I fly Southwest. I believe that it is the responsibility of the passenger to book an unoccupied
second seat if he/she cannot fit into the standard 17" seat space. I fly 4-6 times a month, half of those are international.
I can fit into one seat, but at 6'5" and 340 it is tight, so as a courtesy to my fellow travellers I buy a second seat. Many times, at least half, I am asked by the cabin crew to give up my second seat for: passengers that can't sit in their assigned seat for whatever reason;
crew members deadheading back to homebase; women that have had a fight with their boyfriend...and so on.
On a crowded flight, fully booked, that extra space of mine becomes very prime real estate. Only once did I say no - and that time I was told by the cabin crew that the seat was required for the safety of the flight, so you can imagine that I never said no again. By the way, never once was I reimbursed for the expense of the seat when it was comandeered. The one time I requested it, I was told that I should have not given it up...
Travelling while large is not easy. It works both ways folks. Have some compassion for the big folks. I think Kevin Smith did us all a favour by raising this obviously important, and sensitive issue.
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