Wow, great replies everyone. Thanks a lot!
I'm still dreading the flights, especially when I think of inconveniencing the people next to me. I'll definately try to get an aisle seat. And I'll probably buy that set of extenders, just to put myself at ease.
Unfortunately it isn't possible to get a non-stop to India from here.. so I'm going Portland-Chicago-Frankfurt-Hyderabad. I imagine the longest flight is 10 or 11 hours? From Chicago to Frankfurt.
Not fun at all! But, I'll be in India for 6 months so hopefully the combo of heat and spicy food and lots of walking will help me lose weight and I'll be thinner on the way home :-)

One more thing, a long-distance flyer told me to go bra-less & non-constricting clothes. So I bought some shelf-bra syle cami's from Roaman's & juicy-style sweats for the flights. My niece (who's a flight attendant & very style concious) says to wear band-aids if you get worried that you might get a little "nippy". You can also layer another top over the cami if you feel too exposed.

Ren.. you may already know much of this... but, just my 2 cents as a frequent flyer. In fact, I've flown 3 different airlines just in the past few weeks. They do vary a lot. But... only once in all my times I've flown have I had to ask for an extender ( I THINK it was on continental, but I couldn't swear to it). I was mortified, but the attendant was very blase about the whole thing, so it seemed like it was a regular, no big deal, kind of thing to her.
I'm still bigger than you are right now, and I haven't had to get one on any recent flights. Some seats have been very uncomfortable, some have been absolutely fine. Some belts have been fine, some have been tight---hard to generalize.

But... here are my words of wisdom, if you will...
If you bring your own extender, you're all set.... you can do it fairly subtly, if you're trying to be discreet. No one will even know.
If you don't bring your own -- you might want to either:
WHILE you're getting on (and there is ALWAYS a back up while people are trying to get down the aisle, and there are alwasy attendants standing at the front) simply quietly tell the attendant that you may need an extender. S/he may be able to hand it to you right then while everyone else is too busy to notice, or they can at least get it to you without you having to lean over someone else and ask. or...
try to get to your seat quickly so you can sit down and gauge it for yourself. Then, if need be you can still try to discreetly mention your need to the attendant while they are moving about.

If you're traveling with someone, it's a bit easier, because you can lift the arm rest that is between you. If it's a stranger in the seat next to you, they might want it down, but you can at least raise it until you get settled.

Aisle seat is probably best because you can stretch your legs a bit... however, you also are the person who has to get up every time someone else wants to go to the bathroom, etc.... pros and cons though, because then at least you're not the one squeezing through when YOU want to go to the bathroom. And,.. on long flights you should make sure you get up and walk a bit about every hour or two. So... six of one, half dozen on the other.

My biggest advice, to tell you the truth, is to get there as early as you can and, when you get your boarding pass, try to get an exit aisle. On flights that are so long, you'll want to be able to have the tray table down for drinks, dinner, doing other things. I think that's more often a bigger problem then the seat belt. Once in a while, the exit aisles have seats with arm rests that DON'T move up... that's a pain if you're wide in the hips. If that happens, you can always tell them you don't want to be in an exit aisle and almost anyone will jump at the chance to trade with you. Trust me :) You don't have to tell them why.

Can you tell I've thought a lot about this? lol because I fly a lot, this is on my mind everytime I get on an airplane.

Honestly, though, I don't think you'll have trouble at all with the belt. Like I said, I'm a size larger than you -- and most of my weight is my middle -- and I've been ok on almost all airlines.

Depending on what you're flying, there will be some options. Usually overseas flights seem to be a bit more accomodating, and often use planes that are more comfortable. Hope that happens to you.

Have a great trip!!

I have flown on my highest weight.. never been an issue. U can go on the airline website and find out their seat measurements :)

My advice would be to pay for business class or better. Can you imagine HOURS wedged into a space that is exactly as wide (or less) as you are?

I have had overweight friends who could not be seated in the exit row due to the honest physical limitations they had concerning ability to help other people off the plane. The aisle is for walking and delivering drinks/food, not extra seating space.

Before you think I'm worthy of your hatred and loathing, hear me out. I have flown for work and have been seated next to an extremely overweight person MANY times. The seats are small, the plane is cramped and flying is just plain uncomfortable regardless of size. It is ****. I paid for those seats to have full use of the space and have had legs in my leg space, arms wedging me into my seat, food shoved onto my tray because they couldn't get the tray down, and, well, you get the picture. I even had a guy cuss me out SEVEN HOURS into a flight for making him get up so I could use the restroom. This after seven hours of him painfully elbowing me into the window so he could have more room.

Be considerate and you will be more comfortable, too. Spend the money for the seat you need. Don't use someone else's space and money.

I seriously doubt that there is a need for someone who is a size 24 to spend extra money for a seat on any flight. Nor do I expect that there would be any hindrence in helping out if need be in an emergency for someone who is simply overweight, and not incredibly so. Perhaps REALLY extremely heavy people who have other complicating factors... but certainly not someone who is simply a size 24.

Sounds like you have been seated next to some Class A idiots and rude people, not heavy people, Lafayette.

I don't think that even sitting on the aisle you can "spread out" into the aisle to the point of hindering others movement... but I do think that the aisle seat or even the window seat has advantages over the middle seat, even if it's for a bit of extra ability to lean one way or the other a bit.

Again, Ren... other than being cooped up in planes for so long, I bet you will be fine, size wise. Just don't forget to walk around every once in a while and keep hydrated. Have a great trip!

Originally Posted by 2LosinIt:
Sounds like you have been seated next to some Class A idiots and rude people, not heavy people, Lafayette.

Definately. I've been up to a 24, and even I'd have had a hard time with that guy. I'd have likely blurted aloud "Either move and stop complaining about it or I'm gonna piss on you instead of in the bathroom since it's your elbow that's been knocking my bladder around the entire flight!" :D

I went to airlineconomy.com and looked at the average seat widths for international flights. There's quite a range:

31-35" for Economy
36-78" for Business
54-94" for First

I guess the main question is, would you want to be seated next to yourself?

Originally Posted by Lafayette:
I guess the main question is, would you want to be seated next to yourself?

Yah but the problem with that thinking is that "Wherever I go, I take ME with me."

Ren--On my last trip as a 24, I was able to get by without a seat belt extender on one plane but going the other way on a different plane, I had to ask for one. Definitely try to get an aisle seat if you can. Maybe if you can get even a little extra walking in between now and late April, you'll have more fun on your trip as well as ease your fears a little bit about the seat belt. Hang in there!

I flew continental last week, round trip with a lay over both ways so a total of 4 different planes. I am a size 14 carry it all in my thighs & bum, I swore I would never do that to myself again, I will not get back on a plane that large unless absolutly necessary. It was a real motivator, I didnt need an extension or anything like that, but boy was it uncomfortable, I was so lucky to be next to my hubby so we could lift the arm rest, but seriously, it was uncomfortable. I would totally spring for the better class, I was much smaller when I flew over seas last, and even then I wished I had sprung for the bigger seats, I would think at my size today it would feel terrible. This was just my experience, so take it for what its worth.... :)
Good Luck and enjoy your trip!