Getting thrown off the plane because your fat!

[Hannathy]

And frankly yes. They measure carryon luggage. They should have people measurements. That way it's fair for everyone.

You must not have been on the boards when it was suggested that the airlines have seats by the check in to see if people fit. Folks hit the ceiling!!!!!

I agree it would be more fair but the outcry was that would be much more humiliating and degrading to have people do this. So it is back to airline personnel "discretion"

I feel for the airlines because it is a very hard spot to be in and the folks who are large (and know it) don't make it any easier on them. If you need 2 seats just buy them don't make the airlines call you out on it and then you wouldn't be "humiliated"

 

[verticalchaos]

You must not have been on the boards when it was suggested that the airlines have seats by the check in to see if people fit. Folks hit the ceiling!!!!!

I agree it would be more fair but the outcry was that would be much more humiliating and degrading to have people do this. So it is back to airline personnel "discretion"

I feel for the airlines because it is a very hard spot to be in and the folks who are large (and know it) don't make it any easier on them. If you need 2 seats just buy them don't make the airlines call you out on it and then you wouldn't be "humiliated"

I agree that most people who DO need two seats legitimately DO know it. The problem comes when airline personnel are randomly deciding who does or doesn't. There have been other cases of people who DO fit Southwest's guidelines being removed and/or forced to buy another seat. It's the randomness that makes it scary.

Personally I think if they're going to discriminate it should be across the board. People with body odor problems? Off the plane. Too much perfume or cologne? Off the plane. Etc., etc. Those things encroach on others as well.

I'm only being a little sarcastic.

 

[bellaprincess98]

What is I have a small child in the seat besides me, and I "spill into his seat" would that also be a problem. And what about the seat belt?

 

[uva185]

I agree that most people who DO need two seats legitimately DO know it. The problem comes when airline personnel are randomly deciding who does or doesn't. There have been other cases of people who DO fit Southwest's guidelines being removed and/or forced to buy another seat. It's the randomness that makes it scary.

Personally I think if they're going to discriminate it should be across the board. People with body odor problems? Off the plane. Too much perfume or cologne? Off the plane. Etc., etc. Those things encroach on others as well.

I'm only being a little sarcastic.

Sorry but there is a huge difference between a smelly person and someones body smushed up against yours for a 5 hour flight. If you are too big (not necessarily fat) to fit within your own seat then you should be required to pay for an additional seat. I would include board shoulder individuals in the "Passenger of Size" category.

Perhaps Southwest should have a "test seat" at the check-in counter so people can double check before purchasing a ticket.

 

[taitai]

What is I have a small child in the seat besides me, and I "spill into his seat" would that also be a problem. And what about the seat belt?

That would be a problem. If a passenger cannot fit, and the arm rests cannot go down, then it is a problem. Buy another seat. Pay for first class which has bigger seats.

I think the problem with the Kevin Smith situation is that his arm rests did go down so there really was no justification for asking him to leave. However, if they did not go down, then they were correct in asking him to wait until the next flight where he was guaranteed two seats.

 

[ohlas]

My hubby doesnt have any fat on his sexy body but he is 5 10 and about 250lbs wideness and hardly fits in the seat. So are they going to ask him to buy 2 seats too. It just crazy maybe they should put weight/tall/wide limit out there... just like the luggage. and charge people up front instead of saying hey your on the plane and your too big get off lol

 

[uva185]

My hubby doesnt have any fat on his sexy body but he is 5 10 and about 250lbs wideness and hardly fits in the seat. So are they going to ask him to buy 2 seats too. It just crazy maybe they should put weight/tall/wide limit out there... just like the luggage. and charge people up front instead of saying hey your on the plane and your too big get off lol

Well a plane seat on Southwest is about 17" wide. If he is wider than that he should purchase 2 seats on Southwest to be safe. Have it refunded if the plane is not sold out OR if a FA determines he is not a PoS (Passenger of Size).

 

[taitai]

I actually wish they would just allocate everybody a certain amount of weight per ticket. You can use it with your own weight, you can use it for your luggage, your carry on, whatever. However, once you go past whatever the number is...say 250lbs...you pay.

I have sat on a plane next to someone who spilled over onto my seat and it was really uncomfortable. I had a hard time doing any work on my computer as I could barely move one arm and I couldn't get my tray table all the way down. Not sure what I would have done had there been an emergency and I had to get out of the row quickly.

Everyone wants cheap fares. However, one way they keep them cheap is to pack in as many seats as possible. If you can't fit into the small seat, get another one, irrespective of the reason you can't fit.

 

[MinnieGirl33]

Speaking as someone who has had Customers of Size sit next to me on more than one occasion, I am glad to see it whenever the policy is enforced.

I think the problem is there is no consistency in how it is enforced.

 

[ratmaster]

The truth of this is that very few people actually fit into an airline seat by the specifications that I see here. You are all focusing on people's backside fitting into the seat. What about your shoulders and arms. How many of you are 17" or less at every part of your body? That is less than a foot and a half. I fit (fairly snugly) into any airline seat because I have thick but muscular legs. I can get both armrests down without an issue. I can buckle my seatbelt. But, I have wide shoulders. If my shoulders are over 17" should I buy an extra seat because I spill into the seat next to me, not on the bottom but at my shoulders? Should a 130 lb woman who is more than 17" in the shoulders or from arm to arm buy another seat because her arms might bump the person next to her? Should you all have to wait for the next monorail because when standing you might touch another person?

Unless it's an extreme case, get over it.

 

[Hannathy]

The truth of this is that very few people actually fit into an airline seat by the specifications that I see here. You are all focusing on people's backside fitting into the seat. What about your shoulders and arms. How many of you are 17" or less at every part of your body? That is less than a foot and a half. I fit (fairly snugly) into any airline seat because I have thick but muscular legs. I can get both armrests down without an issue. I can buckle my seatbelt. But, I have wide shoulders. If my shoulders are over 17" should I buy an extra seat because I spill into the seat next to me, not on the bottom but at my shoulders? Should a 130 lb woman who is more than 17" in the shoulders or from arm to arm buy another seat because her arms might bump the person next to her? Should you all have to wait for the next monorail because when standing you might touch another person?

Unless it's an extreme case, get over it.

Sorry but yes if you are so large up top that you spill over into my seat then yes buy another one. People who fit in their seats don't have to get over it the people who don't fit into their seats and refuse to acknowledge it are the ones who need to get over it. As a small person who always gets eyed up as the person to sit next to by spiller overs I'm glad SW enforces it.

 

[dioxide45]

There is more to this story. Smith has a new movie coming out next weekend. This was a well planned exercise.

 

[ratmaster]

Most people do not fit within Southwest's 17" seat frame at their upper body. To me, there is no difference if you encroach on the bottom or top. My wife is exactly average weight for her height and is 18.5" from outer arm to outer arm. Should she buy another seat? That's just crazy. You can bet that if Southwest tried to remove me from a fight, I would walk down the aisle pointing out every person who's shoulders or arms are more that the 17" seat frame. I bet I'd be able to point out 3/4 of the plane. Like I said, I'm all for it for extreme cases but this has become a witch hunt. People will be sitting on Southwest planes looking for the fat people now much in the way people looked around the plane for Arab passengers after 9/11. When did we become a society of whining, complaining, entitled ********* who can't handle a small amount of contact. I hope those of you who feel this is justified in borderline cases don't have to ride the subway to work during rush hour. Or more appropriately, don't have to squeeze into the dark pre-ride show at the HM lest someone might bump into you or touch your arm or leg. Don't forget to move to the dead center of the room.

 

[seashoreCM]

... fit (fairly snugly) into any airline seat because I have thick but muscular legs. I can get both armrests down without an issue. I can buckle my seatbelt. But, I have wide shoulders. If my shoulders are over 17" should I buy an extra seat because I spill into the seat next to me, not on the bottom but at my shoulders? Should a 130 lb woman who is more than 17" in the shoulders or from arm to arm buy another seat because her arms might bump the person next to her? Should you all have to wait for the next monorail because when standing you might touch another person? .

Nobody is going to expect you to take the next monorail because you might bump into him. But people will expect you to take the next monorail if you insist on or persist in bumping into them whether or not you can avoid it.

Actually I am going to concede one here. You can expect someone to trade with you if you are in the middle and spill over into his seat. But you have no excuse for spilling over into the middle seat.

II have sat on a plane next to someone who spilled over onto my seat and it was really uncomfortable. I had a hard time doing any work on my computer as I could barely move one arm and I couldn't get my tray table all the way down. Not sure what I would have done had there been an emergency and I had to get out of the row quickly. .

(copied from another forum) Make a complaint before departure. If the head flight attendant (purser) doesn't satisfy you then ask for the complaint resolution officer. You do have to be prepared to move to any other empty seat. There are lots of tools available to the airline such as asking for volunteers to be bumped or giving you one of the flight attendant seats or deplaning a standby passenger* and they might do these things in order to get the flight off the ground more quickly.

Actually you should not talk about anyone's size, only that someone is occupying your seat.

*Did someone say Kevin Smith was standing by at the time?

 

[snowbunny]

There is more to this story. Smith has a new movie coming out next weekend. This was a well planned exercise.

I have Southwest on my twitter and followed this as it happened. Smith wanted to get on a flight standby and there was discussion about whether he was a customer of size. He had bought two seats on his original flight and there was only one standby seat available on the earlier flight.

At that point he picked a very public fight, used the F word on his public tweets to Southwest, and generally made an *** of himself to get as much publicity as possible (it worked!).

 

[GreyGooseCosmo]

There is more to this story. Smith has a new movie coming out next weekend. This was a well planned exercise.

I hate to doubt your conspiracy theory and all, but even Kevin Smith has some personal dignity. I can think of far better ways to drum up publicity for a movie that he admittedly isn't fond of.

At any rate, I can't possibly fathom being embarrassed like Mr. Smith (and his later seat-mate). I am disgusted at Southwest's "blame the victims" approach to this, and voted with my wallet this afternoon. I bought tickets on a competing airline. Nearly $1,000 worth.

I am really floored at how everyone thinks it's just OK for Southwest to inequitably and inconsistently apply their policy. Really.

 

[ratmaster]

Snowbunny...that was after he was already on the flight with both armrests down and his seatbelt buckled. That is Southwest's benchmark and they seemingly went against their own policy. They apply this policy arbitrarily and that is what causes these problems. The crew member approached him and told him that the captain of the flight said he was a safety risk. As far as safety, are we now going to remove someone who uses a cane or walker or someone who requires a wheelchair because they are the same safety risk as someone of size who might block the aisle? I would have bought Southwest's argument much more if they said it was because he was making it uncomfortable for other passengers but a safety issue...maybe but not without including everyone else who could cause the same safety issue.

Obviously, this is getting far more attention than it would if it were a non-celebrity but I would expect any person to fight just as hard if they felt they were treated unfairly no matter what the circumstance. Regardless if it has now become a publicity stunt or not, the fact is that there was a person who felt they were treated unfairly and it should be expected that they would do all possible to correct it. Do I think that this has become a vehicle for publicity...yes. Do I think it started that way...no. Southwest screwed up.

 

[dioxide45]

The problem is that only about 20% of the US population is comfortable in airline seats. Airlines treat customers like cattle when seating and when flying passengers around. Regardless of the size of a passenger, airline seat sizes are truly a disgrace.

 

[snowbunny]

even Kevin Smith has some personal dignity

Really? That's not what I thought when I read his tweets.

Ratmaster: I think it's already been disproved that the captain was involved. I think Lewis is onto something here....Smith wants 2 seats when it suits him (to keep the rifraf at bay) but in this case he said "never mind" and the agents on duty called him on it.

Southwest personel said they handled it badly and were trying to apologize and make it right immediately he started his twitter war (I read the SW tweets), meantime he was telling them to F off (full word though) via twitter.

 

[GreyGooseCosmo]

Really? That's not what I thought when I read his tweets.

I beg to differ. Kevin Smith is lewd, crude, and can certainly be abrasive. His movies generally aren't for the faint of heart or those afraid of some coarse language. But if you carefully read his stream and listen to his podcast - you can hear that he was fatally embarrassed. As my husband said earlier, "yes Virginia, even us fat people have feelings."

I think Lewis is onto something here....Smith wants 2 seats when it suits him (to keep the rifraf at bay) but in this case he said "never mind" and the agents on duty called him on it.

He did have 2 seats on the next flight. And when he asked about flying standby, he was seated and proved compliance with the letter (if not the spirit) of their policy. He, along with another passenger, was then subjected to a completely inequitable application of said "Passenger Of Size" policy. Substitute the word "color" or "disability" for the word "size" and TA DA! A horrid and disgusting discrimination.

Again - if you agree with Southwest's failure to apply their policy with dignity, transparency, and fairness ... great. Give them your hard earned money. I, for one, will not allow them to have the opportunity to ruin my family's vacation.