how big are seats on plane?

[Sandi12404]

We're going to WDW in October and my DH is a pretty big guy. He's about 5'9 and probably close to 300 pounds. He insists he's closer to 200 pounds but I think he's in denial. He keeps saying he wants to lose weight but he isn't doing anything about it. I'm kind of worried about him fitting in the seats on the plane. Anyone have any experience with this? We're flying Delta if that means anything. I just don't want to get to the airport and find he can't fit in the seats

 

[Dis31]

check out seatguru.com

 

[jbdreamer]

Here is an artical I found.

Have you considered flying business or first class? They have bigger seats.

 

[rigs32]

Also, seats on the train are as wide as first class on an airplane. Much longer from Erie, but another option besides driving. If I remember correctly, seats are about 18" wide between the armrests. You can always buy two tickets for him if you're lucky enough to find tickets cheap enough to allow for the luxury.

 

[ducklite]

It depends on how he carries the weight. If it's in his belly he's probably fine. If it's in his butt and hips, he's likely to spill over into another seat. In that case he'll need a second ticket or a business/first ticket.

Most of Delta's seats are 17", which is 2-4 inches narrower than your average office chair.

Anne

 

[Emilee's mom]

Hi! My sister and husband are both large people and I understand the desire to avoid the embarrassment for them. I hate when people gawk at others when it obviously is an uncomfortable situation.

Anyway, we flew United/TED and my sister, who is probably 250-300, whose weight is low in the belly, needed to ask the attendent for a seat belt extender when we boarded the plane which was brought to her very discreetly and was easy to get on the regular seat belt and this worked fine for her. My DH was fine with the regular seat belt. Hope this helps.

 

[dudspizza]

<-------- 6', 275. I am not super wide, but I am not small either... then again, who is at this size?

I flew Delta last week just fine (MD88 and a CRJ). I will say there wasn't much more room in the seat for me, but I had no problem putting the arm rest down.

Have a great trip. I think the measurements listed are close to the seats for the flights I was on. If he can fit into an office chair comfortably, he will be fine. To be honest, I never even thought about the size thing until it was talked about so much here.

Duds

 

[manning]

Here is an artical I found.

Have you considered flying business or first class? They have bigger seats.

Three cheers for SW. I was on a flight where I saw a passenger sit sideways in her seat because the passenger next to her occupied his and half of her seat. It was a four hour flight completely full. Bet the pilot had fun trimming the plane that day.

 

[ducklite]

If he can fit into an office chair comfortably, he will be fine. To be honest, I never even thought about the size thing until it was talked about so much here.

Duds

Actually that's not a good rule of thumb. Standard office chairs are 20-22" in width. (I've measured a couple dozen of them in three different offices and at home to justify this statement)

Airline seats are significantly narrower. The way I suggest checking it out is with carboard and tape. Cut a piece of cardboard 17" wide, and then cut two more pieces that are the same depth and about a foot high. Tape them together so they are in a "U" shape, and sit in the bottom of it. If you can fit into the 17" space with the sides at a 90 degree angle, you'll fit in the seat. If you can't fit into your cardboard "seat" without bowing the sides or making them fall to an angle other than 90 degrees, you'll want to look into purchasing an extra seat or buying a business/first class ticket.

Anne

 

[Jeri Lynn]

We are flying down to WDW in November with my sister and her hubby. Both of our husbands are big guys, they are 6' and probably around 275. Their weight is not in the lower half, but it is in their shoulders, they are both very broad. What we are most likely going to do is to buy 5 seats, my sister and I will each take one seat, and the hubby's will split the extra seat between them....My brother in law wanted to fly first class, but that is about 1200-1300 dollars for a 2 hour 45 minute flight, we just can't see spending that.

Purchasing an extra seat is cheaper. We could take a chance and not buy that third seat, but if the plane is full I would feel bad for the person stuck sitting between them!

 

[dis-happy]

One thing that might help---if your dh and you are seated next to each other, just raise the armrest all the way up between you and leave it like that. It will give him a bit more room as long as you don't mind snuggling with him. If you have a child between you, even better.

Also, try and book a seat behind the emergency row. Those seats (in front of you) cannot be reclined. This is not an option if you plan to use a carseat though. Bulkhead seats are nice too, but then you have to put all your stuff in the overhead bins.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

One thing that might help---if your dh and you are seated next to each other, just raise the armrest all the way up between you and leave it like that.

I believe that armrests must be in the down position for takeoff and landings.

You might be interested in SWA's info page about large passengers:

http://www.southwest.com/travel_center/cos_qa.html

and:

http://www.naafa.org/Convention2002/airlines.html

http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/02/19/travel/19qna.html?fta=y