I have long read the forums here but never posted. Today I am compelled to write because I'm going on vacation at the end of this month to Italy where I'll be staying for 16 days. We'll be traveling on Alitalia and I was wondering if anyone has flown that particular airline. Right now I'm dancing around the mid 290's and it suddenly petrifies me that I will not fit in the seat and even if i do what if I can't get it buckled. I've seen a few posts about flying domestically but not much internationally.
It's entirely taking away the attitude that I think I should have towards the vacation of a lifetime. I can't even think about fun when all I think is 'I can't get kicked off the plane, I can't not fit in the seat. Please let me just fit in the seat.' It's getting to the point where I'd rather be sick or hurt than go. It's putting me in a very low mood. I want this to be a wonderful memory, not some black hole where I finally broke myself into pieces.I've thought about wearing control tops or even a and things of that nature just to suck things in even a little, but with it being a 10 hour flight I just don't know if that's such a good idea. Any advice or help would be so appreciated at this point.

Whew! Calm down Can you give us more info, like height, any other health problems, so we can give specific tips?
I don't advice wearing tight fitting undergarments. A 10 hour flight and a girdle would scare the stuffing out of me. Can you call the airline and ask how big the seats are, or if it's possible to get an extra seat or an aisle seat?

Honey, I know how you feel but PLEASE DONT PANIC! I weighed 374 pounds and fit in an airplane seat, I had to have an extension seat belt but I fit so YOU DEF. WILL!!!!

In January I was around 330 and fit in the seat AND the seat belt.

Enjoy your holiday!!!!!

Kate x x

I made a number of trips to Asia weighing 260-290 or so. It wasn't always comfortable (those are LONG flights), but I DID fit in the seats mostly. Do ask for a seatbelt extender!

And enjoy your trip!

I have to say I often wondered how people who weigh more fit into the airplane seats. My last trip to Europe was last October, and unless I gained weight between then and February (when I embarked on my weight loss journey) I weighed 208 lbs and I am a person with a fairly small butt. But somehow everybody seemed to fit in.
It does not matter that much which company you are flying with, because most likely, the aircraft will be a Boeing. I had a site bookmarked where you can look at the different types of aircrafts and find a seat that you may want but that has nothing to do with seat width. Still, I found that usefull because it shows the layout and where the lavatories are situated and it can give you an idea what seat to ask for. I have to check at home and if I find, I will post it.

Have a lovely vacation!

P.S.
I forgot to add - don't wear anything restrictive. The long flight is bad news for your circulation and it is fairly uncomfortable as is (at least myself, as 5'9" person, wonder why the airplanes are built for midgets - there is nowhere to put my legs and there are taller people than myself). So don't wear any "tummy sucker" or whatever.
I prefer the aisle seat because it seems that it is the best for my legs and actually lucked out on my last trip because there was a couple that did not have seat reservations next to each other so the flight attendants were doing a reshuffle and I ended up with nobody sitting next to me. That was heavenly.

I've flown Alitalia many times and never had trouble with their seats (their in-flight services, however, is pretty poor lol). Anyway, don't panic -- I always found the seats to be generous enough (I find them more comfortable than British Airways). In any event, call ahead and see if you can get a seat in the first row of coach, which tend to be more generous with leg room, etc.

PS: SO JEALOUS you're going to Italy! Buon divertimento! Non preoccuparsi per il volo!

PPS: Italians are VERY cool, laid back and fun (and the food is amazing, of course, AND with all the walking and stairs-climbing, you may even come back thinner than you left). Don't worry about feeling fat over there -- all Americans look heavy when compared with Italians lol. And Italy is such a feast for the senses that it's impossible not to lose yourself over there.

Thanks very much i'm feeling much calmer. I seem have worked myself up about it after i looked on seat guru and found the seat to be 17" wide. It sort of went downhill from there. For the record I'm 5'6. I don't have any major health problems except grave's disease.
I knew this was coming and started making meals from the Better Homes/Gardens Dieter's cookbook. I joined a gym (i went too ). Nothing seems to help. I'm determined not to make my weight the centerpiece of my trip.

I'm only 4'9" and it doesn't feel much better. I practically have a panic attack if I'm not in the aisle seat. My husband is 6'5" so I really have to let him have that seat but if I get too freaked out, we gotta switch.