No tricks F3G just how it is. Whichever way this situation is viewed at present it is loose/loose for everyone apart from the carrier. Until all carriers wake up to the fact obesity is an ever increasing problem within the UK this situation will not be addressed.
Avitor has made the very relevant point here.....safety should take priority over profit. All UK carriers I think would adhere to this even if it is not immediatly apparent to Joe Public. Unfortunately profit will take priority over comfort.
I have recently travelled on a Monarch airlines Airbus 300 as a pax/SLF for a weekend break. The amount of pax crammed onto this plane was in my opinion obscene. Furthermore the working enviroment for the CC which I have appreciation of was hardly ideal. Unless they are a size zero it was difficult to walk forwards down the cabin without touching overhanging pax limbs in the aisle which I know pax do not like either. Also I would have found it very frustrating to have pax constantly in the galley area queing for the loo's. This is how the plane is designed in order to maximise seating which no douubt works very well for the Monarch exec's and their yearly bonuses.
I have a friend who works for Monarch and on his recommendation duly purchased legroom seats and I certainly got these. However the width was very poor even allowing for the tray table stowage I knew would be there. I am a size 12-14 so hardly large. I could put up with this for my short hop to the med but I'm not sure I would have been so tolerant if I had been going to say Goa which is around 10 hours and I believe the max this plane does. What can the CC/Captain do about it? Nothing I'm afraid.
Looking to my right I saw Mr and Mrs Rotund sitting on the exit row with their extention belts and the CC responsible for the exit squeezing in next to them on her seat. Unlike some carriers Monarch appear to have no policy on this
I asked my friend re this point and as a pilot he didn't know either
. However he did tell me that 361 was the amount of pax Monarch had proven to the CAA they could evacuate from this plane so that is what it holds now. They have even made modifications to ensure they can achieve this i'e no bulkheads dividing the cabin's.
This is a classic example of a carrier maximising profit but putting safety first. As for comfort well it might be worth checking with your carrier what you are actually paying for at the time. I'm afraid it seems if you want comfort then one way or another you will have to pay for it.
Not saying I agree with this I think it is just how it is nowdays.
Guess I can expect some incoming now
!