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Proud Plus-Size Traveler Reveals Why She Won’t Book 2 Airline Seats, Gets Blasted As ‘Selfish’
Kirsty Leanne, a plus-sized travel influencer, has explained why she does not book two seats whenever she flies.
According to Leanne, one of the reasons for her TikTok explainer is recurring criticism, based on the idea that reserving two spots on a flight is a fix-all solution.
She also claimed that airline staffers cannot understand one person booking two seats and often give the second one away.
Highlights
- Plus-sized travel influencer Kirsty Leanne says booking two seats isn’t always practical or honored.
- Critics say it’s about respecting other passengers’ space, not just comfort.
- A Reddit thread predated the debate, with flyers recounting uncomfortable seating situations.
RELATED:
Kirsty Leanne says it is not a “one-size-fits-all issue”
Image credits: kirstyleannetravels
“I’m plus-sized and here is why I don’t book two seats every time I fly,” the text overlay on the first image of a slide show reads.
“One of the most common comments I receive on my videos is ‘I hope you booked two seats’ and while I understand that seems like the right solution when it comes to small seats on planes, it’s not a ‘one size fits all’ issue.”
“Booking two seats can be incredibly expensive and for a lot of people it’s out of their budget to spend that much on something they’re not sure will work 100%.”
Image credits: kirstyleannetravels
“Booking can also be super tricky,” Leanne surmised.
Social media wants to know what happens if you try to avert the eventuality at the boarding gate?
Leanne–as can be seen by the deluge of comments (almost 3,000 at the time of writing) responding to the video–broached a hot topic among travelers.
Testifying to the recurrence of the quandary, one jetsetter took to Reddit for answers.
Image credits: kirstyleannetravels
“On a recent flight I was seated next to a really big guy. For added detail, he needed a seatbelt extender and when the arm rest was down, you couldn’t even see it… he took up half the seat I was in,” they explained.
“There was fortunately another open seat and a flight attendant told me no problem, I could move.”
“But what if I had asked while we were still at the gate?” the netizen asked.
Image credits: kirstyleannetravels
“What’s the protocol on that? I know what it ‘should be.’ But what is it in practice?”
Another plus-sized traveler feels “obese folks should be aware of the space they take up”
One of the first people to weigh in was another plus-sized flier, and they were sympathetic to the enquirer’s cause.
View this post on Instagram
“As someone who is obese, I am hyper aware of not taking up any of my neighbor’s space. When I got really big, I started flying first class to skip any anxiety of being too big for my coach seat or disturbing my neighbor,” they wrote.
They were aware of Leanne’s reservations about the financial aspects of booking an extra seat and stated as much when they wrote:
“I understand I am fortunate in life that I can fly first class,” but doubled down on the fellow traveler’s perspective, saying, “obese folks should be aware of the space they take up on a plane, and purchase two coach tickets if they are flowing over into their neighbor’s seat/space.”
Booking two seats is for the benefit of a fellow passenger, wrote one critic
Image credits: kirstyleannetravels
A faction of Leanne’s followers took issue with her explanation, and one user in the comment thread shot back: “With respect, I think you are missing the point.”
“The reason you book two seats is not for you. It’s for people with whom you may be sharing their seat.”
Another netizen underscored the perspective when they wrote: “I was [seated] next to a woman who should have bought two seats this year. She took a third of my seat, causing me to lean forward the entire flight,” they recalled.
View this post on Instagram
“My back hurt for three days after. If you cannot fit inside your seat, buy another. It’s selfish not to.
It appears that sitting next to men can be as challenging
Another commenter felt that the discourse around the topic was disproportionate because of the recurring issue of men sitting with their knees apart.
Image credits: kirstyleannetravels
“I have been in the middle seat between two men before,” they complained, “and it was the most uncomfortable flight of my entire life.”
People see Leanne as selfish
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What do you think ?
TruthoftheHeart 5 months ago
It is nobody's job to accommodate you because you have grown to huge unhealthy sizes.
David 5 months ago (edited)
I am overweight, but I fit in the seat, if I ever got fat enough that I would spill over, I would buy a second seat. You are responsible for yourself, and you are essentially leasing your spot for the flight, if you take up too much space that it encroaches on another persons seat, you are stealing from them. If you cant fit, buy 2, if you cant afford, then dont fly. If you buy 2 and the airline takes one away from you, then that is the airlines responsibility bc you did the responsible thing and tried to the right action, and that is the only case you are in the right as an person too big for your seat. However, if you let the airline know in advance the second seat is bc you need it for size seasons, they block out your second seat from being reassaigned, I know people who do that
Load More Replies...
Koko 5 months ago
so she CHOOSES to be overweight and expects to be treated with specialty? that's nuts, even people with dogs going on flights will pay extra if their dog is oversized.
cugel. 5 months ago
Interestingly, clickbait posts like these used to have a familiar pattern: any suggestion, however faint, that the complainant loses weight to solve their weight-related problems would be downvoted to the depths of Hell. But sanity seems to have crept in lately, very odd.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 5 months ago
Because people are becoming obese younger and younger these days - including CHILDREN, which is absolutely horrific (and a form of child abuse, IMO.) People are dying from obesity-related conditions/issues younger and younger. When I was a teenager, my cousin died aged 24 from obesity-related kidney failure. It was uncommon for someone THAT young to die of obesity-related causes back then (early 90s), but it's MUCH more common now. I think we're finally realizing, as a culture, that obesity is not "healthy" - being obese is a negative health condition and you are not "perfectly healthy" if you are obese, no matter what your bloodwork says (have heard my family members claim perfect health because "their bloodwork is fine!" when they are 300+ lbs.) We are actually just animals (albeit sentient ones) and obesity is not a natural condition.
Load More Replies...
Barbara Wilcock 5 months ago
Stop making excuses. I'm sorry, but you chose your lifestyle. Unless its an illness (doubt it),get help with your a*******n. I would not like to sit next to you.
Cyndi Hafele 5 months ago
I booked 2 seats on a flight years ago. The airline gave me my 2 seats, but at opposite ends of the plane. I explained my reason for booking the 2 seats, and how difficult it would be for me to occupy both seats simultaneously. We laughed, and they gave me 2 seats together.
Emilu 5 months ago
I’m kind of torn here. No reason she should buy an extra seat to have it given to someone else (!?), but if I’m sitting next to you I don’t really want you taking up half my seat, either. And it said, IIRC, that she chooses the middle seat, so she’s actually taking up two peoples’s seats, potentially.
Papa 5 months ago
If she books the middle seat she's probably taking up space belonging to two other people, one on each side.
Load More Replies...
Ellinor she/they/elle 5 months ago
The fact that the airlines companies give people's seats away is baffling.
Auntriarch 5 months ago
I don't see how it's legal, or even logical - if she's paid for two seats surely the airline has made it's money on the second seat
Load More Replies...
zatrisha 5 months ago
I've already sat on the plane between two extremely overweight people - I had no armrest and only 60% of my seat, even though I paid for 100%. It's absolutely outrageous. I don't care if the overweight people or the airline solve this problem, but I as a normal weight person will not do it! In addition, these so-called plus-size influencers promote an unhealthy lifestyle and should be banned.
TruthoftheHeart 5 months ago
It is nobody's job to accommodate you because you have grown to huge unhealthy sizes.
David 5 months ago (edited)
I am overweight, but I fit in the seat, if I ever got fat enough that I would spill over, I would buy a second seat. You are responsible for yourself, and you are essentially leasing your spot for the flight, if you take up too much space that it encroaches on another persons seat, you are stealing from them. If you cant fit, buy 2, if you cant afford, then dont fly. If you buy 2 and the airline takes one away from you, then that is the airlines responsibility bc you did the responsible thing and tried to the right action, and that is the only case you are in the right as an person too big for your seat. However, if you let the airline know in advance the second seat is bc you need it for size seasons, they block out your second seat from being reassaigned, I know people who do that
Load More Replies... Koko 5 months ago
so she CHOOSES to be overweight and expects to be treated with specialty? that's nuts, even people with dogs going on flights will pay extra if their dog is oversized.
cugel. 5 months ago
Interestingly, clickbait posts like these used to have a familiar pattern: any suggestion, however faint, that the complainant loses weight to solve their weight-related problems would be downvoted to the depths of Hell. But sanity seems to have crept in lately, very odd.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 5 months ago
Because people are becoming obese younger and younger these days - including CHILDREN, which is absolutely horrific (and a form of child abuse, IMO.) People are dying from obesity-related conditions/issues younger and younger. When I was a teenager, my cousin died aged 24 from obesity-related kidney failure. It was uncommon for someone THAT young to die of obesity-related causes back then (early 90s), but it's MUCH more common now. I think we're finally realizing, as a culture, that obesity is not "healthy" - being obese is a negative health condition and you are not "perfectly healthy" if you are obese, no matter what your bloodwork says (have heard my family members claim perfect health because "their bloodwork is fine!" when they are 300+ lbs.) We are actually just animals (albeit sentient ones) and obesity is not a natural condition.
Load More Replies... Barbara Wilcock 5 months ago
Stop making excuses. I'm sorry, but you chose your lifestyle. Unless its an illness (doubt it),get help with your a*******n. I would not like to sit next to you.
Cyndi Hafele 5 months ago
I booked 2 seats on a flight years ago. The airline gave me my 2 seats, but at opposite ends of the plane. I explained my reason for booking the 2 seats, and how difficult it would be for me to occupy both seats simultaneously. We laughed, and they gave me 2 seats together.
Emilu 5 months ago
I’m kind of torn here. No reason she should buy an extra seat to have it given to someone else (!?), but if I’m sitting next to you I don’t really want you taking up half my seat, either. And it said, IIRC, that she chooses the middle seat, so she’s actually taking up two peoples’s seats, potentially.
Papa 5 months ago
If she books the middle seat she's probably taking up space belonging to two other people, one on each side.
Load More Replies... Ellinor she/they/elle 5 months ago
The fact that the airlines companies give people's seats away is baffling.
Auntriarch 5 months ago
I don't see how it's legal, or even logical - if she's paid for two seats surely the airline has made it's money on the second seat
Load More Replies... zatrisha 5 months ago
I've already sat on the plane between two extremely overweight people - I had no armrest and only 60% of my seat, even though I paid for 100%. It's absolutely outrageous. I don't care if the overweight people or the airline solve this problem, but I as a normal weight person will not do it! In addition, these so-called plus-size influencers promote an unhealthy lifestyle and should be banned.
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