Enormous Dude

[hsmamato2]

If this man was boarded last, then Southwest was well aware that the plane was full, and that there was only one seat left, and that one seat would not work for this fellow. That is why I would hold SW partially responsible. The "big guy" may not have been aware that there was only one seat left. Even if there were just 2 left, people on the plane would probably shifted around to let him use 2 seats.

However, if it was me as the bigger person, I would have known I needed 2 seats, and even asked SW as I boarded, if there were 2 seats available for me. If they said no, only one seat, I would not have gotten on that plane. And I would way rather pay for 2 seats, or ask for 2 seats, than spill over onto other people. (I am not thin, but fit inside my seat fine on planes, so I have sympathy for the overweight).

Sorry this situation had to impact your trip, OP.

I agree. The person who knew they were too big should have dealt with this ahead of time. And SWA is at fault for knowing he was too large for that one last seat,(at the gate)they should have made arrangements with him for a different flight with 2 seats available.And for those who think it's so wrong to say what is fact, come on. It gets a little tiring, being a 'bad person' for dealing with an obvious problem. This is NOT the same as insulting or trying to make another person feel bad, it is about common sense. The gate agents should be trained to with 'across the board' boarding procedures, from seat saving, to family boarding,to people who are too large to fit into one seat,to disabled boarding....SWA needs a straight up policy,and no waffling around.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

You need to immediately get up and speak quietly to the flight attendants. Escalate, if necessary. It's possible that you may be asked if you want to move to a different flight or they may deplane the individual.

Never wait to complain; once the door is closed, there is nothing the airline can do. This is Southwest's fault; you need to write a short letter of complaint and ask for compensation.

 

[Disneytam]

I am really surprised that the airlines don't have a standard rule for over sized guests. Kind of like your carry on's, if they don't fit in the overhead compartment you have to check them. You see boxes all over airports for you to try your luggage in and if it doesn't fit then you are asked to check your bags. How about having a walk through that if you can't fit through you pay for two seats? I know it's not politically correct and a very sensitive topic to people but it would take out all the grey area's and you would know before you boarded if you would fit or not.

 

[seashoreCM]

You need a sizer frame or a tape measure for the suitcase because you can't tell the suitcase is oversized just by looking at it standing by itself.

Whereas the captain can come and see that someone is taking up another passenger's seat, or better yet, sitting down in that space himself for a minute or two.

You don't want to make a fuss

I beg to differ. You do want to make a fuss. But just keep it as discreet as you can, like not too many decibels or gesticulations. With more folks complaining, the airlines will find out more quickly that operations go more smoothly when a really large person at the gate is not given the last minute run for the last seat.

 

[Unas]

Imagine, boarding having number A20 and the bulkhead middle and aisle were available. Imagine, no one sits in the middle of the bulkhead row until the very last pax. Imagine, the super fat guy in the middle seat gets up and into the aisle around you.

Really? I guess maybe it could happen Call me a skeptic, but I don't think so.

 

[Gary M]

Unas, I don't appreciate being called a liar. Have you ever sat in a SWA bulkhead seat? The big guy got up and got into the aisle before me. I could not get up before he did, I was pinned in my seat. I could not even find my seat belt buckle to unlock it, his blubber was over the buckle. I'm not exaggerating how bad it was and it did happen. There was enough room for him to get to the middle seat. He never really sat all the way back in his seat because of his size. I don't think he ever had the seat belt on. He had a jacket laying over his ample belly and as far as I know he didn't ask for a seatbelt extension.

Unas, I am a very honest person and calling me a liar is uncalled for. I will refrain from throwing insults at you, but you have no clue about flying.

 

[Yellowjj]

Time to complain would have been the minute he sat down and you realized his overlapping spillage would not work.

I personally try to take other people's feelings into consideration. Yes it's true he should have purchased two tickets and that the gate agent shouldn't have allowed him to board, but imagine how he felt as well. I was on a recent flight from Portland to San Diego and even though my seatmates weren't overweight; they were both broad shouldered. So their shoulders were overlapping into my area. They apologized beforehand and I didn't really mind leaning on the window as I wanted to sleep anyway.

I would have spoken to the flight attendant and if my time is flexible (which it usually is when I'm traveling) asked to remove myself and get put onto another flight connecting at any of their closest hubs to Orlando. Save him the embarrassment of deplaning with everyone staring at him knowing the reason why.

I'm also curious how the flight attendant raised the arm rest up. Those are supposedly unmovable because the tray tables are in them. Never seen anyone manage to raise one in the bulkhead seats.

 

[keishashadow]

I am not thin, certainly not one to judge other's appearances. Having run into this situation when flying, my seat mate's very large upper body size became a safety issue since I had to loosen my seat belt and wiggle over into DH's window seat area or be squished. I did insist the FA wedge the armrest down between us when the person in question started to argue he had to have it up to be comfortable. Didn't help much with the leg he decided to stick into my floor space.

If you fly non-SWA fights, you will notice that gate attendants are top notch in sizing up acceptable carry on bags and assessing the proper fees based upon number & it's size. How difficult could it be to 'size up' a huge guest before they board to be just a bit proactive in avoiding this sort of situation? I suggest a 'test seat' like they have outside many of the amusement park rides, less than one click and you're paying for two seats or waiting for the next flight. IMO less harsh than finding out when onboard you won't comfortably fit in your seat.

 

[Gary M]

YellowJJ, I have flown hundreds of flights over the years and have seen the situation you are talking about with the tray tables. I believe 1st. and business classes are this way also. Usually these arm rest are for each seat in the front row and none can move. This was I believe an older plane and they didn't have the trays in the arm rest. I'm now curious whether all SWA airplanes have movable arm rest on the bulkhead row. The arm rest was movable and I was in a bulkhead seat.

 

[darlingdeb]

It truly is unfortunate that these scenarios happen and aren't easy to deal with. That being said, if your back was hurting so badly, you should have thought about going to a chiropractor or doing some stretches and taking a bath. It would have saved your entire vacation! I know, who wants to spent another $50-100, but you would have felt a whole lot better. They are used to seeing vacationers for all sorts of aches and pains. I have visited them all around the country for similar reasons (bad beds, carrying too much luggage, etc) and yes, they are very safe! (no, I am not a chiropractor)

 

[seashoreCM]

It is best to insist on being separated from the larger person and actually the easiest method is to get up without saying anything (other than "excuse me") and ask for another seat for yourself as soon as the problem starts. I can tell by what Keishashadow wrote a few replies above that the larger person in that instance was a bad person as well and the fact the flight went poorly was a self fulfilling prophecy. Although this very last point might not have been obvious at first, by the time you have gotten a head flight attendant (or the captain) to come look, during your absence the larger person will have sprawled a little more into your seat without trying.

 

[kandb]

Imagine, boarding having number A20 and the bulkhead middle and aisle were available. Imagine, no one sits in the middle of the bulkhead row until the very last pax. Imagine, the super fat guy in the middle seat gets up and into the aisle around you.

Really? I guess maybe it could happen Call me a skeptic, but I don't think so.

What do you think the OP made up the story?

 

[kandb]

Imagine, boarding having number A20 and the bulkhead middle and aisle were available. Imagine, no one sits in the middle of the bulkhead row until the very last pax. Imagine, the super fat guy in the middle seat gets up and into the aisle around you.

Really? I guess maybe it could happen Call me a skeptic, but I don't think so.

What do you think the OP made up the story?

 

[kaytieeldr]

I could not even find my seat belt buckle to unlock it, his blubber was over the buckle.

Are Southwest's seat belt designed that much differently from other airlines? Even with an empty seat next to you when buckling up, why would you fasten the seat belt so far over to one side, instead of in front of you?

 

[Disneyhappy]

Are Southwest's seat belt designed that much differently from other airlines? Even with an empty seat next to you when buckling up, why would you fasten the seat belt so far over to one side, instead of in front of you?

My buckle is always on the side when I fly SW. I have also had a similar experience but not quite as horrific as the OPs.

 

[barb969]

This happened to me a few years ago. I wrote to SW explaining the situation. They refunded my fare.

 

[DebbieB]

Imagine, boarding having number A20 and the bulkhead middle and aisle were available. Imagine, no one sits in the middle of the bulkhead row until the very last pax. Imagine, the super fat guy in the middle seat gets up and into the aisle around you.

Really? I guess maybe it could happen Call me a skeptic, but I don't think so.

OP stated in the first post that he was a "big guy". People probably avoided that seat. I really don't like bulkhead rows because I have to put my purse in the overhead. I lucked out when I returned from Orlando earlier this month. I took the window seat in row 14. Then a tall bigger guy came and sat in the aisle seat. Towards the end of boarding, the FA announced that there were only going to be 9 or 10 empty seats. No one took the middle seat, they passed my row, likely because of the guy in the aisle seat (ok, I'm not skinny either).

 

[Capang]

Flying has become a special kind of hell. Flying isn't easy for larger people or tall people. As long as those armrests can be down it doesn't matter how much of their body encroaches on other seats. They use the armrests as the definitive measure. Also, they state a second seat doesn't need to be purchased, it can be discussed at the gate and if a second or third seat is needed it will be complimentary. So why would a larger person buy an extra seat if they could be complimentary at the gate? That's not a fat person problem, that's a southwest problem. Other airlines are much stricter. I fly United and pay extra for economy plus. Gives DH extra legroom and me some extra wiggle room. My hips need that extra half inch or so,otherwise United would require me to buy an extra seat or get off the plane.
https://www.southwest.com/html/customer-service/extra-seat/index-pol.html
Flying is all about making a buck. Unfortunately, it has nothing to do with comfort.

 

[Gracie09]

Flying has become a special kind of hell. Flying isn't easy for larger people or tall people. As long as those armrests can be down it doesn't matter how much of their body encroaches on other seats. They use the armrests as the definitive measure. Also, they state a second seat doesn't need to be purchased, it can be discussed at the gate and if a second or third seat is needed it will be complimentary. So why would a larger person buy an extra seat if they could be complimentary at the gate? That's not a fat person problem, that's a southwest problem. Other airlines are much stricter. I fly United and pay extra for economy plus. Gives DH extra legroom and me some extra wiggle room. My hips need that extra half inch or so,otherwise United would require me to buy an extra seat or get off the plane.
https://www.southwest.com/html/customer-service/extra-seat/index-pol.html
Flying is all about making a buck. Unfortunately, it has nothing to do with comfort.

Read the first line of the link you posted. Any customer that encroaches on any part of neighbors seat....the arm rest are the boundaries. Meaning if you over flow the arm rests even if they come down, you are encroaching on your neighbors seat and need to purchase a second. Heck I can zip up a size eight pair of jeans but given the amount of excess body material coming out of the top of jeans I would be lying if I said I was a size eight.
Just because you can somehow squeeze yourself into a too small space doesn't mean you fit into it

 

[piccolopat]

I'm not sure why the people at the check in desk or boarding gate can't make sure a person of significant size hasn't purchased the required two seats. It doesn't sound like this was a case of someone who was just a bit overweight. Screening before boarding would prevent problems on board.