This is tough, but I solely blame the airline for taking more and more seat space from everyone to line their pockets with more money.

If airlines would stop shrinking their damn seats to squeeze as many passengers as possible into a plane, this wouldn't be an issue.

The obese man was fine with the solution, the people sitting behind them shouldn’t be offended on his behalf. Aeroplanes are really cramped anyway and if he paid for a specific seat, why should he relinquish part of it just because the man sitting next to him eats too much cake, or whatever. It seems to be more and more common, that overweight people are given a complete pass purely because they're fat and people are walking on the eggshells of offence. It’s political correctness gone barmy. The world doesn’t revolve around them (although at their size they probably have their own gravitational pull), and people shouldn’t bend over backwards to accommodate them, for fear of being called discriminatory or worse. People have been losing their jobs over similar situations which is utter madness. This fella wasn’t in the wrong for what he did and the obese man was totally cool with paying him $150 for the privilege.

I hate the idea of someone spilling into my seat, but the guy should charge you back the $150 for having to feel humiliated for a long flight. What if the person had high anxiety or tourette syndrome or a weak stomach or a cold? I've dealt with 3 out of 4 of those, but it never would have occurred to me to ask them for compensation.

Only reason I fly first class, when I do fly, which is worth it if you can swing it. To have a bigger seat, just to clarify why. The foods better too, wait that's probably why I need a bigger seat lol.

When I took up more than one seat, I paid for two seats. That was MY responsibility. I saw people fatter than me cramming others on my flight and I found them disgusting for doing so. I no longer take up 2 seats and I still find them disgusting for forcing themselves upon others. It's not ok. ALSO not ok was the airline trying to sell my second seat. "Nobody is sitting in it" they said. Incorrect. My a**e fat is partway in it AND I PAID FOR IT. YOU ARE NOT SELLING IT TWICE. Should not have to fight that battle. Sold is sold. Sorry that guy needs a flight but not my problem. This delusional belief that obese people desire to be jammed up against less obese people can bugger off already. Less fat doesn't make you desirable and half the time it's not like the person next to you isn't hauling some lard of his own. Why they won't regulate this c**p already confounds me. The airlines get away with whatever they want. It's gotta stop.

So basically you used a humans shame and low self esteem to blackmail them into letting you steal 150.00. This is reprehensible and I truly question if you have any redeeming qualities, do me a favor prove me wrong. Return the money with an apology and in the future treat every human you meet with dignity and respect . Think it about it this way your awful cologne chokes me but I say nothing for the 12 hours I spend next to you working all day why because I am a kind human and respect your choices, and I don't want to push my choice of scents onto you because that would not be a good manner to display.

I am appalled that he asked for compensation. I am not a small woman, however, I am not morbidly obese either. I sat down in my airplane seat and did not take up any of his seat and the guy next to me was so rude with talking under his breath and making sure he had his space, it was uncomfortable for me. The man finally got up and moved away from me because it was so awful to sit next to me. It was a horrible feeling to have and I feel for this man.

He did the right thing, otherwise the guy would have been kicked off the plane. As far as the commenting passengers behind him, I could care less what the other people on a flight think.

I think the two passengers came up with a quick win win solution that didn't take an airline or either passenger to court or bring in the fake police. And the plane didn't sit on the tarmac for 16 hours.

It wasn't a problem until the a*****e made it one.

"I felt bad for him but I was also thinking about my own comfort on the long flight — the comfort I paid for. " If you are sitting coach you are not paying for comfort.. You are paying for the cheapest flight possible from point A to point B. So if this guy wanted to pay for comfort he should have bought a ticket in first class and had all the comfort he could dream of. But he didnt.

Hm, tough situation. I think, it's not totally unreasonable to ask for some compensation for 5 hours of discomfort, but it still makes the guy look like a d**k. (not that someone who needs two seats and only buys one is much better)

I find the actual situation very hard to judge - not something I could ever do(ask for money for compensation in a situation like that) but I totally feel the guy. What I do find... amusing though is how quick people were to judge him for not willing to put up with this(for free)...while, when offered the option to put up with it themselves, none volunteered. It's so easy to be a white knight at someone else's expense, isn't it?

"I felt bad for him but I was also thinking about my own comfort on the long flight — the comfort I paid for. " If you were in COACH you were not paying for your comfort. If you had a business class or 1st class, yes you would have been paying for COMFORT.

What if another man of the same size was assigned to the seat next to him? The airline would be FORCED to do something about the problem.

It's a weird situation. I don't agree with the $150 blackmail, but I don't think either customer should have been made to suffer either. The plane manufacturers plan and sell the planes with plenty of space, but the airlines themselves cram additional seating in beyond the original specs of the aircraft. The airline is the one at fault here IMO, but that doesn't give the other guy a right to blackmail the big dude either.

Am I the only one surprised that someone was carrying around that much cash?

If I decide to do a 3 point turn on a street and block both lanes, I am doing so willingly and I am responsible for making other people wait. If I am a lot wider than an airplane seat and I only purchase one, I am the one who is inconveniencing everyone else. There should have been a number of previous instances where the obese man should have been made aware of the situation before even boarding the plane. Buying the ticket. Going to the gate. Going through check in. There is always a human being there looking at the ticket and they should have seen that there is only one economy seat on the ticket and reacted. I can imagine how uncomfortable the situation was for both ... I think I would probably have suffered through the 5 hours without telling the waitress because it would have been too embarrassing for me.

Ah yes, I’m fairly underweight so when my dad goes on a flight I end up between him and one of my brothers who is a mini giant. They choose to ignore the fact that I get immense anxiety when people are two close. At least he gets me a snack box though : /

You know what, people are so easily offended when they're fat. Dude if you're fat, you're fat. Don't blame me for lack in "humanity" for your own obesity. It's funny how fat people are justified by saying nasty things about skinny people, but once it's the other way around, people get soooo offended. It's definitely awkward! Personally I would really be upset of someone spilling into my seat. Seats are already too close for comfort. Being squashed in even more is terrible. Codo's to you for being "brave" enough to stand up for yourself. I would probably sit there hating myself for not saying anything and be angry at the fat guy for making his body fat my problem.

Yes, OP was an a*****e. You shouldn't make someone pay for something they can't help in the first place. (not to sound like an a*****e but) I feel really uncomfortable when strangers touch me... like brush up against me or lean against me or squeeze in next to me for a long period of time. I'm very touch sensitive. So, not only would I preferably only fly with people (like my friends) that I'm comfortable around, but if that wasn't an option I would avoid being close to people regardless. I don't care if you're fat or skinny or curvy or what... people touching me gives me anxiety. So, if this happened to me, I would probably find a different seat.

I wouldn't say the airline gave OP any "power" the situation was he could either deal with, or they'd make the obese person get off. He obviously didn't get what he paid for, a full seat. So, his cost analysis kicks in, he's willing to deal with the uncomfortableness for 5 hours, and that's a long time to have someone's fat pushed up against you non stop. They cut a deal they could both live with. End of story.

even skinny people are uncomfortable in those cramped b******t seats. f**k airlines.

Me as a small person (I need ~60%) I would change the seat for a window seat.

What if the OP was not obese, but a very broad-shouldered athlete (think a linebacker or big fullback) or bodybuilder -- would that change how one thinks about the situation? Should it? I suspect that many us feel bad for the obese person and that affects our thinking. If we'd be satisfied with the solution offered for a big athlete (and I think most of us would be), we should be similarly satisfied for the obese individual.

People over a certain weight should be made to declare it so that the airline can make suitable arrangements. I would be seriously upset and annoyed if someone was encroaching on my seat and our bodies were pressing against eachother. Its not something I could put up with. Flying economy for longer than 3 hours is bad enough. An obese person shouldn't be put in this situation either as it will be embarrassing and upsetting for them. The poster deserves compensation but it should have come from the airline.

No... you handled it well dude. I mean the guy was big, he knows it. He bought one seat, took a chance, likely hoped the other was empty. End of story right! Not this time. Not critiquing his weight, but flying these days is a gamble! Sometimes you win, and you get a empty seat beside you, and you stretch out! Sometimes you don't. The issue here was he was taking up space you paid for! So asking for compensation was an alternative! The other was him having to take a later flight (according to the attendant). You did the considerate thing by giving him the option!

I wonder what the verdict is on the sub. I'd say the airline was the YTA , and the OP was a bit of YTA. I guess BP cropped the NTA, YTA, NAH, ESH, etc responses.

How is this even a question? Both parties identified a problem, negotiated, and ultimately compromised. Are we this far gone as a society that compromising is now victimization? Everyone got what they needed in this story by sacrificing some of what they wanted. This is a story about two people who worked together to overcome an issue.

I agree with mathxjunkii. And I can't help but think if the OP would have changed his tune if the "offending person" was a woman. Airlines keep packing people in like sardines and they charge outrageous fees for that tiny tiny seat. And people act like every fat person is fat by choice. My son is on medication that keeps him heavy. He has no choice. I am not a small woman by any means, but not one of the people sitting on either side of me on my most recent flight complained. In fact we had a great time. There's being inconvenienced and then there's being an a*****e. The OP didn't need to be an a*****e. He could have sucked it up and tried to enjoy the flight the best he could without embarrassing a man in front of everyone. I'm also wondering how long it will be before obese people start suing airlines for scenarios such as this that are caused by small seats and overbooking.

Have people pass through an appropriate-sized gate when boarding. If they don't fit, they don't fly.

A man who asked question should have booked business-seat. Everybody has a right to book a seat no matter how they obese or smell (We cannot measure how it is comfort as it depends on a person). Also, seats price doesn't reflect its space, and most of airline profits comes from first class and business class. BTW, He could settle down the problem by putting a fat man into a seat along streets.

Whinning and making a profit, hmm. I wonder is Op is a ....

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