[DuncanWaring]

I ran into a guy once who told a tale of a fellow sitting next to him who had bought two seats.

The problem was that the guy actually needed two-and-a-half seats.

[AnotherUnixGeek]

The problem was that the guy actually needed two-and-a-half seats.

I recently dealt with this situation on a Southwest flight. Some unfortunate big guy came in late and got the center seat in the last row, with me on the aisle. The gentleman was big enough to push me about halfway into the aisle, pinned against the arm-rest. It was literally not possible to sit upright. Since we were in the last row, beverage service and then the line for the restroom meant no escape for the duration. Incredibly uncomfortable for me and, I'm sure, the big dude, who not only had to endure the physical discomfort but spent so much time apologizing that I and everyone in range spent time trying to reassure him.

This was an extreme case, but the width of airline seats lost any connection with the width of American flyers quite a while ago. Americans in 2008 are big people but airline seats are built for Americans in 1958.