Flying while fat
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I fly a lot - rarely do I see aisle side arm rests raise up. So don't count on this.
I don't agree with raising the arm rest in between seats, unless you know the person next to you and they are ok with it. When I was 90 lbs heavier, that arm rest was the only thing keeping my big rear end in my seat.
Raising the arm rest because the seat is too small means you are giving yourself permission to "spread" into your neighbor's seat. Not cool. They paid for their seat and deserve to get their full space.
Call the airline in advance and talk to them about your concerns. You aren't the first large person to fly, and I'd bet they would appreciate you taking the effort to make sure the flight is comfortable for you and the other passengers.rainbowbow wrote: »GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »not_my_first_rodeo wrote: »I have no experience with this airline, but have flown Southwest recently at a similar weight. I agree about going for an aisle seat and trying to raise the armrest.
I don't agree with raising the armrest. That's impinging on the space of your seatmate, and that's not right. A person is not entitled to take someone else's seat space.GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »not_my_first_rodeo wrote: »I have no experience with this airline, but have flown Southwest recently at a similar weight. I agree about going for an aisle seat and trying to raise the armrest.
I don't agree with raising the armrest. That's impinging on the space of your seatmate, and that's not right. A person is not entitled to take someone else's seat space.
I think they mean the one to the aisle.
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WJS_jeepster wrote: »rainbowbow wrote: »GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »not_my_first_rodeo wrote: »I have no experience with this airline, but have flown Southwest recently at a similar weight. I agree about going for an aisle seat and trying to raise the armrest.
I don't agree with raising the armrest. That's impinging on the space of your seatmate, and that's not right. A person is not entitled to take someone else's seat space.GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »not_my_first_rodeo wrote: »I have no experience with this airline, but have flown Southwest recently at a similar weight. I agree about going for an aisle seat and trying to raise the armrest.
I don't agree with raising the armrest. That's impinging on the space of your seatmate, and that's not right. A person is not entitled to take someone else's seat space.
I think they mean the one to the aisle.
Um - you can't raise the one to the aisle, I'm pretty sure. Only the ones in between seats.
Correct. The aisle armrest and the window armrest do not raise. At least, not on any of the planes I've ever been on in my life.2 -
I've flown in coach at 20 stone so don't stress about it.0
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This is what I say...you are working on losing weight, good on you!
You are going on vacation, stop worrying. Do NOT let this derail you nor what ever happens when you get on the plane. If you need the extender well you may need it but not the next time you take a trip.
The fact that you are worried now already shows you will try to be considerate of folks sitting next to you.
Have a great trip!3 -
Wynterbourne wrote: »WJS_jeepster wrote: »rainbowbow wrote: »GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »not_my_first_rodeo wrote: »I have no experience with this airline, but have flown Southwest recently at a similar weight. I agree about going for an aisle seat and trying to raise the armrest.
I don't agree with raising the armrest. That's impinging on the space of your seatmate, and that's not right. A person is not entitled to take someone else's seat space.GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »not_my_first_rodeo wrote: »I have no experience with this airline, but have flown Southwest recently at a similar weight. I agree about going for an aisle seat and trying to raise the armrest.
I don't agree with raising the armrest. That's impinging on the space of your seatmate, and that's not right. A person is not entitled to take someone else's seat space.
I think they mean the one to the aisle.
Um - you can't raise the one to the aisle, I'm pretty sure. Only the ones in between seats.
Correct. The aisle armrest and the window armrest do not raise. At least, not on any of the planes I've ever been on in my life.
Aisle armrests usually can lift up - that helps people in wheelchairs to slide into a seat. You have to know where the catch is, they just don't lift straight up like the regular ones.
I don't think that a large person raising the aisle armrest is going to end well though - if you are spreading out into the aisle, you are going to be getting in the way of people and drinks trolleys and it would be pretty uncomfortable to get jostled all the time or whacked by the trolley.
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WJS_jeepster wrote: »rainbowbow wrote: »GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »not_my_first_rodeo wrote: »I have no experience with this airline, but have flown Southwest recently at a similar weight. I agree about going for an aisle seat and trying to raise the armrest.
I don't agree with raising the armrest. That's impinging on the space of your seatmate, and that's not right. A person is not entitled to take someone else's seat space.GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »not_my_first_rodeo wrote: »I have no experience with this airline, but have flown Southwest recently at a similar weight. I agree about going for an aisle seat and trying to raise the armrest.
I don't agree with raising the armrest. That's impinging on the space of your seatmate, and that's not right. A person is not entitled to take someone else's seat space.
I think they mean the one to the aisle.
Um - you can't raise the one to the aisle, I'm pretty sure. Only the ones in between seats.
Again, not sure about all airlines, but I have done this, most recently on a Southwest flight.0 -
This is what I say...you are working on losing weight, good on you!
You are going on vacation, stop worrying. Do NOT let this derail you nor what ever happens when you get on the plane. If you need the extender well you may need it but not the next time you take a trip.
The fact that you are worried now already shows you will try to be considerate of folks sitting next to you.
Have a great trip!
Thanks! I've lost 3 stone so far in 5 months. I guess if I'm 14 pounds lighter by the time I go I won't be worrying as much, hopefully il be fine
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Packerjohn wrote: »
The eyeroll thing wasn't needed. You say everyone working for the airline was pretty, I would assume that would also infer average weight. Flight personal need be able to move around a tight airplane cabin effectively doing their regular jobs of serving meals, etc. The really have to be able to more efficiently around the cabin in an emergency, it's really a safety issue.
I thought it was pretty unnecessary, as "*eyeroll*" is the treatment I was saying that they gave to me. I had been told to ask them for something when I arrived by their staff at the previous airport, and when I tried, the woman at the desk cut me off repeatedly to say "I can't do anything about that" in a snippy tone. I found her attitude very "unneeded".
Also, I never said anything about the weight of the flight attendants. I've flown a lot over the past ten years, and as a general rule, flight attendants have been average to slightly-above-average weight. That's pretty normal as far as I'm aware, for the sort of reasons you list. What I was commenting on was the fact that the airline's staff were all above average in conventional facial attractiveness compared to a more spread-out representation of features I've seen in staff of other airlines. It's purely conjecture, but it left me with the impression that "attractive" was more important to Icelandair than "friendly".1 -
At my highest weight (240-250) I had no problems flying, though the seat may have been a bit cramped. When my mom still travelled weighing 350 pounds, she usually bought first class tickets rather than two seats so she could be comfortable. Granted, she could afford them and not everyone can. But it made our last trip to Vegas extremely nice.0
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buffalogal42 wrote: »elisa123gal wrote: »I did a good deed last time a flew a few weeks go..and I chose to sit next to an overweight guy. I knew he was dreading the look people give... I smiled at him and happily sat next to him.
My husband is overweight.. and gets stares and huffs and puffs from people stuck sitting next to him when we fly... It is so uncomfortable for everyone.
My only suggestion is to not infringe on your neighbors space. My husband crosses his arms over his chest.
My hubby and I recently flew Icelandair from the US to London. On our return flight, they had switched the plane and we ended up in a 3-across rather than 2. We were middle and window and the aisle gentleman was extremely overweight. He apologized profusely when he sat down, at which time we said we were pleased to Meet him (having both been pretty overweight at one point in our lives, we understand the challenges).
He asked the flight attendant for a seat belt extender and she said - very loudly - "You are too fat. Come up front where I have two seats." It wasn't just so awkward for everyone. He was so nice and just said "I understand" and got up. I felt so bad ... no tact at all from the airline.
What kind of tact are you looking for? The airline gave him a free seat so that he could sit comfortably and not impinge on other passengers space. They did this for his comfort and safety and for yours. They did this solely because he was morbidly obese ... he was too fat ...you are just allowing yourself to get offended because you have decided fat is perjorative ..should attendant have said obese? This is semantic offence because in your head you are perceiving a simple and factual adjective as an insult. People are fat, people are average sized and people are thin. People are tall, short etc
I think they are a bit disturbed by how they said it, not that it was said. The airline could have said "you will likely be more comfortable up front where there are two seats, especially since the extender may not fit".2 -
What kind of tact are you looking for? The airline gave him a free seat so that he could sit comfortably and not impinge on other passengers space. They did this for his comfort and safety and for yours. They did this solely because he was morbidly obese ... he was too fat ...you are just allowing yourself to get offended because you have decided fat is perjorative ..should attendant have said obese? This is semantic offence because in your head you are perceiving a simple and factual adjective as an insult. People are fat, people are average sized and people are thin. People are tall, short etc
But we teach our children that it's rude to call attention to others in a way that causes embarrassment for them. While yelling out "That man has a funny nose!" might be true, it's going to embarrass the man being talked about for no good reason.
An adult woman working in a position that is nine-tenths customer service should know at least as much as a ten-year-old.
Call attention to someone who is morbidly obese and requires two flight seats when he perhaps should have booked two to begin with? Im pretty sure that the flight attendant didn't insult/shout out or use a simple adjective as a perjorative because the original post would have been far more clear
IMO A flight attendant offering two seats up front is hardly bad customer service.
I teach my children personal responsibility alongside good manners.
You might be right ... but the way she said it was pejorative. A simple - "we have extra space, perhaps you would be more comfortable there could have worked." He certainly would have gotten the point ... and it wasn't just me who thought it was exceptionally rude. All the passengers within earshot looked surprised.
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I bet you will be fine. I am not familiar with this airline but the last few times I flew, I had no issues and I was over 23 stones.0
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Enjoy your trip! Sounds like a nice vacation!
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Um, people? Before you crucify this flight attendant for tactlessness, you might consider that on an Icelandair flight, the flight attendants might be, um...Icelandic. And Icelandic people, while known for generally being bi- or tri-lingual, do not typically speak English as a first language. Therefore, while their English might be more than sufficient for communicating necessary info and providing the required service, they may not be 100% familiar with the nuances of the language and therefore might get tone/delivery incorrect sometimes. And if you're flying an airline not based in an English-as-a-first-language country, then IMO you have no reason to expect flawless English. Of course, usually when flight attendants work an international route there is an expectation that most or all will speak the other country's language to some degree, but perfectly? Not so much.
I know plenty of people who speak very well in their second/third/fourth languages but occasionally get stuff like this wrong (especially when you factor in different cultural norms too.) A little understanding could go both ways in this situation is all I'm saying.
(ETA: I'm also not saying that someone in customer service calling someone "fat" to their face is acceptable...but I think a little allowance should be made as it's hard to tell if that was really the intention of the attendant or it was the only way she knew to phrase what she was saying. I'm not excusing it 100% or anything, I just think there's another side to consider here and I kind of feel for her as someone who's had to work in my second and third languages as well and I'm sure offended people accidentally a few times.)
Agreed. In Thailand one meaning of fat is actually a compliment - wealthy enough to eat. Not saying it's the case here obviously but as said above switching from one language use to another can be rife with strife lol...especially when it's western clients and culture where fat is culturally and historically loaded towards the negative..ergo best not to use it, you don't know how it's going to be taken.
ETA Enjoy your trip. I'd love to go to Iceland. Isn't it the highest rated country on the happiness index?1 -
I'm reasonably certain that "fat" is not a compliment in Iceland. We're grasping at straws here to make abject rudeness ok.3
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I'm reasonably certain that "fat" is not a compliment in Iceland. We're grasping at straws here to make abject rudeness ok.
Well I'm not trying to say she may have meant it in a complimentary way either. I'm more thinking as in a translation for girth or width or mass came out as fat - (none of which I would do/use either instead preferring the more tactful suggestions others have made). My point with the complimentary in Thai language is the differences of usage and meaning which could be offensive to other countries. Sort of a separate point I suppose but one I've experienced second-hand. I would hope that part of training would invoke cultural awareness of an international clientele. Perhaps the airline hostess had a brain fart. Maybe she is just a *kitten*. Who really knows.
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