Just got SW tickets for $54 each way!!! But we've never flown SW before

[cmwade77]

Please note 150 lbs is not bitter sarcasm, that is what a SW employee SAID. Geez get chewed out for trying to be helpful so that those that ride SW that may not be aware become so. I know we had NO IDEA when we were flew SW for the first time, now we know so we choose another airline (none of which have ever had a problem).

 

[cmwade77]

This is not true - this applies to morbidly obese people - I would say over 290. Not to be insulting, but those seats are only 17 inches across.

Also, SW will sell you the seat at the cheap price you paid if you buy an advance ticket. If you have a full fare ticket, the price would be a childs fare. Certainly not what you implied. If the flight is not full, you will receive a refund -which means you may benefit from the extra seat and NOT end up paying for it. How could an airline be more fair?

And this has been a policy for more than 25 years and yes it does exist on other airlines. If you have ever travelled in a middle seat between very large people, you would see why this is an issue. It is uncomfortable to have someone infringe on my space.

Realistically the armrest goes all the way down, which according to their website is their requirement, no offense I know we are large people, but even so we should not have to pay for an extra seat, like it or not, Southwest is the ONLY airline that this has been a problem on, despite what they claim on their website, again the 150 lbs is what the person at the counter SAID, sorry, I am only repeating it.

 

[goofy4tink]

I'm sorry, but I weigh 155 lbs, and am 5'8" tall. I have yet to be asked about my 'size'. My dh is 6'4" and runs about 200 lbs and has no problem flying with SW. Are you sure you understood correctly? 150 pounds is just not that big...unless you are 4'5" tall. I have plenty of room beside me, with the arm rests down....I just can't imagine anyone questioning me at my current weight. I am sure the person at the counter mis-spoke.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

I'm 5' 9". Normal weight for a woman my size is 140 to 160 or so. My husband is about 6" and weighs about 190. Sitting next to each other on a Southwest flight is never a problem and for anybody to ask us to pay for extra seats would be ludicrous. It has never happened.

I flew with my Mother on Southwest who is quite fluffy in the butt area. She needed a seat belt extender and we kept the armrest up. Nobody even blinked.

For goodness sake I have a teenage son that is about 6" 2" and is skinny as can be. Even HE weighs more than 150lbs.

 

[cmwade77]

I'm not arguing with you, simply repeating what was said, I knew that couldn't be accurate, I am just saying be prepared for the possibility of them insisting on you buying a second seat was my point, I mean, yes we are big people, but NO other airline does this (of course we get seats together that are assigned on other airlines, so since they do not assign seats that doesn't work well) but I am also saying it is NOT right to force someone to buy an extra seat because of their weight, which in many cases can't be helped.

 

[Reminiscing_Cody]

Sorry to jump to the incorrect conclusion that you were being sarcastic. 150lbs is such a ridiculous number that I would have just passed the ignorant employee's comment off. You are obviously angry at SW, perhaps it is more helpful to just say that you should be prepared for the possibility they will misjudge your size.

 

[goofy4tink]

I'm not arguing with you, simply repeating what was said, I knew that couldn't be accurate, I am just saying be prepared for the possibility of them insisting on you buying a second seat was my point, I mean, yes we are big people, but NO other airline does this (of course we get seats together that are assigned on other airlines, so since they do not assign seats that doesn't work well) but I am also saying it is NOT right to force someone to buy an extra seat because of their weight, which in many cases can't be helped.

Absolutely not arguing with you. I wasn't there when the conversation happened. But, I can't imagine someone at the SW counter looking at me and telling me I would need to buy an extra seat. I can just see it now....I would just stand there laughing at them. Now, if someone is grossly overweight, and they are, how do I put this nicely??, swell over into the next passengers seat, then I can see the attendent telling them they will need to purchase another seat. Is it their fault they are larger than normal? In most cases, no. But, be that as it may...I have paid for my seat. I should have full use of it. I shouldn't have to scrunch up so that my neighbor can 'swell over' into my seat. I have already had the armrest battle with another passenger last Dec. I still don't know who gets which armrest. I sat on the aisle, a stranger and his son had the middle and window seats. But, it was a JB flight, so the TV controls were on the armrest between me and the gentleman. He kept stretching his arm out along that armrest, making it very difficult for me to use my TV controls. As soon as he would move his arm, I stuck mine in there. The funny thing is that he used the rest on his right also, told his ds to lean against the window and leave his armrest alone!!! How come he felt entitled to two, especially when my controls were on one of them??

 

[cmwade77]

Absolutely not arguing with you. I wasn't there when the conversation happened. But, I can't imagine someone at the SW counter looking at me and telling me I would need to buy an extra seat. I can just see it now....I would just stand there laughing at them. Now, if someone is grossly overweight, and they are, how do I put this nicely??, swell over into the next passengers seat, then I can see the attendent telling them they will need to purchase another seat. Is it their fault they are larger than normal? In most cases, no. But, be that as it may...I have paid for my seat. I should have full use of it. I shouldn't have to scrunch up so that my neighbor can 'swell over' into my seat. I have already had the armrest battle with another passenger last Dec. I still don't know who gets which armrest. I sat on the aisle, a stranger and his son had the middle and window seats. But, it was a JB flight, so the TV controls were on the armrest between me and the gentleman. He kept stretching his arm out along that armrest, making it very difficult for me to use my TV controls. As soon as he would move his arm, I stuck mine in there. The funny thing is that he used the rest on his right also, told his ds to lean against the window and leave his armrest alone!!! How come he felt entitled to two, especially when my controls were on one of them??

I am sorry you had to deal with this, we always to to be respectfull to the person next to us, first when we check in we ask if there's a way we can have an empty seat next to us (usually if the flight is not full this is not a problem and solves all of the issues, when we go in August we will be going with my family which includes my 2 year old brother, and my 10 & 12 year old sisters so there will be no issue what soever, just put on of them next to us)

Now I would never do what that guy did, in fact we always put the arm rest between us up so we can be closer and give the person more room next to us. We would rather be a little uncomfortable than make others uncomfortable, but maybe that is just us.

I also do not know who gets the arm rest, but basically I figure if the person next to me wants it, let them have it, it's better than fighting it the whole time.

Sorry to jump to the incorrect conclusion that you were being sarcastic. 150lbs is such a ridiculous number that I would have just passed the ignorant employee's comment off. You are obviously angry at SW, perhaps it is more helpful to just say that you should be prepared for the possibility they will misjudge your size.

Yes, if they had stepped up and changed their policy I wouldn't be, but well, this is just wrong an NO other airline that I have flown on does this and yes that is what I meant to say, but well I am not always great at finding the exact right words I tend to me a lot more blunt, but yes it is ridiculous and it is what a SW employee said.

 

[bumbershoot]

Could the employee have been meaning 150 lbs overweight?

Of course my saying that now sounds like I'm a complete jerk, but it's really just nonsense, if they were saying plain old "over 150 lbs".

For Weight Watchers, their "allowed" weight for a 5'3" woman in her 30s is 140...so if that's NORMAL, 10 pounds more isn't going to cause anyone to buy an extra seat.

We flew not even a year ago, and my DH was totally fine, not even looked at twice, and he was 340 at the time, at 5'10". Not even a problem at all. OK so it was a problem for HIM, and he's doing something about it, but it wasn't an issue with SW.

I did see part of an episode of that Airline show (started in English with Virgin, I think, and now it's here with SW), and a woman was having to buy an extra ticket, but she HAD to have been over what my hubby weighed, and shorter...



OK so back to the question! Check in online 24 hours ahead, be there early, get on and choose your own seats. No biggie. Just don't be late.

 

[seashoreCM]

They CLAIM it is based on lowering the Arm Rest, but then they also claim that other Airlines do the same thing, which they do not, at least I have never had this issue. This is flat out discrimination and we won't fly Southwest, I would love to see everyone boycott them over this issue, but I know that will never happen.

The extra seat issue should not deter folks from buying those $54. tickets. If someone is told he has to buy an extra ticket, he can go into the plane (this is part of preboarding) and sit down and thus prove he can do so without infringing on another passenger.

I would love to see more people aggrieved by having space infringed upon complain until satisfaction (which may include compensation) is realized, using courts if needed, and then the other airlines will "do" "the" "same" "thing".

It may be noted that the airline has the right to deplane someone occupying more seats than he purchased without having to pay the person bump compensation.

so the TV controls were on the armrest between me and the gentleman. He kept stretching his arm out along that armrest, making it very difficult for me to use my TV controls.

Who wants to add this to the list of things the FA should intervene in?

Disney hints: http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

I also do not know who gets the arm rest, but basically I figure if the person next to me wants it, let them have it, it's better than fighting it the whole time.

My turn to add humor -- If someone is fighting for the armrest, raise it so neither can have it, but then the other person will drift into your seat.

 

[Charles Darwin]

I am sorry you had to deal with this, we always to to be respectfull to the person next to us, first when we check in we ask if there's a way we can have an empty seat next to us

if you take up 3 seats, then it is not unreasonable for the airline to expect you to pay for that "empty" seat that you are in fact using. if your size takes up more than one seat, you can try to be respectful all you want, but the fact is you're going to make the stranger seated next to you uncomfortable.


i'm not sure why someone in the airline threw out the "150 pound" number. no offense intended, but judging by the picture you have in your signature link, both of you weigh well over twice that amount.

 

[cmwade77]

But the thing is we do NOT take up more than one seat, I can fully put the arm rest down, yes it might be uncomfortable to ME, but I take the one seat only, why should I have to buy the seat next to me? Also, if I were the type I could take it to the courts and probably win under the ADA act, but that's not my style I simply choose to fly another airline where this is not an issue. Most of the planes we fly n are only two seats across anyway, so the issue doesn't exist there when it's just the two of us flying, if we have others with us, we just put one of them next to us if we are flying with more than two across, nice thing about assigned seats is you can do that, with SW they don't have assigned seats so that doesn't work.

I would love to see more people aggrieved by having space infringed upon complain until satisfaction (which may include compensation) is realized, using courts if needed, and then the other airlines will "do" "the" "same" "thing".

It may be noted that the airline has the right to deplane someone occupying more seats than he purchased without having to pay the person bump compensation.

If either of these started happening on a frequent or even regular basis I would expect people to start going to the courts, basically Airlines would probably end up having to start making larger seats.

Note that 9 times out of ten when checking in we simply can ask and get an empty seat next to us if the flight is not sold out, thus making everyone more comfortable, again SW doesn't have assigned seats so this can't happen there either, basically I just think people should be aware that it is more of an issue with SW, any other airline even if they did make us buy an extra seat, we would only have to buy ONE extra seat, not two as there are assigned seats and with three across we would only be taking one seat.

 

[Charles Darwin]

But the thing is we do NOT take up more than one seat, I can fully put the arm rest down, yes it might be uncomfortable to ME, but I take the one seat only

in no way do i mean to offend you, but there is no way you would fit into one seat without infringing on the person next to you.

 

[steph-in-ky]

Could the employee have been meaning 150 lbs overweight?

Of course my saying that now sounds like I'm a complete jerk, but it's really just nonsense, if they were saying plain old "over 150 lbs".

For Weight Watchers, their "allowed" weight for a 5'3" woman in her 30s is 140...so if that's NORMAL, 10 pounds more isn't going to cause anyone to buy an extra seat.

We flew not even a year ago, and my DH was totally fine, not even looked at twice, and he was 340 at the time, at 5'10". Not even a problem at all. OK so it was a problem for HIM, and he's doing something about it, but it wasn't an issue with SW.

I did see part of an episode of that Airline show (started in English with Virgin, I think, and now it's here with SW), and a woman was having to buy an extra ticket, but she HAD to have been over what my hubby weighed, and shorter...



OK so back to the question! Check in online 24 hours ahead, be there early, get on and choose your own seats. No biggie. Just don't be late.

That is about the size my hubby is also. I just posted earlier that I called to purchase him and extra seat and they are telling me I can't get if for this discounted rate I purchased his other ticket for. I just don't want to get there and someone come up and tell him to buy another ticket. Did your DH have any trouble putting the arm rest down?