Commercial Fixed Wing
Human-Machine Interface; Situational Awareness
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural FAR; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Passenger Misconduct
General None Reported / Taken
Human Factors
I was deadheading on this flight. A passenger of size came to sit in 12B and informed me he would be sitting in 12C. I complied. This passenger proceeded to take up his seat as well as half of mine. I could not sit back in my seat. This is a safety concern. In the event of an emergency situation I would not have been able to take the brace position. For take off and landing 12A had their armrest up and my back was jammed up against that. During flight; I stood in the galley. The working crew called the agent to review situation. Agent told passenger that if seat rest would not go down he would have to purchase a second seat. Passenger started to show that the armrest would go down and agent walked away. In fact the armrest only went 1/4 of the way but the agent left before seeing that. I had no alternative but to sit there; if I had walked off flight I would have been charged with job abandonment. Even though I didn't feel safe.
A passenger reported the passenger seated in the aisle seat next to him/her was of such size as to make it impossible to remain in the center seat unless the arm rest between seats A and B was up in which case the reporter intruded on the space of the window seat passenger. In addition; it would have been impossible to take a brace position should it have become necessary.