[rootusrootus]

I'd probably choose the window seat myself, because while it is cramped, it is predictably so. When I sit in an aisle seat, it's not as cramped but I regularly get shoulder checked by passing people or beverage carts.

What really makes me nervous if I'm in an economy seat is the seat in front of me. Depending on how the seat is designed, if the person suddenly reclines (or hell, just flexes the seat a bunch while moving around), it can come pretty close to pinching the laptop screen. That would be bad news.

[ryandrake]

That was the first thing I thought of when I saw the image. That's a very expensive computer that you risk destroying when the 300lb guy in front of you decides to lean back.

The ergonomics of using a laptop on an economy-class tray table are not worth it. You're sitting there like a T-rex trying to make your arms as small as possible to tap on the keys. And the vertical viewing angle to your screen sometimes prevents you from even seeing anything. I wouldn't even bring my laptop out during a flight.

[sweetjuly]

>The ergonomics of using a laptop on an economy-class tray table are not worth it. You're sitting there like a T-rex

The trick I've found is to pack a bluetooth keyboard. If you put your laptop on the tray table, you can put the bluetooth keyboard on your legs _under_ the tray table and have your arms fully and comfortably extended. This works especially well if you're a vim/emacs/other keyboard driven editor user as you very rarely need to reach up to poke the trackpad .

[democracy]

You just learn how to type with your toes. It is an easy skill to master and then comes handy when you drive, or sit at important meetings (you can just keep coding away) and noone's the wiser.

[walthamstow]

In the image it's on his lap, not the tray table. I agree, using the tray is not worth it. The ideal is a tray that folds in half so I can use that to hold a drink and keep the machine on my lap.

The tradeoff of poor comfort is insane productivity, for me anyway. Being restricted in place, no wifi, inconvenient toilet breaks, not in control of meal times, all means I get a lot of work done

[Der_Einzige]

Obese people (250lb+) shouldn't even be allowed in Economy.

[hansvm]

Maybe.

On the other hand, in economy on some planes I just literally don't fit in a forward direction because of femur length and cycling muscles, I don't fit in a sideways direction either because of broad shoulders and arm muscles, and I don't comfortably fit vertically on some planes with fixed-position headrests which push into the middle of my shoulder blades and have me hunched the whole flight.

I'm also not _that_ big. I'm 6'2" and have lived my life moderately actively. That's it. I'm biased, but I believe economy should be designed so that I can fit too.

If you agree with that premise, that'd leave plenty of space for most 250lb people too, and there'd be no reason to exclude them.

[0x1ch]

Man, I hate being rude because I myself weighed 230lbs once upon a time, I get it. I just dealt with a 200lb+ man who spread his legs past the arm rests. Pissed me off the whole flight because I had to contort my body in my own seat so he wasn't spilling into me.

[DANmode]

You didn’t have to, but possibly that was preferable to confrontation.

[zrail]

Sweet, free upgrades!

Edit to be slightly less obtuse: surely you're not implying that a common carrier be allowed to discriminate based on facts about a passenger's body without making reasonable accommodations. Surely you're not implying that obese people not be allowed to fly at all. Surely you're not suggesting that fat people should just remove themselves from society so you don't have to deal with them.

Therefore, obese people should get free upgrades to economy plus or better. Thanks for the idea!

[armchairhacker]

Free upgrades sound reasonable to me. Especially if obesity becomes less common via GLP-1s.

[0xffff2]

I'll imply those things. If you don't fit in the seat, you should have to buy two seats is a not very controversial opinion on the internet IMO. I think that opinion basically violates all of your "surely"s already.

Where do you draw the line? A 250lb person probably mostly fits in their seat still, but at some point a person is just physically going to take up two seats. Do you really think the airline should be responsible for flying them in business class (premium economy doesn't give you more width on most/all airlines)? Does it matter if their weight is due to a medical condition or just laziness? What if they're so big that even a first class seat won't contain them?

[rootusrootus]

The issue is for the airline to solve, since they are the ones trying to make seats comically small.

Also, you have to include other attributes. E.g. Not my problem that you have freakishly long legs, if you have to prevent me reclining then maybe you should have to pay for premium economy. And what if you are broad shouldered? Same deal, not my problem, you have to stay inside the boundaries of your own seat.

I would rather we used regulation to make economy seats a bit larger. Call it a safety issue, since it is.

[Der_Einzige]

The downvote the upvote ratios in this thread imply that significant amounts of HN are land whales.

[phantomathkg]

How about having a law that ban super tight economic seat?

[verzali]

What are you, a communist? /s

[braebo]

Packing people into tiny spaces like sardines should be illegal.