Am I too fat to fly?

[ducklite]

TigerStar,

One of the most important things you can do once booked is to monitor your family's reservation. You don't need to check it daily but once every couple of weeks will do. If there is an equipment change it will show up on your reservation. You may need to rebook your seats and the airlines are very accommodating.

 

Very sage advice, and definitely being proactive before you arrive at the airport is the way to go. I've even gotten my flight changed to one with enough open seats that we could be seated together when I did it over the phone a month in advance after our flight was changed to a different type of aircraft and we ended up jumbled all over the place on a full flight.

[TigerStar]

Thanks for the replies. If we ever do this trip, I will keep all of this in mind.

 

 

Another idea was to just drive to LA (from Alabama) and then take Amtrak to Seattle, but that gets expensive. :(

 

Anyway, thanks for the advice!

[vinsheer]

So I was bored tonight and was looking over my past posts and felt I should revisit this with my latest experience. First of all I want to thank you all for your encouraging words which helped with my decision. Went on an Alaskan Cruise in August and used "Virgin America Airlines" LAX to Seattle. Let me tell you I was still nervous because by now my weight was more like 220 lbs :eek:. Anyway the minute I got on board I asked for the seat belt extension and told the attendant my seat number. OK, now I thought the most embarrassing part was over. I went to my window seat, sat down, and opened the seat belt all the way to get ready for the extension and of course I had to try it and "click" what a relief as my husband gave me that "I told you so look." Granted it was open all the way and I think the Virgin America seats may be a larger, but I flew comfortably which is good because I never did see the attendant who was supposed to bring me the extender. We had a wonderful time in Alaska and still "fit" in the seat on the way back after all that cruise food!! :D Hope this helps someone else from worrying...Oh, and by the way Virgin America let us choose our seats when making reservations!

[waterbug123]

I have a sister that is nearing 6ft and over 200lbs. How much she really weighs I don't know. My mother, my older sister, and I have been talking amongst each other on whether or not she will be asked to purchase a second seat.

 

While that's unusually tall for a woman, it's a very common height/weight for a man. Men of that height/weight fly all the time with no problem; no airline is going to ask your sister to purchase another seat!

[waterbug123]

Are there certain airlines that are better for heavier people?

 

Generally speaking, a coach seat is a coach seat is a coach seat, regardless of the airline. They all have roughly the same size seats and the same amount of legroom. Any differences that may exist between various airlines is likely to be so small as to not make much difference. If you want a significantly larger seat, the only real way to get that is to book first/business class. If you have elite status or are on an airline that allows preferred seat selection for a fee, you can get additional legroom in exit rows and bulkhead seats.

[Globaliser]

Are there certain airlines that are better for heavier people?

Generally speaking, a coach seat is a coach seat is a coach seat, regardless of the airline. They all have roughly the same size seats and the same amount of legroom. Any differences that may exist between various airlines is likely to be so small as to not make much difference. If you want a significantly larger seat, the only real way to get that is to book first/business class.

Actually, there is one area in which some airlines will do better without having to go the expense of first or business class: those airlines that have a true premium economy product.

 

Thanks to vinsheer for reporting back on how it actually went!

[waterbug123]

Actually, there is one area in which some airlines will do better without having to go the expense of first or business class: those airlines that have a true premium economy product.

 

 

Yes, sorry, should have mentioned that sometimes you can pay more for premium economy and get more space, without having to jump all the way to first/business. (I mainly fly DL and they have not yet rolled out their "economy comfort" seats for domestic flights yet, so the idea still escapes me sometimes when replying to posts.)