Passenger's post about overweight co-passenger overflowing into their seat sparks debate

People put a lot of thought into booking a flight and focus on everything from the airline's reputation to passenger reviews and even the right seat to make sure they have a comfortable journey. But sometimes people are hit by unexpected experiences from flight delays to annoying co-passengers, and everyone has a different way of dealing with such issues. Last October, an American Airlines passenger faced a similar situation and shared it on Reddit through the ID u/New-Row-3679. They were complaining about an overweight co-passenger "overflowing" into his seat and the fact that they didn't get the desired response after raising the issue with the cabin crew.

The passenger titled their post, "Passenger overflowing into my seat" and explained that they informed the flight attendant about the uncomfortable situation stating that they deserved a full seat as they paid for it. "They told me a supervisor would make a decision on how to handle the situation," the passenger added. However, the flight attendant also told them that the supervisor's decision might not be favorable to them. "She said they would most likely rebook me instead of the passenger taking up two seats saying I 'refused' to take my seat," they added.

But the passenger was not asking for anything additional, they were simply asking for what they paid for. "She was doing her job and I get it. She told me I could call and complain and maybe get points," they wrote. While the passenger was totally frustrated by this lack of response, they received a reply from the airlines via X (formerly Twitter). "Please be assured we've shared your comments with the appropriate leadership for internal review and training. Feedback like this helps us zero in on areas of improvement. We look forward to your next flight being a better one," the airline's response read.

Many users agreed with the passenger, saying they were right to expect the overweight person to be moved. "I agree with your assessment. In the event a passenger is unable to fit in the space of a single seat, it should be that passenger who either is moved to an area that has two adjacent seats or otherwise is deplaned," said u/YMMV25. "Well, they would never want to be caught 'fat shaming' someone since most Americans are obese anyways," the passenger pointed out in the comments. They added that they "bit the bullet" throughout the journey, tolerating the uncomfortable seating arrangement as they wanted to reach home soon.

Several comments condemned the airline's lack of action and even suggested some ways in which the passenger could've handled the obese person spilling into his seat. "At theme parks, they have test seats at the ride entrance. You don't fit = you don't ride. Apparently, that is not fat shaming, so how about test seats at airline check-in? You don't fit = fee and seat reassignment or you don't fly," commented u/wjcj. "How about if the dividers between seats go all the way up, so each person is in a separate cubby and there's no way to overflow," chimed in u/Missus_Aitch_99. "This is when thin hardback children's books come in handy. Force the armrest down, then put the book between you and the armrest. Let that person deal with it," added u/oaksandpines1776.