People in the airline industry...regarding "heavy" people and seating and seat belts...seriously...?

Question

What do you do if someone cannot buckle the seat belt because it isn't long enough?

What do you do if someone cannot fit comfortably into a seat?

What do you do if 2 heavy people are sat next to each other and cannot fit?

What do you do if a person is so heavy that they make the person next to them uncomfortable?

Answer 1

If you can fit in the seat but the belt is too short, you can ask the flight attendent for a seatbelt extender. If you're very large, you may have to pay for an extra seat.

When you check in, you can ask if the fight is full or not. If it isn't, asked to get placed next to an empty seat. Some airlines (Southwest) will make large passengers buy extra seats even if the flight isn't full.

If you can afford it, fly first or business class, the seats are larger.

Answer 2

The airlines have seat belt extenders for people who do not fit within the confines of the normal set of seat belts.

I do not know about other airlines, but check out Southwest's policies regarding this. I recall it making the news a year or so ago and angered a lot of travelers, but ... well, Southwest implemented the program and it's still being used so it must work.

I have sat next to people (both larger and not so large) who rudely try to take up part of my seating area. I have had to politely ask people to shift in their seat to provide me with sufficient room to unfold my arms, or have moved to a different seat before.

http://www.southwest.com/travel_center/cos_guidelines.html