As the average-sized wife of a large Australian, can I ask people for a bit of understanding - partly for those who travel with large pax! My hubby is a large guy because he is big-built, and because he has trained for sport, leading to him being 6'2" and with the build of an American footballer. AS all my family are in the UK, he subjects himself to the agony of squeezing into airline seats so that he can visit them. If we could afford to pay for an extra seat all the way to the UK and back, then I would, but
He manages to eat by putting his meal on my table as he can't lower his own, and I always sit in the middle seat (which I personally hate) so that he doesn't impinge on anyone else's space. However by the end of the flight its me, not him, that feels like kak - I can't eat, because only one tray fits on the table, and to ask to be fed early would cause him embarrassment. I can't have anything in the seatpockets because he puts one leg acriss and under the seat in front of me, and I can't actually move, because I try so hard not to move across and thus annoy the pax on the other side, whilst allowing hubby to expand into my own seat space.
I adore long haul flights when I go alone, but with him its pure hard hungry work.
BTW - its not sypmathy I'm after, if it sounds like I'm whining, its just understanding - for both of us.