A woman has complained to Air New Zealand after an obese passenger she was seated next to forced her to spend most of her three and a half hour flight standing in the aisle.

Caralyn Young, from Wellington, New Zealand, and her 10-year-old grandson were seated next to an obese man on a flight from Brisbane to Wellington on Monday.

Stuff NZ has reported that the passenger was so large he took up one and a half seats, wore an extension seat belt and had to set his arm rests up.

Caralyn Young was seated next to an obese man on an Air New Zealand flight from Brisbane to Wellington on Monday

Ms Young and her 10-year-old grandson were seated next to a passenger that was so large he took up at one and a half seats, wore an extension seat belt and had to set his arm rests up

Ms Young said 'one of his legs would have been twice the size of mine, and he was taking up one and a half seats, but he was a nice guy and he apologised to us.'

She said she spent most of the flight in the aisle or in the flight attendants area.

Ms Young complained to Air New Zealand, who code shared the flight with Virgin Australia, claiming the airline was negligent for flying with her unsafe seating arrangement.

Obese passengers have emerged as one of the greatest challenges facing the airline industry today.

A 2012 study from Skyscanner found that overweight passengers were the second biggest annoyance for passengers, second only to bad hygiene.

One airline, Airbus, has started offering extra-wide seats for overweight passengers who are too big to comfortably fit in normal sized seats.

Virgin Australia, who operated the flight, offer a 'comfort seat' policy which is designed for passengers who need extra room, however it is left up to the individual guests to asses whether they require the service.

Ms Young complained to Air New Zealand, who code shared the flight with Virgin Australia, claiming the airline was negligent for flying with her unsafe seating arrangement

A 2012 study from Skyscanner found that overweight passengers were the second biggest annoyance for passengers, second only to bad hygiene

A spokesperson for Virgin Australia has told Daily Mail 'Virgin Australia is committed to doing our best to accommodate all Guests comfortably.

'In a situation where a Guest appears unable to travel comfortably in one seat, we do our best to seat them next to an empty seat. If the flight is full, we offer to move the relevant Guest to another flight at no cost to them.

'In this case the affected guest on board was not comfortable with the assigned seating arrangements. Every effort was made during the flight to reaccommodate their needs and we sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused.'