Viral
Plus-Sized Travel Blogger Gets Trolled Saying ‘Buy 2 Seats Or Don’t Fly’ After Sharing ‘Struggle To Fit’ Video
“They should make you pay more, just as we pay more for extra weight in our luggage.”
Travel blogger Kirsty Leanne from the UK has been hit with a barrage of cruel comments after her TikTok clip went viral. The viral clip has over 1.9 million views now with many people telling her to get two seats or not fly at all because of her size.
But Leanne was unperturbed because this wasn’t the first time she’s received cruel comments.
She shared with Jam Press, “I wanted to make a light-hearted video — using a very popular TikTok trend — to illustrate things that I know a lot of people face when they travel.”
That is because she’s the owner of Plus Size Travels Too (PSTT) where she shares tips and tricks for fellow plus-size travelers to have fun out there!
Her main motto was always convincing others that they can enjoy “traveling while fat” and find ways to make it as comfortable as possible. She always encourages getting window seats because they have more space and asking for belt extenders when necessary.
Following the lash backs after the viral video, she shared, “Choosing a comfortable seat, asking for a seatbelt extender, tray tables not going down, small bathrooms are all things we have to worry about when we travel and so I wanted to show people that they’re not alone.”
In the clips, Leanne appeared to have booked for an economic seat where she couldn’t get the tray fully down and the belt was just not enough for her.
Maybe a lot of us don’t experience the belt being too tight, but obviously, the space between seats was so limited that pulling the tray down means you can’t do anything else.
“Really not fair to others to take up 1 and a half seats. Buy 2 seats or don’t fly,” read one mean comment.
Another horrible user wrote, “They should make you pay more, just as we pay more for extra weight in our luggage. Or else say that passenger+suitcase is an overall weight.”
Leanne often mentions that airplane seats should be made bigger to accommodate more people, but one user snapped back, “The problem that I have, is you keep saying ‘bigger seats’ are the solution, no they are not.”
“Larger seats would only make flying less accessible…”
However, many people chimed in that they agree with airplane seats being ridiculously cramped.
“I don’t know why y’all are being as**oles. Airplane seats are tiny and uncomfortable for people of any size, especially bigger people,” pointed out one user. “I fly as part of my job and the seats are sooo uncomfortable and I’m skinny.”
Another user commented, “These comments are NOT IT. I’m a flight attendant and it is definitely up to the airline to work with you to find a solution. Love your content.”
Clarifying herself, she commented, “Also no, I am not blaming everyone but myself — I’m saying that there should be a few accessible options available for those that need them.”
“The lack of empathy and understanding in these comments is embarrassing. you shouldn’t have to apologize for the space you occupy. enjoy your travels!” wrote another user in support.
“Airlines’ seat pitch, the distance between a row of seats, has become smaller and smaller,” reported Forbes. Seat pitch used to be 35 inches and today, AirAsia has the smallest at 29 inches. Regulations from the FAA do not define the standard size for seats and airlines are continuously looking for ways to make it tighter and tighter to sardine passengers
Perhaps this video should’ve woken people up on how airlines are over maximizing their space?
@kirstyleannetravels It’s worth it though, I promise 💕 #plussizetraveltok #flyingwhilefat #plussizetravel #fatwanderbabes #emotionaldamage #traveltok ♬ Emotional Damage vs Pompeii – WILLIAM LI
