Flying Short Haul: Plus Size British Airways Review

For our UK followers and readers, flying with BA is very common. As an airline that covers a variety of major holiday destinations, as well as places like New York and Los Angeles, the chances of your flight from the UK being British Airways are high. 

We know that travelling with an airline you’ve not flown with before can be daunting as a plus size person, which is exactly why we’ve put together this British Airways review. From the seats to the toilets, we want to prepare you so you know what to expect when flying short-haul with BA. 

Please note: this review is based on a short-haul journey from London Heathrow to Ibiza on the Airbus A320. 

If there are any other airlines you’d like to see us review, please let us know here. 

Flying Short Haul: Plus Size British Airways Review

Booking

The booking process for BA is quite simple, however, it’s not overly clear what procedures are in place for those that may want to book a second seat for comfort. The website states that

You can choose your seats while booking, or wait until check-in to be randomly assigned. If you’re worried about which seats to book, checking seatguru.com is always a good idea. Here you can check the seat size and any other notes about whether or not you should be avoiding seats.

As always, we suggest avoiding emergency exits and bulkhead seats. 

Boarding 

British Airways boards in groups, rather than just allowing one big free for all *cough* Ryanair *cough*

The first groups to board are those that require more time to board and those with children. As a plus size traveller, you are eligible for more time to board so if you’d like to board during this time, you’re definitely able too. If you’re unsure, I suggest asking at check-in if you can do this too.

If you’re business, priority or have status with BA, you’re likely to be in groups 1-3. These groups board second, giving you a little more time to get to your seat before all of the chaos (it’s also a great way to ensure you get overhead locker space for your suitcase).

Finally, the remaining groups’ board. If you’re not in groups 1-3 we suggest waiting to board last as it will allow you to get to your seat without having to walk past as many people in the aisle. 

Speaking of the aisle, it’s a bit of a tight squeeze and difficult to walk down with both a suitcase and backpack. To avoid this as much as possible, you may want to choose seats towards the front of the plane as they do not board from the back. 

Note: you board using a tunnel, rather than steps. 

Seats

For short haul BA flights, the seat configuration is 3 – 3. They’re roughly between 17 and 17.5 inches, depending on the aircraft but for the Airbus A320 in particular they were 17 (according to Seat Guru). 

They’re not the biggest of seats, however, they’re better than some of the budget airlines we have flown with in the past. The window seat has a little more room to the side of the window and of course, the aisle seat gives you the space to angle yourself away from others. The middle should be avoided but as the armrests lift, it is still somewhat doable. 

The armrests in the aisle have a button underneath and to the back. If you press this, you can raise it for more comfort and make getting in and out easier. 

The armrests by the window do not raise.

Legroom

In economy seats, let room is definitely sparse. The seat pitch is 30 inches so if you’re tall, it’s going to be a little uncomfortable.

Unfortunately, the legroom seats available at the bulkhead and emergency exits are not suitable for plus size passengers this is because bulkhead seats tend to have static armrests and when it comes to emergency exits, those that need to use a seatbelt extender are not permitted to sit there. 

Seatbelts and Extenders

It wouldn’t be a plus size British Airways review without mentioning the seatbelts, would it? Seatbelts, unfortunately, vary depending on the aircraft and the seat you’re sitting in, but we found that (after trying three seats for research) they were all pretty small. Chances are if you’re a size 24 or above, you’ll need a seatbelt extender to be comfortable. 

You can ask for this when you board or once you’ve sat in your seat. We’ve travelled BA a number of times and find that they’re one of the airlines that prefer you to ask when you’re in your seat, rather than as you’re boarding. We did have to nudge them to bring it over to us again, so make sure you’re advocating for yourself and ensuring they bring one over.

The seatbelt extensions are red and easy to use. We have a guide here if you’re not sure!

Tray Tables 

Unfortunately, BA has one of the worst tray tables we have ever experienced on a flight. There is no comfortable way to manoeuvre the tray and so ultimately, it’s unusable. Thankfully there is no meal service and so it’s not required for food, but if you want to use your laptop and do some work, you’re going to find it extremely difficult. 

The only solution is to ask for a seat with an empty seat next to it so you can use the available tray (this works for long-haul flights too).

Toilets 

Finally, let’s talk about the toilet. It’s standard for the toilets on a plane to be small so honestly, we weren’t expecting much. It was, however, the smallest toilet we have experienced on a short-haul flight. There’s not a lot of space on either side of the toilet bowl and so some serious acrobatics are required to be able to use it. You can’t even sit at a slight angle as there’s no room to do this. Usually, this tactic will give you a little more room to open your legs when needed. 

In terms of standing space, there’s none. As a size 26, my stomach was touching the sink and my ass was touching the wall. If you needed to use the toilet two at a time, for example when travelling with your child, it’s going to be even more of a tight squeeze and probably not possible. 

There was also an accessible bathroom (with baby changing) next to the standard bathroom, but this did not appear to be much bigger.

Business class have a bathroom at the front of the plane however it was not clear whether or not this was more accessible. 

For a guide to using the bathroom on a flight, check out this post from our flying while fat series. 

British Airways Review: Conclusion

Overall, we have found that short-haul flights with BA are a little more comfortable than short-haul flights with budget airlines. This is mainly because of the quality of the seats and the extra inch or so they have on companies like Ryanair and WizzAir. 

The tray table and bathroom, however, are what let them down. Thankfully, these are things you don’t have to use on a flight and so if it’s possible to avoid them to make your experience easier, you can. 

Have you ever flown short haul with British Airways? What did you think? Is there anything we missed? Let us know!