and of course will be recording the entire episode as evidence for both media shaming and a potential lawsuit.

12. I guess it’s on us to create a fuss and delay the flight. Refuse to sit down and stand in the aisle.

13. First let’s call a spade a spade. They are not “people of size” they are fat, and obviously too big for one seat.

    I have been on a flight where a fat (pre boarded of course) person sat in half my seat. I refused to sit as there was no room for me. It caused a queue in the aisle, so the FA had to intervene, fat person was removed, (Full flight) for not booking two seats when needed.

14. This happened to me on American Airlines from Vegas to Charlotte February 10. He sat in the middle seat morbidly obese couldn’t put the arm rest down. Squished me out a half my seat and I was leaning into the aisle and I got hit by the flight attendant cart a couple times , with a 4 1/2 hour flight. Then he chose to sleep with his mouth open and it was as if an animal had died inside of his body. The smell was so bad. I should’ve spoken up, but I didn’t wanna cause a scene. I just wanted to get home..

15. A small teenager sat next to me on my last flight, proceeded to get out her crochet project and elbowed me repeatedly the entire 2:50 flight. I don’t call the FA or complain to the airline. It just takes tolerance – and LESS DRAMA! Recording bad behavior and posting it – is BAD BEHAVIOR – STOP this! I have a 50” chest and a 30” waist and I am very willing to purchase a second seat, but I’m inhibited by policies; where the second seat can’t be bought as the same price.

16. This happened to me years ago on a UA regional jet from Rochester to ORD. The missing link had the aisle seat and his fatness was such that I sat next to and behind him!
    Plus, the wife beater, combined with massive amounts of body hair, sweat and a VERY hot cabin made the flight truly “memorable!”

    I have never worn a short sleeve shirt on a flight since this unpleasant incident.

    In addition, I am NOT trading seats with you so your child etc. can sit next to you or like kind bovine residue.

    Buy your seats together. If you cannot afford to do so, take AMTRAK.

17. Reminds me of the time I was stuck between two obese people in the middle seat of the last row of a Delta MD80. No windows on that row as well. Fortunately, it was a relatively short hop from CVG to ATL. This was 20 years ago, I was young and quite new to the world of constant business travel, so stayed quiet.

18. You think obese seatmates on the flight are a problem? What about drunk lechers that deservingly get American Airlines sued for sexual harassment and sexual assault of a female passenger on the plane?

    https://us.yahoo.com/news/woman-sues-american-airlines-over-100000800.html

    For what it’s worth, I have seen just as awful behavior on board SAS flights to the US, but in those cases it has typically been American men in the energy industry coming back from Norway.

19. So, I guess, Size Matters.

20. I had a situation sitting next to a large person where the first thing he said this isn’t going to work as he lifted the arm rest. He took about half my seat. Luckily it was short flight so I stood in the galley and told the fa’s my situation. I squeezed in during landing but it was a miserable flight.

21. The armrest should go down and stay down. It is usually required to be down for takeoff and for landing. Nobody said whether the middle passenger had bought an extra seat which was taken away by the gate agent to get more people in the airplane. The fine print allows this when you buy an extra seat for comfort. The ticket price for that seat is returned later but that doesn’t solve the comfort problem. Part of the problem is that American Airlines has some very narrow seats on some airplanes. The person complaining doesn’t help their case by stating that over half of their seat was taken. Even with 18 inch wide seats that would leave less than 9 inches which only a small child would sit in. So that person’s story has exaggeration in it to gild the lily, so to say.

22. No way I’m getting squished by a fat person invading my seat. If AA will not give me a full seat then I’m deplaning (after politely complaining to crew incl pilot) and taking another flight. This nearly happened to me on a Jetblue flight ten years ago. Fortunately someone failed to show up for the full flight and I took their seat.

23. I am not a frequent flyer but I recall one flight. I was in the middle seat and a very tall gentlemen was in the aisle seat next to me. He placed personal items under the seat on front of him and then moved his feet under the seat on front ME! I told him he was in my space but he told me he had no where else to put his legs. I told him not my problem and he spent the flight with his knees in his chest. Hold your ground. You are not required to sacrifice your comfort for a stranger.

24. You know it’s so funny that the only airline I ever had trouble with was American. They are the rudest and the worst airline to deal with. Flying back from Australia, a friends tv screen didn’t work. The old grumpy flight attendant checked it and then replied “yeah it doesn’t work. Sorry.” Then walked away. Now the old female flight attendant let some stinky young guy with unbelievable BO take the seats in front of us. We paid extra for our seats and that whole flight back my friend had no tv and his friends, also really stinky, came up to sit in front of us. And no they were not dark skinned color but they were young and I guess the older than Moses flight attendant liked that. One of them even took their shoes off and I thought someone had puked everywhere. It was totally disgusted. I complained and was belittled by the old flight attendants for the rest of the flight. I no longer use my AA credit card and got a Delta credit card. The professionalism they have shown makes me fly Delta. American is the worst!

25. You people complain too much. What do you want, let’s jail fat people? I bet most of you all are plenty fat yourselves.

26. Lots of hateful comments here. When did we get so entitled and nasty? People enjoy drama, obviously.

27. Well now that AA thinks they can board with onky 1 gate agent required: THAT’S THE PROBLEM. No one wants to be filmed and yelled at and get a group of people upset with them. There should be 2 there at least to ask the others opinion and to back up the agent. Obese and Morbidly Obese people who in fact “spill over” into someones area should be required to buy additional space. Period. THEY made themselves bigger. Body Positivity and all this “big boned DNA” crap is over. Be an adult and stop blaming/making everyone suffer for your actions, actions that have consequences.

28. This is most definitely a safety issue which should be addressed by the Airline staff. If the event of an emergency landing serious injury could be caused to both passengers on either side of this man. I was once on a flight from San Diego to Chicago and seated next to a huge man in the middle seat. I was on the aisle and was pressed against the armrest for the entire flight. I ended up with bruises all up and down my right side as I could not move. Thank heaven there was no emergency landing there.

29. @texastj we can’t post URLs on this platform however this is the page with the fat policy, copypasta to google and in place of the spaces type a backslash

    /

    and at the end add

    .jsp

    i18n travel-info special-assistance special-assistance

30. If somebody spills into my seat that’s an IDB situation unless rectified immediately. That will delay the flight but not my problem. And I will take photos.

31. This happened to me last night. I was on an Alaska flight from Seattle to Denver. I was the window seat in their premium section but row 6 which has fixed arm rests with tables on the side due to the seats ahead being first class.

    The obese gentleman who sat down, sat as if he was on a recliner…back on the chair and his giant arms hanging well over the arm rests. I ended up either leaning on the wall or forward to avoid sticking to him. To top it off the plane was hot.

32. Other than small island countries in Polynesia, guess which country has the highest obesity rate?

    Turns out it’s Kuwait. But we’re next…second fattest country outside of the south Pacific.

    “Fat drunk and stupid is no way to go though life son”…Dean Vernon Wormer, Animal House.

    Oh one other teensy detail…guess which states are the fattest? Yep, the same geniuses who vote for Trump

33. notice the fat policy says TRAVEL SAFELY

    it says forkall about traveling within the confines of the purchased space, making other passengers experience living hell if they attempt to use the space they purchased next to you, or RE-ACCOMODATION of the passengers facing assault by you for the entire flight due to your failure to deal with your personal situation in advance

    in other words, the policy is useless and as stated above your only recourse is to disrupt D0

    turn your camera on, ring the call button, and point the camera at your seat

    do not capture the face of the whale

    when the fa arrives, state for the record you are recording but are not capturing faces or names, only the conversation and proof of the inability to travel safely

    YOU can’t travel safely as you had scoliosis in childhood and must sit upright with your shoulders square to the seat and therefore you request american follow it’s own policy, which gary cites above, which you carry on a card in your wallet so you do not have to disrupt the recording of the conversation to locate, and which you then read to the FA

    do not address the whale

34. commercial air travel is personal hand-to-hand combat

    everyone for themselves

35. I’m technically obese I think 30+ lbs over weight, I can barely fit comfortably in my regular cheap seat under 200 lbs’ish, how in the world is someone 275lbs 6’ tall or Disney world scooter type fat fit?!? 2 seats in exit row or not flying, it’s that simple

    My friend buys suits and slacks at big & tall places because of his size, he regularly pays 2x more for everything on average, can’t squeeze a big guy in a regular seat, it’s torture, like regular people in kid size play sets, Plan B is doing a 1 way car rental for emergency (I need to get there parents are sick in Florida)

36. I have long had people spillover into my seats when flying domestically. Part and parcel of the chronic obesity epidemic in the country is that those of us flyers on the healthier side of the spectrum end up paying the price for the overall health situation of others anyway. One of those ways we pay is with people spilling over into other people’s seats.

37. He should have just cuddled with the plump and made the best of the situation.

38. I had this on Iberia the other day in business. The man next to me was so large that his body spilled over into my seat and over the armrest. When the flight attendants began their on board service, I had to move his body out of the way to get my tray table. He didn’t even bother moving and just looked down at me. It was an absolutely horrible flight.

39. Let’s put this in perspective of the ground crew and cabin crew.
    There is extraordinary pressure to get everyone on board as quickly as possible. Do you really want to be “that guy” and stop an obese passenger? Or would you rather just let this be self-regulating among passengers? After all, what are you going to do?

    I recently had the misfortune of an adjacent passenger taking up about one-third of my seat. She was a “passenger of size” with an exceptional amount of hand luggage (on her lap during takeoff.) What was I going to do? It was a two-hour flight. It was uncomfortable. But what would I do? Should I ring the call button and ask that the woman next to me lose weight? Delay the flight? Shame her for her hand baggage? No. I put on my noise-cancelling headsets and tried to think of happier times. I also planned how to get out in the event of an emergency. It’s like a crowded underground/subway in the summer: what are you going to do?

    As for animals. I have a service dog. I do ensure that he fits exactly in front of the seat, and I often pay for extra legroom or a premium cabin. Since the airlines make too much money selling extra legroom, there is no way they will ever “comp” that for people with disabilities. Remember, people with disabilities (rightfully) cannot sit in exit rows. Being disabled sucks; I do not like paying more, but I take enough sneers for travelling while disabled. I get to be sick and judged for it; it’s not a privilege.

    What are the long-term answers?
    1. Evacuation testing. The airlines and A4A will complain bitterly, but it’s time. The evacuation tests were conducted with university students decades ago. More people have the ability to fly, which is fantastic. It is exciting to know that people with illnesses and disabilities can travel independently. But can we evacuate in 90 seconds with half of the exits blocked?

    2. Obesity treatment. The obesity epidemic is changing. Amid cost and controversy, we now have highly-effective medications for obesity. Likewise, bariatric surgery has become quicker, safer, and less expensive. We can now (finally) treat obesity as a treatable disease.

    3. Better access to premium economy and premium cabins. With a shift toward higher-revenue leisure passengers, premium economy and discounted business class have become more common. This isn’t always financially viable, but passengers can now explore more options to fly with extra space. It is imperfect, sometimes too expensive, but more airlines offer these options.

40. If they ejected the passenger it would have delayed the flight. The gate agent would be punished for impacting American on time metrics. It was better for the gate agent’s career to look the other way.

41. There are so many people who are scared to death of the entitled mentality of many other people. Here’s the size of the seat. You must fit in that seat and not encroach on other seats. Thus, if you can’t fit in the one seat, YOU MUST BUY A SECOND SEAT period. This is not “fat shaming” (I love that phrase..it’s so “woke”), it is a fact. With this constant barrage of lawsuits, “Tok Tic” (sic), “Face Crook” (sic), “Instant Crap” (sic) and the like, the flight crews, cabin crews and customer service agents are scared to speak up for fear of reprisal. The airlines could put this “fit in the seat” requirement in the contract of carriage but the DOT & FAA won’t allow or do anything because the ACLU and the DOJ will sue. It is a vicious circle created by the woke mentality. “What’s mine is mine. What’s yours is mine, too or I’ll sue!”

42. I am obese and don’t travel much. (Long story about how I ended up at this site.) I have no idea if I would overfill a seat or not. I’ll bet many obese people don’t since a lot of us don’t want to subject ourselves to the kind of humiliation that fills this comment section. And the new obesity treatments don’t work for everyone and many can’t afford it. I routinely paid $1k while I tried it.

    You have to suffer for a couple hours, I have to deal with it every day.

43. flying stopped being fun when I started having to do it … I had the window, he had to have been a former NFL lineman, huge man, 300+, middle seat, boarded at DFW with the biggest bbq sandwich I’ve ever seen, lots of real onions, recently-fried potatoes, (enjoy the smells) finished that, pulled out a big red plastic, the spit cup for his chew-tobacco. Now. Do you think I was gonna tell him I was uncomfortable?

44. This is totally the fault and responsibility of the airlines who fight any regulation the eats into their profits. They are guilty of selling the same space to a person of wants to recline their seat as the person behind who doesn’t want to be squeezed. In this case they sell your space to you and the large person who invades your space. Only answer IMHO is to attack the airlines to address THEIR problem.

45. Having spent many years FWF (flying while fat), I was very much aware of policies and booked with SW as much as possible. Otherwise, I was always booking an aisle so that once we took off, I could raise the outer armrest and use the aisle space a bit. The fact is that most Americans are too big for airplane seats. Full stop. However, nobody is too big to have some awareness and decency to not inconvenience others. It’s really not that hard. Happily, I’ve since lost weight and flying is a MUCH better experience now… As is pretty much everything. The comments here are pretty hateful. It’s up to everyone to either accommodate or speak up. Posting rancor online is pointless.

46. They should have just exchanged seats. So the obese person would have been in the aisle seat. If the obese person purchased an extra seat, then there should have been more than enough room. I can probably guarantee the complainer will get nothing from AA.

47. Did the passenger who complained have status with American?
    I’ve experienced the same exact situation, luckily it was only an hour flight but I complained and AA gave be a ton of points. I’m an EXP so that may have factored into it.

48. I flew AA from Ontario, CA to san Antonio, TX with a 40 minutes layover in Dallas. Upon arriving to Dallas I was informed by email that my flight to San Antonio had been canceled due to “adverse weather” which i know is not true because the flight attendants mentioned that our flight was canceled due to the crew calling out, and there was a flight leaving to San Antonio shortly after i arrived but this flight could only accommodate myself or my husband. AA then booked us on a flight that was due to depart the next night at 630 pm. Seeing how AA was not going to help get me to my destination I was compelled to rent a vehicle and drive 5 hrs to San Antonio. My luggage was transported to San Antonio airport forcing me to go get it, after they didn’t hold their end of the travel itinerary. Now, AA doesn’t want to refund me for canceling my flight nor do they want to reimburse me for the car rental. Does anyone know how I can get them to pay for my expenses?

49. Morbidly obese people need purchase an extra seat or take the cattle car.

    I tried to avoid flying any US airline if I can avoid it.

    The armrest goes down!

50. Is it too much to expect the airlines to provide seats big enough for humans? Legroom is nice, but the width could be much better. Then we wouldn’t have to fight over armrests.

51. Just address the “”Real” problem.
    Greedy airlines shrink seat size for profit.

52. Airlines should use a similar system as they do for carry on bags – an aluminum ‘rack’ in the boarding area in which your bag must fit. If it doesn’t, it goes in the cargo hold.

    Same thing could be done with a seat. Put an aluminum cage in the boarding area. If an individual can’t fit in it, and fasten their seat belt, they can buy a second seat, go in the cargo hold, charter a jet, buy a bus ticket, rent a car or stay home.

    It’s not my problem that they have issues with their diet, exercise regimen or hormonal balances. It’s theirs. If they’re ashamed by their weight, they should be.

53. The armrest goes down all the way, if you spill over into my seat, someone is gonna move and go sit somewhere else. Its not my fault you are fat, if you cant control your eating habits, buy two seats. I don’t wanna hear about how your fat cause your thyroid doesn’t work. Your fat cause you eat too much, period. So be considerate of others, eat all you want, just don’t let it effect other people. I had this happen to me one time, got stuck in the middle, obese passenger next to me was taking up more than 1/3 of my seat. I left and took a later flight. I’m not subjecting myself to being uncomfortable for hours. Yeah, I know people here will call me an An-$ole but I paid for a seat, not 1/2 a seat, not 2/3 of a seat, the whole seat, I also take care of my health. I also just got up and spoke to the flight attendant away from the passenger, explained the situation and grabbed my things and left when there were no other seats. Actually haven’t flown economy in years and always use miles to fly upfront so i don’t have this issue.

54. If your carry-on doesn’t fit in the sizer, they take it. The same should be true if you don’t fit in the seat.
    Being fat is not a disability – it’s a lifestyle choice. Your poor decisions shouldn’t affect me or other humans. Stop shoving fast food, Doritos and ice cream down your pie hole. Take a walk instead of riding in a cart.
    The other issue that compound this situation is that half the gate agents are ridiculously overweight. Especially in the South.
    The major issue that no one addresses is safety. If there was an emergency and it became necessary to egress the aircraft through the emergency exit, these people would either become stuck or fall on someone. The end result is mayhem and a poor outcome.

    Perhaps they should have a fat section on the plane – fat people make other fat people miserable instead of those who actually take their health and size seriously. You get NO sympathy from me if you allow yourself to get to the point that you can’t even fit in a chair and feel entitled to the point that you make other’s lives miserable.

55. Disrupt D0. We have no choice. The FA that catches the demerits can have their union use your video which documented the situation in their hearings with management if they choose.

    Remember, the CoC only guarantees _travel_ per the PDX lawyer’s litigation. We are not entitled to the seat we purchased, but we ARE entitled to TRAVEL SAFELY.

    To the FA and the GA who will catch demerits for breaking D0, just tell them it’s not about them and it’s not personal and record that on video. Have a card in your wallet with your personal email on it and hand that to the FA or GA when you offer to make your video available for their own use if needed.

56. I just refuse to raise the armrest and it becomes their problem. Claim social anxiety and respectfully decline.

57. Thank you @Hagbard Celine !!!

58. I just got back from Walt Disney World in Florida and noted the surprising population of morbidly obese people waddling around the parks. Most rides with two ignore the issue, but some like the Pirates and the Small World with boats in shallow waterways are an issue. One had a massive person in the back who insisted on seating to the outside and had the boat dangerously tilted.

    I hate discriminating against folks because of physical characteristics, but on an aircraft with today’s seating designed for 120 pound passengers it is time to give flight attendants the power to demand dual seats for chronically obese passengers or (as the rule states) wait for a less full flight.

59. Always choose an aisle seat. If you do get stuck next to a spillover seatmate, it is a little better.

60. You are allowed to carry an aluminum clipboard. They are cheap and light, go right in your carry-on, and are perfect for this situation.

    Put the arm rest down and put the clipboard up against it on your side, vertically sticking up past the arm rest. It blocks them from spilling into your space both above and below the arm rest.

    If the other person complains, the FA won’t do a thing – it’s on your side, in your space. You lose access to the arm rest, but you weren’t going to be able to use it anyway.

61. Unless and until airlines get sued and have to pay up big bucks in damages for a passenger being squeezed by oversized seatmates to such extent that it results in documented physical harm, the airlines will dump this problem onto customers and disempowered employees who are empowered to punish customers but not empowered to go out of their way and above and beyond in delivering for wronged customers.

    And the airlines are a major contributor to this problem since they have squeezed in the seats to maximize the number of passengers per plane and flight attendant.

62. I experienced AA Indifference to customers’ right to adequate seat space when my economy seat became a nightmare when the passive-aggressive, small stature male in the seat ahead reclined his seat against the knees of my 6’3″ frame. I looked across the aisle where passengers seemed to have a normal pitch. I asked a cabin attendant to move us or help get the stubborn passenger ahead to not recline fully. He refused, and the attendant said that was his “right” and she had no other seats available. She became hostile to my complaint about my equivalent right to comfort. I endured hours of sitting spread-legged or with knees pressing firmly into the setback cushion below the table to “share” my knee discomfort and his back discomfort. Upon declining, I did a quick check of the pitch between our D-F seats and the A-C seats opposite – the latter had 4″ (!) more space, contrary to the attendants assertion that all rows are equal. Those four “missing” inches likely continued to plague these seats with unequal space until AA made a correction and squished the opposing seats to match. Because this is what AA is.

63. Get used to this. Like in Russia in 1917 they came to people properties and asked to share, we see similar tendency here. Soon big brother will ask to share your property with less fortunate. Thank you, progressives!

64. Overweight/oversized people should always be charged for a second seat. Regular people already suffer enough the consequences of the morbidly obese epidemic we experience in the U.S due to the rising costs of healthcare.

65. For years on every airline I have traveled if a large person has his flesh and body into my seat I have written and requested airline points and never been denied. I’m not talking about touching but really occupying my seat space.Whether I’m in middle or on aisle or window. The large person next to me often called obese is a pandemic now. Let that person buy two seats for him or herself and not abuse me or my allotted seat space. Not perfect solution but at least some milage.maybe 10,000 per incident.

66. By their own regulators and by the rulings of mandatory arbitrators, airlines are systematically given “get of jail free cards”. For strange reasons, industry standards, laws, and contract language don’t apply. It’s bizarre.

67. Safety issues should take the forefront (and there are many!), and that would take care of many of the seat adjacency problems. Is the person able to go down the slide? Will they collapse it and put many other people in jeopardy? Will they block the isle because they are not ambulatory, and further imperial others? Are they able to get through an emergency exit door? These factors should be the governing parameters as to whether they should be allowed to fly.

68. When two morbidly obese passengers sit across the aisle from each other in the coach section of the plane, it becomes difficult for flight attendants to maneuver a beverage cart down the aisle. Accordingly, do the flight attendants have the authority to suspend their beverage service to the coach cabin in consideration of passenger safety?

69. Flight attendants do sometimes stop beverage service in the cabins in consideration of safety or security concerns for passengers and/or themselves.

70. The airlines do provide seats big enough for humans. It is called First Class or, for international, business. The thing that drove me to desert flying economy after doing a fair amount of it for work was not really to get a better seat, service or food (though I have grown to appreciate those), but the belligerent drunks, oversized people, smelly people and people complaining about reclining (on overnight flights!) that kept making economy awful. I know it can happen, but I’ve never had a bad experience in F or J. Every bad experience I had in economy was due to another passenger.

71. It amazes me how some hate Southwest’s “sit anywhere” policy – this allows you to find a better seat if needed or as appropriate. It is too bad that bad behavior (fake preboards, seat savers) is turning their policy into a frustrating situation, but I love it! Otherwise, with assigned seats, you have no choice of seat mates. Bad BO? Can’t move. Spillover mass? Can’t move. Squirmy, crying kids? So sorry….but on Southwest, such things are more in your control.

72. I pay for my whole seat, not to be assaulted for profit. I have learned to stand up, literally, and politely say you don’t feel safe sitting in your seat next to the passenger for egress concerns in an emergency. I sit once the issue is resolved.

73. I’m surprised no one wrote that this is a Liberal problem caused by welfare and the 2,000,000 illegals who cross the border every hour. We should allow guns on planes to to manage this catastrophy. Maybe Dumpy will ban them.

74. @Bob Eubanks

    That is brilliant! I was trying to think of something like that, aluminum clipboard it is!

75. Stop blaming the flight attendants for every problem American has!

76. The comments on this post are either overly cruel or inappropriately political. Good times!

77. The Woke management would have suspended the crew for kicking the obese passenger off the plane, not unlike the flight crew who were suspended for removing passengers who chose not to take a bath before boarding. Shame on AA.

78. This shouldn’t be complicated

    Just like baggage policies that require you to purchase the space and weight you need to accommodate your luggage

    If you need more than 1 seat to accommodate yourself then you should be required to purchase the additional seating space needed

79. This is why I usually book an exit row seat. They cost more, the seats don’t recline and if a person can’t fit in their seat and comfortably buckle their seatbelt, I’ve seen flight attendants offer to move the person. The rule is you have to be ready, willing, and able to assist in case of an emergency. 2nd option in a post Covid world is to get a violent coughing fit or sneeze a ton. If the obese person next to you asks you to stop, say once they get out of your seat space.

80. If you are super-sized it is your responsibility to purchase two or more seats.
    Respect yourself and other people, don’t insist your seat mate suffer on your behalf.
    BONUSES: As a super-sized person you will be more comfortable with the extra space on your flight and have the satisfaction that you have done the right thing.

81. While he does take the opposing view from time to time, I’m really tired of Gary being a Kevin shilling for airlines who have reduced seat sizes and legroom and comfort for Coach passengers.

    He won’t say a thing about peasants in Coach being crammed in like sardines (except to fat-shame in these articles), but god forbid an airline strip a business class passenger of their entitlement of one snack sized Lay’s potato chip bag or change their 20 ounce Aquafina water to a (*gasp*) 16.9 ounce Nestlé water!

    Fat-shaming isn’t the answer, Gary.

82. I had this happen recently, and learned some important things:
    * Insist on a fix BEFORE departure. Be ready to take a later flight. FAs and gate agents do tend to be sympathetic to these situations and will help you.
    * Argue the underlying issue: It’s not a comfort issue, its a safety issue. Not getting your full seat can wreck your back, etc. And importantly, if there is a problem and immediate egress from the plane is required, this situation can hinder that in unacceptable ways.
    * Why the other person is larger is not for you to judge, it just is the circumstance of the moment. Keep any such opinions to yourself, it won’t help the situation and just makes you look ignorant and bereft of empathy.

83. Ticket charged by the weight of the person.

84. Even among airline passengers in the US, there may be a negative correlation between obesity and income level. [Sort of like how the local Walmarts seem to have fatter drivers coming out of the parking lots than the local Targets.]. And so obese people may actually have relatively less means to pay for additional space on a plane than people who eat healthier, work out better, and have a better genetic/epigenetic profile vis-a-vis obesity potential.

85. Señor Leff isn’t fat-shaming passengers by covering this topic. He has been a consistent critic of the shrinking plane lavatories which even adversely impact the lithe “hotties” on who knows whose Instagram feeds. And there is no getting around the fact that the airlines have been cramming us in like sardines into smaller and smaller seats and with less and less room between the rows applicable to the plurality of passengers.

    The airlines ought to be ashamed of themselves. And so should the government regulators who have allowed and even encouraged so much cramming that it poses an increased safety and security risk to passengers and crew.

86. My husband and I purchased the middle seat on a South West, to avoid putting someone in this position (and the possible bad looks, or sneers from other passengers). It was a a full flight and were told we had to give it up even though we had paid for it! The flight attendant was very loud and humiliating in her insistence. We did and were given a refund. A humiliating experience.

87. SWA screwed me good with a professional obese traveler. Here’s the horror story…

    1) I’m sitting aisle early (boarded ligit with my young kids and wife) across from fam.
    2) flight starts to fill, only a few empty middle left
    3) FA comes walking down aisle on walkie-talkie, looks toward me, and says “Row X might work”. Uh-oh.
    4) Blobzilla comes thundering down the aisle, and I realize I’m now the mark.
    5) Blobzilla executes a PRO-MOVE! As it takes the middle IT FLIPS THE ARM REST UP in a quick done-this-before motion, and by the time I’m looking back down, half my seat has disappeared!
    6) By this time, all the other seats are now occupied by the remaining normal-sized passengers, and I’m pushed hard against the aisle arm-rest with my wife watching in horror.
    7) Not even a courtesy, “sorry” by Blobzilla, as it just sits there entitled to 1.5 seats.

    So, if you fly SWA, and are skinny, the FAs may conspire to screw you rather than make the passenger fly using two official seats, and if the flight is full, you got caught playing musical chairs when the music stopped (and yeah, I could have asked for another flight, but that would have inconvenienced the rest of my family as well, so I took it like a man to keep our vacation on track).

    To this day I’ve learned one valuable lession– if flying SWA solo and the flight is going to be completely full, I would rather lock in my row by taking a middle seat near two people near the front who seem normal, than getting an aisle or window and not knowing who is going to be thumping down the aisle. Everytime I’ve quickly explained this to the two other people wondering why I’m so eager to take a middle, they laugh and say smart idea.

88. This has happened to me 3 times this year alone. Most recently was the worst. DFW-SEA. Last person on the plane, and the middle seat in my row is the only seat open. 3 workers to get her and her belongings on the plane. One to pull the wheelchair down the aisle, one to carry her bags and the third-I kid you not- to carry her Big Gulp and twp breakfast burritos. Without blinking, the gate agent lifted both armrests and it took him and the other guy on the wheelchair to get her into the seat. She was taking up at least a third of my seat. She ‘suggested’ I take the middle so I ‘would be more comfortable’. I had to raise the aisle armrest just so that I could fit in my seat. The uncomfortable irony is the same gate agent that helped load this woman on the plane was being strict with the bag sizer. I didn’t bother contacting AA this time as the previous two times got me nowhere.

89. Its truly disturbing prices and redemption are at an all time high
    Lavatories are painful for tall and size challenged folks
    Seats are cramped and the planes far less safe than years ago thank to Boingggg Aircraft issues
    I think southwest has it right don’t they require two seats for persons of size?
    Myself other than short haul business I’ve stopped traveling
    When I do I am using Int programs as American Untied and Delta have all basically priced their redemption’s similarly exorbitantly making their programs and currencies undesirable
    I’m sitting n the sidelines but not willing to redeem 50,000 miles one way for a coach ticket for an hour flight.Hard pass.They have killed their golden goose
    Good luck to them

90. Here is one thing many of you are missing; flight attendants do not begin getting paid until the door of the aircraft closes (look it up). That’s likely why they don’t give a crap about your seat issues during embarkation.

91. Pax is absolutely entitled compensation, airline is vexaciouslsy .failing to provide the carriage contracted for, and will be making this passenger whole. The fat bastard needs a universal ban until they buy an appropriate amount of capacity to handle the load they have presented. And double shame on the gate crew that failed to catch and correct this overloaded. Simply resolving the issue when first discovered before boarding would have allowed for pleasant safe and enjoyable travel. Fliers either fit in the one seat size gauge, or they need to find a cargo airline. Same with the generously proportioned body positivity advocates calling for entire complimentary rows when their posteriors exceed the capacity of a single seat.

92. I am in the airline business. Of course an obese person should purchase 2 seats and can legally be required to do so.
    No one has the balls to force this issue for fear of lawsuits. Obese people know they will be accommodated . It is definitely out of control!

93. If you are obesely overweight and spill into the next seat you are a safety hazard to yourself and everyone else on the plane if there is an emergency that requires immediate evacuation or if you need to be carried off the plane for a medical emergency. There should be a weight/size restriction for seating on a plane. Some obese, business savvy person should start an airline specifically for overweight people.

94. Attention Large travelers! Southwest will give you a second seat for free!
    All you have to do is ask for one at the help desk near baggage check AT LEAST 1 HOUR BEFORE DEPARTURE TIME. Did I mention it’s free? And you get to preboard so that you can select your seat and get your belt extender before the general boarding – so that you can block the seat next to you. It’s so easy and civil. I only fly SWA domestically!

95. For all the complaining about Southwest open seating, you can select another seat if you notice a POS is seated already.

96. The aggrieved passenger approached this in the wrong manner.

    The arm rest should have come down. If it cant come down and the oversize passenger cannot fit in their ticketed seat, that’s the oversize passenger’s problem to overcome.

    They should have bought two seats in advance. As an overweight person and formerly VERY overweight person I can promise you this overweight passenger wasnt oblivious to the idea they were going to spill over into someone else’s ticketed space. They knew when they bought their single ticket they were going to have this problem. Nobody gets to that situation quickly.

    I used to ticket two seats for this reason. I struggled with weight for decades I flew for work, regularly. I paid what was needed so I did not adversely affect those flying with me, including strangers. On the off occasions I got stuck in the middle seat with a single ticket, I rode with both armrests down and usually with my hands hanging on the seat back in front of me so my arms weren’t invading the seatmates space.

    The passenger who is complaining had EVERY right to insist on the armrest being down. No exceptions and no excuses. The fact the oversize passenger wouldn’t have fit would then become the AIRLINE’s problem to solve.

97. @x-red: Progressivism has nothing to do with obesity nor spilling over. As a general rule, many of the MAGA flat-earthers I see on TV and YouTube are overweight, out of shape, and unconcerned with health. Like their mysogynist leader.

98. Jim, did you ever fly in the 60s or 70s? The seat width on a 737 has never been wider in coach. A 320 has wider seats. The only case of seats getting more narrow was when 777s went from 3-3-3 in coach to 3-4-3. Legroom? A reasonable question.

99. Chris Hugo, the person in front has the right to fully recline and you don’t have the right to take it away. You are just likevthe obese passenger, wanting to take away another’s space.

100. @Bad Take. Other than a 777 moving from 3-3-3 to 3-4-3 (while the interior width has become wider), name a single case of seats becoming more narrow? Has a 737 seat been wider in the past in coach? A MD80/717? The 320 has wider seats than a 737. Why do people want to spread the myth coach seats have become more narrow?

101. Never have a read so many hateful comments on this topic. Both issues regarding the large passenger and the one who’s space was violated are truly important but calling people names such as “blob zilla” or getting angry over a passenger that was disabled is something we did in the 2nd grade. I am condoning the overweight passenger’s behavior or life style but lets be ADULTS and refrain from personal or childish comments. Also political party has nothing to do with this situation and to be honest there are plenty ” LARGE MARGE’ Trump supporters.

102. Addressing Jim… airlines may have reduced pitch (legroom) but they have not reduced the width of seats… doing so would increase the width of the aisle. Has anyone noticed that?

103. This happens to me on every other United flight! I usually am in the Exit Row, and United allows this to happen constantly. I have actually ended you with bruises from having a POS (passenger of size) press me so hard against the wall. Something needs to be done, but it never will.

104. @Jim – Seats have gotten shorter (pitch) but not narrower.
     Americans have however gotten much fatter.

105. I was seated on a Delta flight and comfort plus. The same thing happened to me. The day after I got off the plane I had bruises down the right side of my leg where I’ve been shoved up against the window and armrest.
     Now, I am not a small person by any means but I fit in my seat. The woman on the other side of this passenger was about my size. It was a nightmare. The airline attendance wouldn’t even look at us in the row, despite trying to get their attention. Behind us at three rows, there was someone sitting in a row of three and they were the only passenger there. They could easily have moved one of us to that row and given this gentleman more room as well as us the room that we paid for.
     I contacted Delta complaining about this and just asking that I be compensated for the cost of the upgrade to comfort Plus. I explained that they had an opportunity to move one of us to the other location having noted the situation we were in. I thought this might be a learning point for them. Instead, they wrote back and said I was entitled to nothing and basically implied that I was being “sizist” – which if they saw me they would know is completely untrue. They then went on to say that I was not to contact them again about this issue – implying some kind of repercussions if I did. I haven’t flown Delta since. They used to be a terrific airline. Their bottom of the barrel now. These airlines need to get their crap together. I think the problem starts right at check-in. When they see someone like this coming, they need to know what seat they’re in and whether or not they are going to fit. If they deem that this person is not going to fit, it needs to be addressed right then and there. They need to offer an upgrade to a larger seat if it’s available they need to move them to a new seat where no one is sitting in the next seat, it needs to be taken care of at the beginning not when the person is boarding the plane. If it does get that far you know you don’t even have to address that person.

106. 100 comments on obesity and pets way to go Just tells us we need a pax sizer. Your arse needs to be less then this wide like at disney

107. Screw this. It has been going on all my adult life. I am a smaller person that avoids economy like the plague. But sometimes you cannot. Earlier this month seatmate was the amazon Brunhilda, whilst spilling over also gave me a BIG dose of her covid. Twenty days later I still can’t taste or smell anything. I have lost weight and reached such an angry state regarding individuals that choose their “freedom” of fat and virus over the rights of others. So screw you all and may your plans be derailed by your selfishness.

108. The wonderful customer service that made America great and different simply disappeared. The companies do not care about the rights of the customers and do not redirect any complaints. They solve everything with a long: “How sorry I am”….and that’s it!
     How sad it is to know that Americans have assimilated to countries where customers are more of a nuisance than a benefit. Why don’t they ask instead of sex, what is your height and weight? That way the system would take you directly to buy 2 tickets. Or not!!! That’s discrimination!. And isn’t rights not respected also discrimination?

109. Flying on any airline is to avoided at all costs. They all suck. Cust service sucks, flight attendants are miserable, and fellow passengers are mostly rude. This former frequent flyer is remaining grounded as much as is humanly possible.

110. Taking off or landing with the armrest up is not allowed. Seatbacks, tray tables and armrests must be in their locked position. The stewardesses are remiss.

111. I would much rather sit by a large person than one who smells bad. Apparently I’ve been lucky because I’ve never felt squished by someone next to me on a plane.

112. Airlines are strict about the size and dimensions of carry-ons – it must fit in the little box, why not make the fats do the same?

113. Oh, I’m with you on the support animal thing. I’m not large enough where I need 2 seats, but I am 6 foot 1 and have a bum knee that if it doesn’t get to move around and stretch every once in a while, it gets extremely sore. I had a flight to somewhere once, I think Las Vegas, and I bought and paid extra for a bulkhead seat for the extra legroom. A vet (hey, I’m a vet too) brought his service animal on board and it was a German Sheppard. This dog wanted to lay down and sit on MY feet. Look man, if you got mental issues where you need to have a dog around otherwise you might freak out, you probably shouldn’t be on an aircraft at all. Whatever your issue is, a “need” on your part does not equate to an obligation on someone else.

114. American doesn’t care what the issue is, you’re getting the canned letter.

     They just suck as a company and an airline.

115. As a large person myself I do not understand why people don’t buy a second seat to start with. I always do. It is not even really for other people, it is for me! I am much more comfortable with an open seat next to me.

116. I do feel sorry for large people on planes. I have flown hundreds of times.
     I don’t see them stretching out. But rather pulling themselves in because they know their size and space is limited.
     We have size and weight limits on bags. Why not on people?
     A person who can not reasonably fit into one seat should pay a premium and sit in two.
     The logistics might overshadow the scale of the problem. But it seems to me like a reasonable solution.

117. Wow! All the above complaints I’ve read about and the lack of help from their employees are really disgusting. I don’t remember the last time I flew with this company, but now I certainly would never fly with them. I understand that people can grow as big or small as they wish but if they can’t fit in regular size chair, they must purchase a more expensive seat or buy two seats. It seems to me that it’s time to make it “legal” for air companies to ask for passenger’s weight and size before making others to be squeezed like sardines in a can. People should take pictures and sue the air company.

118. Seems to me a quick complaint to the FAA about the seat restraints being rendered unusable due to passenger size is in order. The armrests are considered part of the restraint system and if it can’t be lowered then it may not be occupied.
     Pretty simple, really.

119. How did AA violate their rules? Their rules say that the passenger of size must book extra space. And sure, they imply that passengers are entitled to not have their space infringed upon. But they do NOT require AA to proactively identify when a passenger of size boards, let alone to ascertain whether they are seated next to a companion who is OK with that.

     The article implies that the customer didn’t complain until the flight was under way, which means the gate agents didn’t have the opportunity to solve the problem by rebooking the passenger of size in 2 seats on a later flight. I realize it’s awkward to complain in the moment, but that’s really what you have to do if you want the problem solved.

     Maybe the gate agents or flight attendants should have identified the problem on their own before departure, but that’s asking a lot.

     I suppose AA should give some retroactive compensation, but that’s hard to demand without evidence that they were at fault, and anyway it’s too late to undo the passenger’s discomfort.

120. You can send a chat to this tech guru on Telegram via @prompttechrecovery, he can help you recover your lost Bitcoin, fix your credit score and tutor you on the basis of crypto investment as an amateur investor..

121. If you can’t fit in the area provided by ONE seat you should be MADE to purchase an additional seat. Totally unfair to take what belongs to someone else.

122. The more I learn from reading and from my own experiences, the less I want to fly with American. Recently, my second flight arrived late causing us to miss our 3rd flight connection. If I had not waited in line to request help, they would have left me in the airport all night till the next flight. Even after waiting, they advised me to check in at the next destination for hotel accommodations. I asked “Can’t you do that for me now rather than I join another line at the next destination?” Luckily, the associate next to him nodded “yes.”

123. I am a frequent, global flyer. I lost weight and am still doing so. At 77 this is not easy, and I did this for my own health and happiness, but also because I DID feel that I was often imposing on others although I was still not quite into the ‘X’ category. Sitting squashed between others is embarrassing to all. Quiet elbow fights are not fun. Climbing over others to use the bathroom or stretch…ugh! The extra space by the window can often leave you freezing. So deal with your weight or, indeed, pay the price by 1) Higher fee (pay business or 1st class). 2) get two seats. 3) avoid middle seats. 4) understand how others feel, not how they should feel about you. I have not flown AA for a VERY long time and for various reasons. I also avoid ‘cheap fares’ and low-cost airlines unless I have no choice, in which care I keep my mouth shut. We just flew with, connections, two low-cost airlines and one ‘regular’ in the past 24 hours. The differences, in every way, were remarkable but, as always: you do get what you pay for….except those passengers who sit on reclining, oversize furniture at home. They have others pay for their choices. Personally, we have found the ‘old standby’ airlines to have kept their high standards: United most of all US airlines, then the classic ‘standbys’ like KLM, SAS, Lufthansa, Alitalia (Now ITA) , TAP, Swiss, Qatar, Emirates, Turkish and fortunately a long list of others. READ what you do not receive on flights any more, add up the real bill of your choices before you hit ‘pay’ and always read comments…all of them to get a fair average.

     And while I am here, for general safety a REQUEST and message to ALL airlines:
     Do Not Turn the Seatbelt Sign Off! Make it mandatory to wear them at all times except when using the facilities, just like driving laws! Nobody drives without a belt anymore and in Europe all passengeers must wear a belt as well, anywhere in the car (whether on seat 2A of 36C!). SAY it with all the announcements. Play a (funny?) video including with interviews of people who have been injured, INCLUDING attendants who have been injured or traumatized because you’re ‘allowed’ to take your seatbelt off. This is not up to the law, but to your required safety as you already have many. Protrect your passengers, the crew AND the airlines! We should NOT be allowed to ‘fly for free’! Uncomfortable? Stay home. Thank you!!