I’m sure we’ll have plenty of fat hate going on in this thread. sigh So tiresome.
The seats need to be bigger and sharing armrests is a ludicrous idea. Redoing the planes would cost money- yet people would be happier travelers and customers would fly more often.
Pay for the extra seat sounds good until you realize there are people who are overweight from medical conditions and they are being fined for being ill. So we ‘excuse’ those who have a medical reason. Now who gets to decide that reason? Is thyroid disorder okay but a herniated disk that prevents exercise not? Where is that line?
If you really don’t want anyone touching you, accidentally hitting knees or taking up your precious space- then fly first class and let us begin to talk about safety on airplanes instead of who’s touching us. Can’t afford first class? Yes, that’s how fat people feel too.
Also- I think the discomfort is a bit over-hyped. Especially in American culture the worst thing that can happen, it seems, is for people to have to ‘share’ anything they have, be it space, accommodations, food or time.
When people stop paying to be squished like sardines, then the airlines will change. When people are tired of being charged by the pound for luggage- the airlines will change.
We have power in this situation- and it goes beyond shaming other people because of their size.