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Are you asking yourself questions similar to these?
“When do I have to buy TWO seats on an airline?”
“What policies do the airlines have for overweight passengers?”
“Are there seatbelt extenders available on my flight?”
As airline tickets start to out-compete each other in affordability with economy airlines and basic economy seating, many passengers are baffled by what has changed over the last few decades in the airline industry.
One of these changes seems to be the seat in which we are paying to sit in for hours at a time.
There are speculations about airlines shrinking seat sizes to make room for more individual seats, ultimately aiming to generate more profit and opportunities for the public to travel. While there are actual cases of reconstructing the sizes of plane seats, the reason behind this isn’t always confirmed to the public for the reasoning.
With over 60% of adult Americans being classified as overweight or obese, these changes can make traveling a very daunting decision when the information isn’t relatively easy to find on the internet. For plus-size travelers, the confusion about the seat policies, seat belt sizes, and more are all contingent to these ever-changing seats on many of the airlines.
So to help you, we researched all of the United States’ major airline policies for overweight travelers and ranked them based on seat sizing, obesity policies, and any additional information provided to customers for passengers of size.
*All information was gathered for economy size seating for equal comparison.*
Frontier Airlines offers two of the largest seat options on this list starting at 18.1 inches wide for the aisle & window seats and the middle seat measuring in at 19.3 inches wide.
However, because there is no known information provided to customers either online or through their customer service about the length of seat belts and seat belt extender lengths this places them at the bottom of our list.
The Frontier Airlines policy for obese passengers states that if a passenger cannot lower the armrest and/or they overlap into the seat next to them Frontier request the passenger to purchase a second seat.
In the policy for obese travelers, Frontier does mention that they can move passengers for their comfort on flights that are not fully booked.
Frontier Airlines offers many different options for flying and holds some of the cheapest flights in the United States currently. This can make the purchasing decision a little easier for individuals, even obese and plus-size travelers who might want a little more room and opt to purchase a second seat for themselves.
Frontier Airlines Seat Size: 18.1 inches wide (aisle & window seats), 19.3 inches wide (middle seat)
Spirit Airlines has many different aircraft models in their fleet that they provided detailed information in seat sizes for. However, at the time of updating this information (2020) they no longer offer this information.
They do note that their “Big Front Seats” do provide a width of 18.5 inches with a 36″ pitch.
These seats, however, are extremely popular for many travelers, not just plus-size travelers due to the minimal legroom in the rest of the aircraft.
Comparatively, the rest of the aircraft offers seat sizes of approximately 17.8 inches wide and about 30″ pitch.
Information on seat belt sizes on many different Spirit Airlines aircraft is not available and while they do offer seat belt extenders, you can’t use on the inflatable seatbelts. The seats with inflatable seatbelts can be found on their website.
The Spirit Airlines policy for obese passengers states customers of size must purchase a second seat “to accommodate a guest of size who encroaches on an adjacent seat area and/or is unable to sit in a single seat with the armrests lowered.”
United Airlines seat sizes range from 17 to 18.3 inches in width, most commonly the middle seat having the larger width in this scale.
Although all information about seat sizes, seat belt length and extender length is available, the policy for obese individuals flying on United Airlines states you much request an extender prior to boarding.
While the policy does state this, many flight attendants will discreetly pass you an extender after boarding if you are in need of one. This is extremely helpful considering that many of us don’t realize that we need an extender until we sit down and try to buckle up.
Despite the inconsistency of the policy, this makes it extremely difficult for many first time flyers to understand what is actually best practices for United Airlines.
Noted as one of the major airlines in the United States and around the world Delta Airlines offers many perks for its passengers.
However, they are also one of the airlines that offer smaller seat sizes at just 17.2 inches wide and seat belt extenders measuring at 12 inches, on our list. Despite the perks and SkyMiles, for customers of size these necessities could cause an issue when flying.
The Delta Airlines policy for obese passengers states that if there are empty seats available you can ask to be moved to this location once boarding is completed or you can purchase an upgrade to first/business class seating. You do not have to purchase a second seat unless you want to guarantee an empty seat available for comfort.
American Airlines provides plus size travelers with a breakdown of their aircraft fleets seat sizes, letting customers have a chance to know the exact sizes of their airplanes seats.
The sizing of the economy or basic economy seating starts between 16 & 16.5 inches in width within their fleet. This can make traveling as a plus-size individual extremely frustrating, especially when aircrafts can change after purchasing your tickets.
The seat belt length of most aircrafts in American Airlines fleet averaged approximately 45 inches long. However, they do not provide information about their airline’s seat belt extender sizes.
The American Airlines policy for obese passengers states a second seat is required if a customer’s body extends more than 1 inch beyond the outermost edge of the armrest and a seat belt extension is needed.
You can look up your airplane model here (http://bit.ly/AA_Seats).
Alaska Airlines might now have flights that go across the entire United States, but they do offer plus size travelers one of the largest seat belt lengths and extenders on this list at 46 inch for the original seatbelt and an additional 25 inches on seatbelt extenders.
Passengers who require a seat belt extender are required to only utilize the ones Alaska airlines offers, per their policies and do not allow you to sit in an exit row.
When it comes to purchasing a second seat, the Alaska Airlines policy for obese passengers states that they require an additional seat purchase if you cannot sit comfortably in a seat with both armrests down.
You may not have heard of Allegiant Airlines unless you travel a lot in the southern states of the United States. We learned about Allegiant Airlines during our trip to Savannah, Georgia. As we were sitting in the airport on an extremely long delay, we started noticing that there were a lot of larger dogs walking around. This intrigued us to start asking questions and thus we learned about Allegiant Airlines.
Allegiant Airlines seat sizes start at 17.8 inches in width, offering an average seatbelt length of 40 inches for passengers of size. These are very similar to the the sizing of Southwest airlines amenities for plus-size passengers, however because there is no information available on the length of seat belt extenders it can be frustrating for travelers.
The Allegiant Airlines policy for obese passengers states that passengers who cannot lower the armrest or who compromise any portion of an adjacent seat should purchase a second ticket during their reservation.
If you are traveling in the United States, Southwest provides plus size passengers with one of the larger seating options at 17.8 inches wide, along with one of the longest seat belt options at a length of 39 inches long. The available seatbelt extenders are measured at 24 inches long and it should be noted that if you opt to bring your own, make sure you have a Type B (not compatible with other airlines).
The Southwest Airlines policy for obese passengers does not assign seats at check-in, therefore it offers plus size travelers a chance to find two vacant seats next to each other without always having to purchase a second seat if the flight is not full.
In 2016, federal courts stated that Hawaiian Airlines was not being discriminative towards passengers of size when they started moving passengers based on their size for better balance within the plane. There was no policy information on the companies website as of 2018 about these changes, therefore, we could not take it into account.
Hawaiian Airlines offers one of the largest seat belt sizes, measuring at 51 inches in length, in this list along with one of the larger seat sizes, at 18 inches wide. Allowing for plus size passengers to have more comfort and less embarrassment when needing to ask for an extender.
The Hawaiian Airlines policy for obese passengers states that they will look for an alternative seat on your flight if you cannot sit comfortably with the armrest lowered.
JetBlue was recently ranked one of the worst airlines in America, the factors that determined that ranking have no implication into why we chose JetBlue to be the number 1 Airline for Portly Passengers.
JetBlue offers passengers one of the largest seat sizes in economy seating for overweight passengers measuring between 17.8 inches to 18.25 inches wide. The seatbelt length for JetBlue Airlines averages approximately 45 inches long with an offering of a 25 inch seat belt extender to those in need.
Jetblue does not have a policy for overweight passengers and asked that customers choose on their own.
Because of Jetblue Airlines policy for obese passengers allows travelers to determine their own needs this puts a lot of accountability on the travelers themselves.
The Portly Passengers provides plus size inclusive travel tips and advice for anyone who is looking to explore the world. From seat sizes on airplanes to exploring museums, restaurants, and nature Melissa & Peter have the experience and stories to help guide you through it.