Passengers too wide for aircraft seats

Air passengers are getting too wide to fit comfortably into some aircraft seats, a new survey has revealed.

The poll by the holiday company First Choice found that two-thirds of men are too broad-shouldered for their neighbours' liking in aircraft seats of 16-inch width, which is currently the narrowest operated.

And women have, on average, put on 1.5 inches around the hips between 1951 and 2002 and are also broader across the shoulders, according to the survey.