If you’ve ever Googled “Which airline has the widest seats” or worried how much weight a kayak can hold or been afraid of being turned away from an amusement park ride, this conversation is for you.
We’re not putting off living our travel dreams because we’re fat.
Annette Richmond has created a community to support, inform and celebrate Fat Girls Traveling.
Watch Traveling While Fat with FGT Founder Annette Richmond.
Fat Girls Traveling
After Annette wrote a blog post in 2017 that went viral called Traveling While Fat & Black, she realized that there was a need for a community that supported fat womxn who have specific concerns about traveling in a plus-size body.
So Annette created Fat Girls Traveling, a Facebook community that encourages fat / curvy / plus size women to live their best lives.
Am I Too Fat To Fly?
This is one of the most common questions in the early days of the Fat Girls Traveling community.
Along with “Which airlines are fat friendly?” and “Should I buy my own seatbelt extender for my flight?”
Annette answered these questions for us during the livestream, and she encourages you to join FGT for even more helpful information.
About the Southwest Airlines Customer of Size Policy
If you will need 2 or 3 seats on a flight, Southwest will give you the additional seats at no extra cost. You just tell the agent you need to use their Customer of Size policy. But this might mean you’ll be put on a later flight if your current flight is full. To prevent this, you can book 2 tickets at purchase and be refunded for the second seat after your flight.
Don’t Bring Your Own Seatbelt Extender
I think the most exciting change that the FGT group has affected, is the normalization of asking the flight attendant for a seat belt extender.
A lot of fat travelers feel too embarrassed to ask for help when their seatbelt doesn’t fit, so they would pretend to be fastened in when they actually weren’t. This is dangerous and unnecessary.
Airlines have seat belt extenders; you just ask the flight attendant for it when you’re boarding. [You can buy a seatbelt extender yourself, but it may not be FAA compliant and may not keep you safe in the event of an emergency. Use the airline’s equipment for your own protection.]
Why is the seat belt extender conversation so exciting?
It means that people who once thought flying was out of the question for them are now living their travel DREAMS!
Body Positive Fat Camp!
FGT has grown into so much more than an online group.
In 2018 and 2019, Annette hosted Fat Camp, a body positive good time for curvy women. And she’s brining it back in 2022!
Make sure you’re following Fat Girls Traveling so you don’t miss out on the next live event.
And watch our interview for more information.
