# Overweight passenger next to you on plane: Does the airline owe you a full seat? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 3, 2015, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overweight-passenger-next-to-you-on-plane-does-the-airline-owe-you-a-full-seat/733419 "2015-10-03T21:41:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2015, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overweight-passenger-next-to-you-on-plane-does-the-airline-owe-you-a-full-seat/733419/41 "2015-10-04T19:04:56Z")
Nm ---
**Author:** ![purplehearingaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@purplehearingaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehearingaid)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2015, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overweight-passenger-next-to-you-on-plane-does-the-airline-owe-you-a-full-seat/733419/42 "2015-10-04T19:16:37Z")
This might be hard to prove if you didn’t take any photos of the woman taking up 1/5 of your seat. And you said nothing about it to airline hostess so the airline could say you made no complains the whole flight so you couldn’t had been that uncomfortable . I don’t think you have a good case. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2015, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overweight-passenger-next-to-you-on-plane-does-the-airline-owe-you-a-full-seat/733419/43 "2015-10-04T19:30:16Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > How accommodating would the airline be if you were in that situation on a full flight and wanted to get bumped to the next flight ? Would they make you pay all the cancellation fees and such? I assume that standard bump rules apply - IIRC, if you go voluntarily, you get whatever they offer; if it’s involuntary, it’s $200 ($400 if you have to wait more than 2 (or is it 4?) hours) plus a free transfer. Are you ever charged for changing a flight if it’s not your choice/fault? I had a flight to Chicago delayed to the point where I missed a connection, so they let me change to a later connection for free. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2015, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overweight-passenger-next-to-you-on-plane-does-the-airline-owe-you-a-full-seat/733419/44 "2015-10-04T21:48:15Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > I assume that standard bump rules apply - IIRC, if you go voluntarily, you get whatever they offer; if it’s involuntary, it’s $200 ($400 if you have to wait more than 2 (or is it 4?) hours) plus a free transfer. > > Are you ever charged for changing a flight if it’s not your choice/fault? I had a flight to Chicago delayed to the point where I missed a connection, so they let me change to a later connection for free. I thought **filmore** was talking about bumping _yourself_ from a non-full flight. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2015, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overweight-passenger-next-to-you-on-plane-does-the-airline-owe-you-a-full-seat/733419/45 "2015-10-04T22:36:21Z")
> [@Honey](#): > > I thought **filmore** was talking about bumping _yourself_ from a non-full flight. Yeah. I was wondering if you wanted to bump yourself assuming they couldn’t find another seat on the same plane (a full flight). I could see preferring to take the next flight rather than be squished for several hours. ---
**Author:** ![Marion\_Wormer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d07c76/32.png) [@Marion\_Wormer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marion_Wormer)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2015, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overweight-passenger-next-to-you-on-plane-does-the-airline-owe-you-a-full-seat/733419/46 "2015-10-04T23:20:13Z")
I was once in the aisle seat and the man next to me was so large, my upper body stuck out into the aisle. It was so bad that when the steward brought the drinks cart down the aisle that I hand to stand up at my seat to let them get by. Next time this happens I’ll raise it as a safety of flight issue as I could not possibly attain the crash position in the event of an emergency. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2015, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overweight-passenger-next-to-you-on-plane-does-the-airline-owe-you-a-full-seat/733419/47 "2015-10-05T04:42:41Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > However, its a first world problem. It wasn’t the best four hours of my life, but it wasn’t the worst. I survived it, and didn’t get any cooties. It is first world. I’ve talked to people taking a bus in a developing country where all kinds of people and animals ride. If they cant ride they stand and if they cant fit inside they hang on the outside. And if an animal poops on you, a baby barfs on you, a woman lactates on you… oh well. I also heard some other countries airlines can be just as nutty. For example, forget “No Smoking” areas - everyone smokes on those flights. ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2015, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overweight-passenger-next-to-you-on-plane-does-the-airline-owe-you-a-full-seat/733419/48 "2015-10-05T04:52:49Z")
> [@Orange\_Skinner](#): > > I can totally commiserate, **Polerius**. I recently flew back from a conference one-way San Diego to Detroit. When I bought the ticket, I was able to choose my seat and was supposed to be next to my 5’2," 110 lb co-presenter, and didn’t given a thought to the whole space issue…but things got reconfigured. I ended up next to a man who intruded into my space to such a degree that I spent the whole flight bent sideways into the aisle like Vincent D’Onofrio interrogating a suspect in an episode of _Law and Order: Criminal Intent_. I get that if you’re not flying first class, things may have to get a little snuggly, but when you’ve passed the point of being able to sit upright, the line has been crossed. > > It seems like amusement parks do okay enforcing size limits for those who don’t fit into standard seats on roller coasters and whatnot…why not adopt similar practices for planes? I’m surprised you didn’t mention the demolition derby we went to a few weeks ago. Each row in the grandstands seats 38 people. 38 average people. 38 average people from 1936. Larger people need to get two seats. However I know this will not happen, so next year, I plan on buying an extra seat. Three seats for two people, just so we can have the extra room. On an airplane, this is not really a viable option. It’s expensive. But something needs to be done. I took a 7 hour flight with my family, and was next to my father the whole time. He was 6’2’’ and about 250. He was spilling over into my seat the whole flight. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2015, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overweight-passenger-next-to-you-on-plane-does-the-airline-owe-you-a-full-seat/733419/49 "2015-10-05T05:47:33Z")
Are these the same people that use the motorized shopping carts at Walmart and aren’t disabled? ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2015, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overweight-passenger-next-to-you-on-plane-does-the-airline-owe-you-a-full-seat/733419/50 "2015-10-05T13:43:24Z")
Japan to Detroit with a plus-sized seat mate. I spent the whole trip hanging part way into the aisle. The flight attendants looked like they were ready to tell me to move over, but would notice my seat mate and just smile and move on. Every time I would get up, when I came back the arm rest would be up, and I would have to share skin space with her. When she would get up, I would lower it back down. Weight aside, she was a rather pleasant person, so it wasn’t that horrible. ---
**Author:** ![Orville\_mogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/aeb1de/32.png) [@Orville\_mogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orville_mogul)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2015, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overweight-passenger-next-to-you-on-plane-does-the-airline-owe-you-a-full-seat/733419/51 "2015-10-05T14:05:58Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Wait, what? This sounds like you can get a free extra seat by not buying it in advance… > [@](#): > > If it is determined that a second (or third) seat is needed, they will be accommodated with a complimentary additional seat(s). Or third? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2015, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overweight-passenger-next-to-you-on-plane-does-the-airline-owe-you-a-full-seat/733419/52 "2015-10-05T14:25:12Z")
Ultimately the seats are too small for the average 2015 person. That’s the crux of the problem. I think they were made in 1948 when people were smaller and shorter. The airlines are more concerned with jamming as many people in as possible without any regard to the fact that people are larger overall, fatter and taller than they used to be. That’s a recipe for anyone larger than the 1948 average to have conflicts with their neighbors for one reason or another. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2015, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overweight-passenger-next-to-you-on-plane-does-the-airline-owe-you-a-full-seat/733419/53 "2015-10-05T14:57:39Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Aren’t the people who require more space the people who are complaining about how they don’t have enough space? It seems to me that you’ve got options. You can pay the cheap price for coach, knowing it’s snuggletime; or you can pay a premium to get more room up in first class. > > Y’all know I’m a socialist bastard, but I don’t see how this is a problem that needs government intervention. Pay more for distance from your neighbors if you want it, or pay less for cramped accommodations if you want it. I think where government regulation _should_ come in, is that seat widths and pitches ought to be sufficient to accommodate all but the largest 10% of Americans without slopping over into adjacent seats and rubbing up against their occupants, or being unable to avoid bumping the back of the seat in front of you. If that means the airlines have to go to larger planes, or go to 3-and-2 seating in the planes they’ve got, then so be it. The other thing is, require that airlines allow people to buy extra seats if they want to, whether they need them or not. When I’m flying with my son, I’m an average-sized adult and he’s skinny even for an eight year old, so we only need 2 seats, but I’d sure like to buy the third seat in our row, just so we don’t have to worry about having to be squeezed by some super-sized guy. Sure, it would add 50% to the cost of our flight, but I can afford it and I’m willing to pay it. Tried doing this on Southwest recently, and I thought I’d succeeded, but as my son and I were boarding the plane, the lady at the gate said, basically, “Hey! why do you need an extra seat?” and they took away my extra seat and gave it to another passenger, because wanting rather than needing one isn’t good enough, even if you’ve paid upfront for that seat. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2015, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overweight-passenger-next-to-you-on-plane-does-the-airline-owe-you-a-full-seat/733419/54 "2015-10-05T15:05:47Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Ultimately the seats are too small for the average 2015 person. That’s the crux of the problem. I think they were made in 1948 when people were smaller and shorter. The airlines are more concerned with jamming as many people in as possible without any regard to the fact that people are larger overall, fatter and taller than they used to be. That’s a recipe for anyone larger than the 1948 average to have conflicts with their neighbors for one reason or another. If they kept the older standards it wouldn’t be so bad. As times progressed the seats have in fact gotten smaller. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2015, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overweight-passenger-next-to-you-on-plane-does-the-airline-owe-you-a-full-seat/733419/55 "2015-10-05T15:09:37Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Wait, what? This sounds like you can get a free extra seat by not buying it in advance… It’s free if you buy it in advance as well. My wife is a woman of size, if that’s the phrase they’re using these days, so she does this. For years, their policy was that she’d get a refund for the extra seat if it wasn’t a full flight, but if the flight was full, she’d have to pay for the seat. This made perfect sense to us - in one case, she wasn’t keeping them from selling the seat to someone else, but in the other, she was - but a few years back, they changed the policy so that the extra seat was free, regardless of whether the flight was full. Come to think of it, that may be why they didn’t let **me** have my extra seat (see post #53): I wouldn’t have wanted or asked for a refund, but they may not have been set up to _not_ allow me a refund for my extra seat. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2015, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overweight-passenger-next-to-you-on-plane-does-the-airline-owe-you-a-full-seat/733419/56 "2015-10-05T15:27:57Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Tried doing this on Southwest recently, and I thought I’d succeeded, but as my son and I were boarding the plane, the lady at the gate said, basically, “Hey! why do you need an extra seat?” and they took away my extra seat and gave it to another passenger, because wanting rather than needing one isn’t good enough, even if you’ve paid upfront for that seat. That bullshit would make me furious. They should treat that seat like any other if you paid for it. If they overbooked, they ask for voluntiers. You could (if you wanted) voluntier your empty seat. I sure hope you got a refund. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2015, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overweight-passenger-next-to-you-on-plane-does-the-airline-owe-you-a-full-seat/733419/57 "2015-10-05T15:30:45Z")
Just to be clear, I don’t care that they give a free seat. Even at average size, I’d rather the big dude next to me had two seats anyway. I’m more surprised that the airlines give away free anything. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2015, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overweight-passenger-next-to-you-on-plane-does-the-airline-owe-you-a-full-seat/733419/58 "2015-10-05T15:55:15Z")
Here’s a thought. I’m 5’10" and 180 pounds. I fit comfortably into the current seats. As does the rest of my family. Increase the seat size to accommodate fat Americans and my flight becomes more expensive. Screw that. Find a way of charging for how much so ace you use. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2015, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overweight-passenger-next-to-you-on-plane-does-the-airline-owe-you-a-full-seat/733419/59 "2015-10-05T16:12:09Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > That bullshit would make me furious. They should treat that seat like any other if you paid for it. If they overbooked, they ask for voluntiers. You could (if you wanted) voluntier your empty seat. > > I sure hope you got a refund. Yes, they did refund my money. It was just that I wanted the seat more than I wanted the money - that’s why I paid for it, after all. And yes, at the time, I was pissed. And my thought still is: seats are what they have to sell. If some people want to buy extra seats near them just to have extra room to spread out, how is that a problem for them? They can add more flights profitably if enough people decide they like buying multiple seats. After all, the reason most flights are full these days is that the airlines cut back on the number of flights so that they didn’t have unused capacity. If they need more flights, they can add 'em back in. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2015, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overweight-passenger-next-to-you-on-plane-does-the-airline-owe-you-a-full-seat/733419/60 "2015-10-05T16:25:45Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Ultimately the seats are too small for the average 2015 person. No they’re not. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overweight-passenger-next-to-you-on-plane-does-the-airline-owe-you-a-full-seat/733419.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overweight-passenger-next-to-you-on-plane-does-the-airline-owe-you-a-full-seat/733419.md?page=4)