How to fly with Delta AirLines

If you can avoid, please do so! So far my only domestic experience to compare is with Delta AirLines and US Airways. I consider myself an average person (190cm tall and a bit overweight about 98kg right now thanks to the American food).

At Delta AirLines, my legs can hardly fit in if I'm not sitting in an exit row, with US Airways I had no such problem. I had like 5cm (2 inch) space between my knees and the back of the seat in front of me. No it wasn't an exit row.

In the USA you can choose your seating as soon as you have your ticket confirmed. Unlike in Europe, where you can do that only while you're checking in providing better options for people checking in early. That means if your ticket was booked 'last minute' (1-2 weeks before departure, which is always the case if you're travelling because of business) you have the possibility of choosing from a set of 2-3 middle seats.

Now you really have to consider that you are in America, meaning that you might see huge people more often that in Europe (170cm tall about 130-150kg is not shocking to me any more). Now if you sit in the middle seat, then you have about 70% chance (Murphy's law applied) that both of your travel companions will belong to the weight group that should be forced to buy

• First class tickets (seats are bigger)
• Two seats (they use two anyways)
• Or airlines should consider introducing a new class for overweight people where the seat size is about 1.5 times bigger then on coach (economy) and your waist should be measured upon boarding and if you didn't buy the appropriate class your booking should be subject to cancellation if no upgrade is available. Otherwise forced upgrade is required.

According to all that information your ideal body is like this:

So if you are not a 160-170cm tall emo boy weighting around 45-55kg you're in trouble and most likely you'll have an unpleasant flight where you have the following options:

• request a seat change (you can forget this option since it is most likely that the plain is booked full if not overbooked, that's why you could only chose from middle seats, remember? And yes you should be thankful to God that you at least have a seat and didn't stay at the airport with the rest of the people having 'flexible travel plans'.)
• request an upgrade (very unlikely to have seats available in first class)
• lean forward during the whole flight because your shoulders don't fit in your seat, since the other two's fatty shoulders took up your shoulder space too. Having a portable gaming console or video playing device requires this position anyways.
• be comfortable with cuddling up with unknown obese people for a couple of hours, when your arms on the armrest will touch their side-belly fat, your shoulders will be pushed towards their fatty shoulders, and your thighs are pressing nice, soft human ham of your travel companions, and get familiar how they smell. That's why I'm most of the time thankful for the long years of allergy treatment with nasal sprays: most of the nerves in my nose are dead (Yeyy!).

You most probably remember this picture below as a reference when Ryanair announced to introduce overweight charge on their discount flights:

(Btw. I love Daniel Tosh's program on Comedy Central. For being there for us and making our lives happier, Daniel, we thank you!)

Imagine that you're the guy in the middle and you have two of the guy on his left; one on each side... Yeyy!

That's a fact that large number of Americans are overweights if not obese; thanks to processed food they buy in supermarkets that you don't have to cook, just microwave for 5 minutes or pour into boiling water and stir for 5 minutes (maybe add some butter, too), fast food restaurants (you'll hardly find any other kind of restaurant, especially in the suburbs where 80% of the urban American population lives), huge portions in restaurants belonging to 'fine dine' category (see picture below taken of a portion served in Maggiano's Restaurant), lack of exercise, and possibly having growth hormone in almost every kind food you can buy.

On the picture above it's not a bowl of food for more than one person, it is one serving. Yes, a single plate would be enough for dinner for a family of four... And this is all true, I've been to one restaurant of this particular chain...

And now I feel much better after writing all this.

I let my frustration from yesterday out... Peace.