A recent photo of a plus-sized passenger trying to fit into a tight airplane seat has gone viral and sparked a heated debate online. Many people are now questioning whether airlines should rethink how they design and assign seats.
The photo, which shows a man struggling to sit comfortably on a flight from Helsinki to Copenhagen, was first shared by Washington D.C.-based consumer advocate Christopher Elliott in September 2024. He posted it on Facebook, and later, the image was shared again by the Miami-based hip-hop group Pretty Ricky.
Pretty Ricky, who are best known for their 2000s hit “Grind with Me,” reposted the photo and shared their opinion about how airlines should better accommodate larger passengers.
They wrote: “Airlines will have to have something in place for plus-sized passengers. This image was taken recently on a flight showing how difficult it is for people who are bigger than one seat.
“It’s also difficult for those sitting next to them. It’s a difficult situation because the airline will need to think of a happy medium.”
The post quickly stirred up a big debate online, getting thousands of comments. A lot of people said that if someone can’t fit into one seat, they should have to buy two.
Reactions came in fast, with some people showing support and others being more critical. One person wrote, “If you’re using two seats, you should be paying for two,” which many others agreed with. Someone else pointed out, “Tall passengers pay extra for legroom, so why should width be treated any differently?”
”Personal choices…”
One person commented: “Easily solved, if you are this large, you need to buy two seats OR they should make oversized seats for people like this and charge them extra for the larger seat. Plain and simple.”
Another added: “The reason the majority of large people are large is not a medical reason, it’s personal choices. And those personal choices have ramifications…”
A third person chimed in: “People who buy one seat shouldn’t have to give half of it to someone spilling into their seat. If anything, they should pay half.”
Someone else shared their perspective: “As someone who is currently down 90lbs, being largely overweight is a choice 99 percent of the time.”
Still, many others pushed back, saying the real issue lies with how airlines keep making seats smaller. One user pointed out, “Airlines have been downsizing seat sizes for years to cram more passengers onboard. The lack of comfort isn’t just affecting plus-sized people — it’s affecting everyone.”
Plus-size travel influencer joins the debate
The conversation got more personal when plus-size travel influencer Jaelynn Chaney, who supports the idea of “fat liberation,” joined in. Chaney, 28, often speaks up for larger travelers and said that people shouldn’t have to change their bodies just to fit into airplane seats.
“Why should I have to shrink myself to fit into spaces never designed for me?” she said in a TikTok video. “The issue isn’t me — it’s the system.”
Chaney, who has been advocating for free extra seats for plus-size travelers, also responded to those who said she should just buy a first-class ticket. “First-class seats still don’t accommodate me,” she said. “Flying isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity.”
As the debate continues, some people are even pushing for new federal laws, like a proposed “Fat Equality Bill of Rights,” to make air travel more fair and accessible for people of all sizes. On the other hand, a few have suggested weighing passengers before flights—just like luggage—but that idea has been widely criticized as “inhumane.”
With strong opinions on both sides, one big question remains: Should airlines change their seating rules to be more inclusive, or should passengers be the ones to adapt? What’s your take?