Fat passengers to get extra-wide seats on planes

Airplane manufacturers are making seats for overweight passengers who are too big to comfortably fit in normal sized seats.

Airbus is offering airlines the option of installing extra-wide seats on A320 jets to cope with what it describes as 'trends in demographics'.

The extra-wide seats will measure 20 inches across instead of the standard 18 inches, and will likely be installed only as aisle seats.

Are you sitting comfortably? Airbus is offering airlines larger seats for obese people on its A320 planes

Window and middle seats will each lose an inch of width to generate the extra space.

Airbus is selling the idea as an innovative way to 'meet passenger needs' - even though two-thirds of passengers will have to make do with less space.

The plans were announced this week at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, Germany.