I am in Sacramento this week working on some issues in our West Coast office.
Naturally, I flew here, since it’s too far to drive for all practical purposes.
I learned an important lesson on the flight. Fat people should not be allowed to book just one seat. When a person cannot physically fit into the space alloted for them something bad happens. The person flows into other people’s space. In this case, my space was the one being invaded. If you have not ever had the opportunity to fly for five hours leaning into the aisle of a jumbo jet, I can say I do not recommend the experience. If you fall asleep, as I did, the likelihood of your head being smashed by a stewardess cart is high. The woman seated in the middle seat actually oozed around the armrest, both below and above. I could not use the armrest at all because it was physically enveloped by this lady. I actually had to scoot as far left as possible to avoid being in constant physical contact with this woman, and even pressed up against the left side of the seat, I still got contact every time this lady shifted even a tiny bit. I’m not sure how she wedged herself in to begin with.
Ms. Overflow, as I will call her, was clearly uncomfortable with the fact that she was oozing into the seats to her right and left. She spoke not a word during the entire trip. She moved very little, and each time her gargantuan mass touched me she sort of tried to suck herself back into her alloted area. It was uncomfortable for both of us.
You would think that airlines would address this problem by putting in some seats for the larger people and charging them larger fares. I will not go through such an experience again. The next time I see that I have been seated next to someone who doesn’t fit into their space, I will complain and get off the plane if necessary. It’s just not worth the discomfort involved to be literally squashed against another human for that long a period of time. I’d rather embarrass us both. And Delta should be ashamed of itself for selling someone a space too small for them to fit into. I’ve dealt with worse inconveniences in life, but those were things I had no control over. I’m not flying the obese skies again. If we can measure baggage to ensure it will all fit, we can measure the people getting on the plane too.