Comments on: Ask FGG: “Could I be kicked off a plane for being fat?” - What Kevin Smith’s airline experience means for the rest of us

By: amy

amy — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 01:47:33 +0000

I just found this site. I could just cry…these comments really make me feel like I’m not alone. Thank you all.

By: ann

ann — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 03:10:30 +0000

I have a Q. Say that you have to buy another seat and the plane is full to capacity. Would they make you give up that second seat in favor of that one more person that could be put on a plane? Should you have to give it up even though it was the airline that made you buy the stupid seat in the first place?

By: robyn

robyn — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 03:46:42 +0000

I have been invited on a cruise and I think they are using midwest airlines I think the seats are 18inches but I am afraid of them asking to make me buy another seat. My friend will be in the seat beside me. I don’t have the money for the extra seat and it is my friends parents who are paying for all of the trip. Any advice thanks.

By: Lilly

Lilly — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 01:30:56 +0000

I wanted to add in my experiences here since I recently flew to Seattle from PA. My first time flying.

I flew with Delta. Because my flight involved me taking a smaller plane to and from my airport and Atlanta, and a bigger 757/747 between Atlanta and Seattle, I dealt with both plane types. Also, because of a big issue with delays and such, I got to fly first class on my trip out. It was a 757, 3 aisles wide. To be honest, their first class was a bit less roomy than what I expected from tv shows and movies, lol.

I am a size 22, 5’4″ and 280 pounds. I have a very round-in-the-middle body type, the sort where my gut sticks out as much as my large chest. This made it a bit difficult to use the trays on any of the flights. It was not always easy to get it to go all the way down.

I was very sore (I have a bad back, too) from my fights….because I kept trying to make myself smaller. Squeeze in my arms to keep from bothering the person next to me. I had to ask for a seat belt extender on every flight. Thanks to this article though I asked the moment I walked into the plane. I had aisle seats, except for the first class bump bc I had no choice. Trying to get into the window first class seat actually wasn’t easy. They pile the free stuff onto the armrest and I knocked it all off twice, to my embarrassment. thankfully though, the dividing armrest in first class is fixed and goes all the way down to the seat bottom so I didn’t infringe on the guy next to me. I was a bit pinched at the hips, though. On the regular flights, I did have a little issue with the arm rests. They went down…..but it was a tight fit and if I shifted around, they started to come up.

I’m normally a very shy in public sort of person, and even if I weren’t large I would have avoided using the bathroom if possible. As it were, I did my damndest to stay in my seat. Even though some of my flights were 5 hours.

One thing that I tried to do, but wasn’t able to do well enough, was remove everything I might need during the flight from my handbag and stash it in the seat pocket in front of me. Why? With my gut, bending over while seated to reach something on the floor is damn near impossible. So keep that in mind, as well.

I don’t know what other airlines are like, but I imagine that they’re going to be similar. I know that I can’t afford to get first class on all flights. I’d only have felt more comfy if it had been my (skinny) husband sitting next to me, but he didn’t accompany me on the trip.

My final thoughts? Unless it’s life or death….I’m not flying again until I lose weight. It was just too embarrassing, uncomfortable, sometimes painful and all around unfun.

By: Trish

Trish — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 05:30:28 +0000

I always purchase two tickets together as a courtesy to other passengers. I don’t see it as a problem as I don’t expect special treatment. However, the last time I paid for two together, the flight attendant brought a guy who was flying standby to sit in the seat next to me (obviously without bothering to check). I had to explain to her, in front of the guy (who was smiling because he thought he was getting on the flight) that I paid for two seats. I would like to assume that, because these airlines all have policies about purchasing two seats, they would, at the very least, check to make sure the seat that looks like an extra seat is actually extra. They didn’t. It was embarrassing and disappointing.

By: Denise

Denise — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 23:00:34 +0000

At 5’3″ and 240 pounds last time I flew, I’ve never had anyone at Southwest ever make any sort of comment about my weight. I’ve also never had to use the extension on their flights, either, unlike Delta (HATE!), United, and Continental. Southwest is my “go-to” travel choice and I highly recommend them.

By: cyndi

cyndi — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 03:29:20 +0000

After Kevin’s fiasco I have completely rethought flying. After watching the story on a local news channel (I work at the station) and hearing the anchors laugh and carry on about the incident. “We’ve all been there on a plane, it’s always such an annoyance to sit next to people like that.” And the comment that I heard (in the hallways) that really sent me over the edge; ” fat people shouldn’t fly at all, the extra weight may mess up the planes balance and cause it to crash.” I feared the worst for people like me- at a size 22, healthy woman who exercises 3 times a week, and living in a very fit state, I battle the “unhealthy” stigma everyday. All I wish is not to have fat discrimination perpetuated. I maintain that it is just as uncomfortable to be next to someone snoring, wearing too much cologne/perfume, someone so tall they put their legs into your foot space, or someone talking your ear off about their health problems. would the airline tell someone who is talking too much to leave the plane? Flying is always uncomfortable, some people are skinny, some people are short and some people are fat. Have some compassion and treat people as you would like to be treated, airlines.