Airline passenger sparks viral debate about plus-sized seatmate issue

A passenger who was sitting next to a "man of stature" during a long flight took to social media to ask users what they would have done if they were uncomfortable.

"I would never want to embarrass him or make a scene, but for future reference is there anything that could have been done?" the user asked.

In the Reddit forum "unitedairlines," users shared their own experiences and suggestions.

One user said, "This happened to me recently. The armrest could go down, but he was otherwise spilling into my seat."

Another chimed in, "Happened to me last year and I regretted the entire five-hour flight. As soon as they plop down I would immediately get out and talk to a FA [flight attendant] about moving."

Another user said blame shouldn't be placed on others, but that the issue is due to the sizing of the seats.

"Firstly it has to be acknowledged, and usually the encroaching party will acknowledge and apologize," one user said. "Assuming you can't change to a different seat, you have the option of getting off and switching to a later flight."

The same user added, "You could get the [flight attendant] involved and get the encroacher kicked off (especially if armrest can't go down)."

One user said sitting next to a person of large size is not a top concern while flying.

A user added, "While there are definitely 'better' and polite ways to go about it, in nearly all scenarios you go to the FA."

"It's important to be mindful of the other person's space, and considerate and realistic about the situation," said Cheperdak. "If a flight is full, you may be out of luck, but it doesn't hurt to privately ask a member of the flight crew if it is possible to change seats before you take off."

Cheperdak said that "it's best to ask privately by, for example, getting up from your seat, so that you don't needlessly embarrass the other person about their size."

Randall suggested that passengers who are uncomfortable politely address the space issue after engaging in friendly small talk. 

"Once you've established rapport, bring up the obvious seating dilemma. Wait to see how they respond," said Randall about the other passenger. 

Randall added, "When rapport is established with someone, we are more inclined to compromise and show more consideration."