I'm flying home in a couple of weeks, and have successfully made myself neurotic over if I'll fit into the seats. I'm flying Delta which say they have 17" seats and have chosen an aisle seat in every instance possible, including paying an extra $40 for an "economy plus" seat because there were only middle seats left otherwise.

Does anyone have any advice to offer about how big is too big to fit into a seat and how to not piss off the people next to you or cause the airline to require a second seat? I'm already expecting that I'll be uncomfortable and really don't care as long as there's a way to keep the other passengers from giving me that "oh god I'm stuck next to the fat woman" look.

I carry most of my weight in my stomach, rather than butt or thighs or anything. Right now I'm hovering around 290. Has anyone that weighs that or higher flown recently? How much of a struggle was it?

Thanks in advance for any insight I can get.

I'm sorry I don't have an answer to you, but I just wanted to say that I really love that Plato quote and that you give out beautiful vibes :-) I know it sounds weird and I can't fully explain it, but you possess both empathy and humility and that makes you very beautiful in my eyes.

That is all. Carry on :-)

I think it is hard to tell without knowing your muscle mass. If you can share inches/clothing size, it might help but I can say that I've always fit into a seat, even at my highest size. I once had a tight fit in an exit row on a USAir flight but that was about it. You might need a seat belt extender but again that depends, I think I stopped needing them right around when I hit 300 lbs.

Overall, I wouldn't stress about it too much.

Honestly, I'd probably sit down and measure. At my highest of 225, my butt still fit but it seemed like it was getting close to not. And I'd rather buy the second seat than face humiliation or be removed from the flight. I believe most airlines have a policy that if you buy a second seat, but there's an open seat on the plane, they'll refund you the seat price but you have to ask. You might check on that. My problem was, and remains, that I have fairly wide shoulders for a woman and I end up basically having to cross my arms for the whole flight just to keep my shoulders from bumping up against the person next to me. It's 3-1/2 hours from my city to the next city so that's a long time to keep my arms crossed.

My DH is 6'4" and hovers around 340-330...and he did not need an extender. He carries nearly all his weight in his belly, no hips or butt...I believe his pants are a 48 or 46 in men's sizes if that helps any...

SparklyBunny Thank you for your sweet message. It was just what I needed to read this morning.

nelie I have no idea what my measurements are. It's one of those things I need to do and just haven't yet. I had the option of an exit row, but the qualifications for those state that you not need an extended and I just assumed that I would. I'm planning to get a tape measure today and find out what I'm looking at. Since I carry all of my weight up front, my bottom and legs are pretty "normal" sized.

EagleRiverDee While that would completely solve the problem, buying another seat is just not a possibility financially. I'm being laid off in a couple months, so we're putting every extra cent into savings and paying down existing debt in case I'm not able to find new work before D day. Honestly, if the original ticket wasn't paid for and non refundable, I would have canceled the trip a couple weeks ago when we found out about the lay off. Even if the money weren't a concern, when I was checking to make sure I'd chosen aisle seats there were two legs of the trip where there were no adjoining seats left at all.

I'm remember researching this years ago and mulling over airplane seat designs. Ugh, I used to get so anxious about flying. I thought I read somewhere that the exit rows are slightly smaller in width because they have more length (for tall passengers that's great, for the overweight, not so much) and because they can't recline. Also, you're right, you can't use exit row if you need an extender if I remember correctly.

At 299 pounds, I fit into the seat barely, and I did needed a seatbelt extender by like an inch. I also flew at 250, and I didn't need the seatbelt extender for that flight. I fit into the seat both times, and I didn't really spill into the other seats. Hope that helps!

The last time I took a flight (several, actually) I was at 285 and was a size 24. And like you, most of my excess weight is in my stomach. I had no problem fitting my butt into the seat and getting the seat belt to fit under my stomach and across my hips without an extender.

Good luck! Of course we're all built a bit differently, but I think you'll be fine.

The last time I flew, I was 290 and I'm 5'5". I didn't need an extender and fit just fine.

Hi, I recently flew, I am about 5'2' and 250 lbs., I fit into the seat, the seatbelt was a tight fit but I didn't need an extender. I carry most of my weight in my stomach, hips and chest, I felt a bit of a tight squeeze next to the person. I flew USAIR and I had an aisle seat both times, which I preferred.

On a side note, I recommend chewing some sugar free gum during take off, it helps with the air pressure.

Thank you all for the advice. I'm feeling a little less anxious now. I used to fly all the time when I was thinner and my dad worked for the airline so we got super cheap airfare, and I definitely miss it. Looking forward to a long needed trip back home now!

Good luck! I can't offer any advice, except to say that you are not the only one worried about airplane seats. One of my biggest motivations is knowing that the more weight I lose, the more room I will have in my airline seat when I leave the country next week.

At my highest weight I never needed an extender or extra room even on long distance fights, so since you are only a little bit larger than I was, I think you will be probably be ok ... worst case scenario you need an extender, but I see no reason why you wouldn't fit in the seat.

You should be just fine... I carry my weight in my arse and hips and just asked the passenger next to me if we could lift the divider and she was happy to say that that was fine and had no trouble with it! In fact if brought up a conversation of her daugher and her troubles with weight. So you just never know... I was 280 at that time at 5.5.... Most passengers are people too and are happy that they can accomodate others as they probably needed it in the past for other things! Humans are 99% kind and generous!

You should be good. I used to fly regularly at 281lbs with the belt out towards the end. But good.

Now, I'm roping her in!