Petite Woman Bumped from SWA for a hefty passenger.

[CaliforniaDreamin]

And I respectfully disagree with you.

SWA has never shown an iota of courtesy towards obese passengers. If the 14 year old could not fit into one seat, SWA would not have hesitated to remove her AND would have released yet another story to the media with yet another example of why obese passengers inconvenience petite ones.

And judging from what I've read on the Dis lately, the American public (assuming the Dis is a good cross-sample of the demographics of the US) would have applauded SWA for leaving that obese passenger on the tarmac. And then berated her parents for overfeeding her.

To my knowledge, an issue with an overweight minor has never been something SW has had to deal with before. I think it was a unique situation and they felt the need to handle it with the girls best interest in mind and the resolution that would bring them the least amount of press.

I do agree about the whole berating the parents thing...that would happen here for sure

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I'm not clear if this was a connecting flight or the originating flight for the UM.

The rules of the flight could not be anymore clear. Must check in by so many minutes ahead or cannot go on flight. And I had a few times on both mom and dad's end where we were nailbiting to make the cut off--one was a car break down and the other, a collsion.
Additionally, even though we are in a post 9/11 world, the parent/guardian still escorts the child to the gate of the originating flight. If I'm not mistaken, that includes for the paid service. I don't think we paid when I was little. But that was back in the day of in flight meals and hot towel service and expensive tickets.

In any case, I didn't have any additional rights over other passengers that made me more important than other passengers for something like being late to my originating flight.

This leads me to believe, it was a connection and the ball was dropped completely. Volunteers should have been solicited and only when none come
forward, then you require a passenger of lowest priority deplane WITH compensation especially in this instance.

I've volunteered with 2 children to be bumped from a flight before. In that instance, it was for weight as they had soldiers on board who didn't have restricitions on baggage allowance. Plane too heavy? Yes---bump me
please!

So if people will get bumped for a suitcase---I'm sure that it wouldn't be a problem to find someone to bump for a UM.

I'm going to respectfully disagree with you on the bolded part. SW's policy on the two seat rule has always been controversial. Throw in an underage passenger into the equation and you've got yourself a publicity nightmare. I am going to guess they did not ask the girl to pay for another seat because she probably had no means to pay for another seat (like a PP pointed out). It also would not have been her responsibility to arrive to the airport on time, but the adult who brought her (I know it's not SW's responsibility, but once she was left in their hands, it would have looked really bad if they "punished" her for her lateness since she probably was not able to influence when she arrived at the airport). If this story had gone the other way around (the child left behind due to her size), we'd be hearing a lot more about it. Who is going to sympathize with a petite, anonymous female vs an unattended minor who is overweight? That's rhetorical, because some people on this thread agree the woman was wronged. But the majority of Americans would probably be a lot more upset if the girl was left behind, and that's who SW, or any company has to take into consideration. The majority. Now if this was not a story involving a minor, I wouldn't really have much to say. I would just side with the woman who had paid for her ticket. But the fact that it involved a minor most likely influenced SW's decision, as it does my opinion.

 

[Callie]

She shouldn't have been kicked off. I'm sorry, but if you can't fit in one seat, then they shouldn't punish someone who can. At 14, a kid should be able to fit in an airline seat. I was a bigger person as a teenager, but my parents and myself never let it get to to the point I couldn't fit in a single seat.

 

[robinb]

And I respectfully disagree with you.

SWA has never shown an iota of courtesy towards obese passengers. If the 14 year old could not fit into one seat, SWA would not have hesitated to remove her AND would have released yet another story to the media with yet another example of why obese passengers inconvenience petite ones.

And judging from what I've read on the Dis lately, the American public (assuming the Dis is a good cross-sample of the demographics of the US) would have applauded SWA for leaving that obese passenger on the tarmac. And then berated her parents for overfeeding her.

That already happened on page 2 .

 

[Stacy9402]

I'm not clear if this was a connecting flight or the originating flight for the UM.

The rules of the flight could not be anymore clear. Must check in by so many minutes ahead or cannot go on flight. And I had a few times on both mom and dad's end where we were nailbiting to make the cut off--one was a car break down and the other, a collsion.
Additionally, even though we are in a post 9/11 world, the parent/guardian still escorts the child to the gate of the originating flight. If I'm not mistaken, that includes for the paid service. I don't think we paid when I was little. But that was back in the day of in flight meals and hot towel service and expensive tickets.

In any case, I didn't have any additional rights over other passengers that made me more important than other passengers for something like being late to my originating flight.

This leads me to believe, it was a connection and the ball was dropped completely. Volunteers should have been solicited and only when none come
forward, then you require a passenger of lowest priority deplane WITH compensation especially in this instance.

I've volunteered with 2 children to be bumped from a flight before. In that instance, it was for weight as they had soldiers on board who didn't have restricitions on baggage allowance. Plane too heavy? Yes---bump me
please!

So if people will get bumped for a suitcase---I'm sure that it wouldn't be a problem to find someone to bump for a UM.

I just wanted to let everyone know that after the age of 12 SW does not consider you to be an unaccompanied minor. So at the age of 13 you are just a minor and the parents or guardians do not have to be at the gate at all.
I still walk my daughter (16) back but I am sure some parents don't especially if the girl has flown alot. And then again it could be a connecting flight and the parents wasn't there then..

 

[mumom95]

Unless I missed it, I don't think it was clear if the teenager was on a connecting flight or not. So, she may have been late, but it could be because the first leg of her flight was late getting in. Which would make it SW's fault and not hers.

I think the petite women who went to the media is wrong and should be a shamed of herself.

But I also think SW should have, as soon as the women got off the plane, apologized and offered to have her flight back to Sacramento free. I just don't get why airlines don't get that if they make amends, and make them well, when they screw up, it will probably save them a lot of money in the end over the bad press they are going to get by being cheap and not offering the perks.

 

[NotUrsula]

I just wanted to let everyone know that after the age of 12 SW does not consider you to be an unaccompanied minor. So at the age of 13 you are just a minor and the parents or guardians do not have to be at the gate at all.
I still walk my daughter (16) back but I am sure some parents don't especially if the girl has flown alot. And then again it could be a connecting flight and the parents wasn't there then..

While that *is* true, there is a second issue in play here: knowingly stranding a minor by bumping her off a flight for which she holds a confirmed seat. No reputable Las Vegas hotel will allow a minor to register alone, so if the airline knowingly does that, it is stranding the child in the airport without adult protection. I am all but certain that the girl did not have the money to buy another seat, and perhaps not much money for anything else, either. The airline did the "compassionate" thing, which also happened to the be the course of action that would best protect the airline from possible liability (and DISASTROUS press) if anything had happened to that girl overnight in Las Vegas, especially if she took it into her head to wander out of the airport during the night. Unlike many major airports, LAS is in a rather urban setting; you can walk onto a city bus right outside.

Also, please note that per a quote from a SWA spokesman who was being interviewed by a Dallas television station (and quoted directly in my post #42 on this thread), there are two things that are clear from his words: 1) the 14yo girl did not have a second purchased seat, and 2) she would have been stranded in LAS had they not put her on the flight. (This may have been because all the later flights that night were booked solid. If so, keeping her back for a later flight would still have either stranded her or caused probably more discontent had the airline bumped other passengers on a later flight, because she would have needed to bump two confirmed passengers instead of just one to get out that night. Under the circumstances, the best course of action for her safety (and SWA's potential liability) was to put her on the flight that she had a confirmed ticket for.

It was a darned-if-you-do and darned-if-you-don't choice -- SWA went with the decision that had the least potential for real harm.

PS: The usual width inside the armrests of a coach seat on a US-based carrier is 18 inches. There is some variation, but this is the average. Most of the passengers who have issues with not being able to lower the armrests tend to be women, actually, because men are more likely to carry their bulk in the upper body, while women often carry it in their hips.

 

[AustinTink]

I have to ask, how small are airline seats anyway? I haven't flown in 12 years but I don't remember them being so tiny that people couldn't fit (unelss they were enormous). Are they really that small or are the people who can't fit really that big?

I was wondering the same thing. We just flew yesterday and my 220 pound, 6 foot2 husband fit just fine in the seat. This poor child's parent/guardian/whoever had to have known the child couldn't fit in one seat. Shame on them for putting the kid in this situation alone.

 

[bumbershoot]

If it was the last or second-to-last non-stop flight of the evening, then SWA essentially had no choice; you cannot put an unaccompanied 14 yo up in a hotel alone unless there is absolutely NO alternative -- the hotel won't allow them to check in unless there is a ground-stop. They probably had to get that girl on the flight. The fact that the girl was a Customer of Size isn't really all that relevant in this case, except that SWA needed to clear 2 seats instead of one.

Good points!

Could the airline have been more diplomatic... sure... but what does the passenger want... a few minutes before she was stand-by with no firm plans....? Why embarass the child?

I agree. I assume the woman had a ticket for a different time, and she got there early and thought she was lucky and could get on. But she KNEW there was a chance that she would be going later. It's just that she *thought* it was a done deal that made her crabby.

The story didn't say that the doors were closed . I have seen stand-bys removed from planes for late arriving ticketed passengers before the door is closed. In addition, we don't really know how many seats the teen's parents actually purchased, just that she needed two seats. The removed passenger assumes that they sold the last seat when it could be that the teen was simply stuck in security and not at the gate during boarding.

Add me to the "cry baby" camp.

Good points!

They sold the lady what they THOUGHT was an available seat. But they were WRONG because the already ticketed passenger turned out to need two. The person ticketed and checked in SHOULD get that seat, even if they didn't realize it until it was too late, because they were ticketed and checked in. The airline sold the last seat *erroneously* and inappropriately.

And you don't see a compromise from SWA anywhere here? Offering any passenger adequate compensation to give up a seat usually sends a stampede running to the first Flight Attendant for a free seat anywhere in the USA.

Once people are already ON the plane? Carryons stowed, possible luggage in the hold (I assume with standby your luggage is going on the flight you were supposed to be on, or it's gate checked and therefore easily available???)....there are routine stampedes at THAT point?

My family always looks for being bumped, but I've never ever seen anything near a stampede at the gate, let alone once people have boarded the plane.

And SURE SW could have acted differently. But you have an airline that's good at getting out on time being confronted by something with a variety of "hmm, haven't had THIS problem before" variables, and you want them to act perfectly? I expect FAs to behave perfectly in emergency situations...but not in THIS situation.

I have to ask, how small are airline seats anyway? I haven't flown in 12 years but I don't remember them being so tiny that people couldn't fit (unelss they were enormous). Are they really that small or are the people who can't fit really that big?

I actually believe over time they have gotten smaller, as airlines have tried to pack more people in them.

Well, I am going to put on my flame suit and say that no matter what age the larger passenger is, if they were late, stand-bys had paid for tickets and boarded... SWA was dead wrong to go out of their way to accommodate any passenger who 1.) was LATE... and 2.) had not guaranteed themselves the seats required to meet their needs.

IMHO, book appropriate seats AND be on time... or ding, ding, ding, you lose.... try again!!!

This would clearly NOT be a case of an airline leaving a person stranded, or denying passage due to size.... This passenger was late... end of story. (unless of course, consideration was being given because they had just arrived on a connecting flight on an affiliated airline... Which would be known by staff, and then handled accordingly.)

PS: I am even laughing at myself here, because I know how outspoken I can be and how it might sound! But, seriously, once you are so late that your seat is sold to standbye, IMHO, that ought to be the final call.

1, The girl is 14.

2, she hadn't missed the flight. They weren't selling HER seat. They sold a seat that they thought was going to be *empty*. They were wrong.

First I think this story is TOTALLY one sided, it's all from the perspective of the person "wronged".

Perhaps "late" to her means the teen walked one as they last boarding call was made. I do that all the time when I'm traveling if I don't need overhead space and I have an aisle seat (or as a family we have a whole row). Why be on the plane any longer than you have to. Just because she claims she was given the last seat doens't mean she was the last person on the plane. They could have cleared standby passengers before they started boarding (again, this happens to me all the time, since I fly standby quite often, my guess is that the gate agents like to clear the list perhaps thinking we want to board as soon as we can).

How do we know they didn't ask people if they would give up seats and no one volunteered. I've been a few flights were that happened. They announced 4-5 times and kept upping the ante, but no one took it.

I agree!

SWA has never shown an iota of courtesy towards obese passengers.

Well, except for the courtesy they have shown my husband, who has NO problems despite being bigger than we've ever noticed Kevin Smith to be...

It was a darned-if-you-do and darned-if-you-don't choice -- SWA went with the decision that had the least potential for real harm.

PS: The usual width inside the armrests of a coach seat on a US-based carrier is 18 inches. There is some variation, but this is the average. Most of the passengers who have issues with not being able to lower the armrests tend to be women, actually, because men are more likely to carry their bulk in the upper body, while women often carry it in their hips.

Agreed.

And good point!

I was wondering the same thing. We just flew yesterday and my 220 pound, 6 foot2 husband fit just fine in the seat. This poor child's parent/guardian/whoever had to have known the child couldn't fit in one seat. Shame on them for putting the kid in this situation alone.

So you think that this girl was 6'2". HOw about 220 and, say, 5'2". Think she'll have the same proportions as your husband??? 6'2" and 220 is basically solid, not "fat"...220 and 5'2" is not just "solid" (she says from experience), and is going to fit into an airline seat MUCH differently.



I feel bad for this girl. She knows she's heavy, and she probably doesn't know what to do about it. I look around and I see the food that's out there, the ingredients with syrups as sweeteners, crapola things being used because they're cheap...I've seen the body types the "food" today is creating... I really feel for teens, because the "food" is hurting them.


And I think the woman who willingly said "I'm short, and I'm only 110!" to a newspaper is a big ol' whiny person whose words shouldn't be listened to.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Children flying alone usually check in as that and get special supervision.

Actually, only when you pay extra, which we did when dd was 11. After that, she was on her own (so I was not very happy when SIL was late to the airport to pick her up last year, and she called me and asked what she should do...). I doubt someone would pay the "babysitting" fee for a 14 year old.

As the poster quoted below points out Southwest's policy is that ONLY children under age 12 have unaccompanied minor status. It is NOT possible to pay a "babysitting fee" for a child 12+ even if you wanted to. This policy is very, very clear and any parent booking a 12 year old or teen on SW ought to know it and feel comfortable that their child can handle whatever situations arise. If a parent does not feel their child can handle whatever comes along then they need to book the hcild on another airline which does allow ages 12+ to have unaccompanied minor status or else find another way to get their child to the destination.

I just wanted to let everyone know that after the age of 12 SW does not consider you to be an unaccompanied minor. So at the age of 13 you are just a minor and the parents or guardians do not have to be at the gate at all.
I still walk my daughter (16) back but I am sure some parents don't especially if the girl has flown alot. And then again it could be a connecting flight and the parents wasn't there then..

It is hard to make a good judgement without knowing if the 14 year old was on a connecting flight (or had an upcoming connection which would be missed if she was not on this flight). From what information is out there it sounds like staff made a snap decision in an unusual situation. Sure, in hindsight it is possible that it may have been possible to handle it better, but it does not sound like anything really bad was done and nothing with any malice in it. The couple of times i have flown stand by the understanding has been that until the aircraft doors close I could still have to get back off--and I have seen that happen to other passengers, so I do not think the passenger who was removed should have been surprised. I think it is nice of SW to offer the removed passenger flight credit but they owe her nothing more and she had no need to go to the media with her story of woe (not that a stand by passenger having to travel later in the day and getting a free flight out of it is woe to most people).

 

[DawnCt1]

They sold the lady what they THOUGHT was an available seat. But they were WRONG because the already ticketed passenger turned out to need two. The person ticketed and checked in SHOULD get that seat, even if they didn't realize it until it was too late, because they were ticketed and checked in. The airline sold the last seat *erroneously* and inappropriately.





Once people are already ON the plane? Carryons stowed, possible luggage in the hold (I assume with standby your luggage is going on the flight you were supposed to be on, or it's gate checked and therefore easily available???)....there are routine stampedes at THAT point?

My family always looks for being bumped, but I've never ever seen anything near a stampede at the gate, let alone once people have boarded the plane.

Once a passenger is ticketed, boarded and seated, they are no longer standby, they are confirmed. They asked this womon to get off of the plane, after her luggage was checked, her carryons stowed, etc. Passengers who give up their seats while seated are told to take their carryons and meet their luggage at their destination. It happens all of the time.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Dawn, where are you getting the information that once they are seated a passenger is no longer stand by and becomes confirmed? I can think of a few instances (on various airlines) when I have seen standby passengers who have already been seated removed because the passenger who was originally ticketed made it at the last second (generally running from a tight connection) or because there ended up being a malfunctioning seat on the plane and they had to fly with one less passenger (okay, i saw that once, but it was the last standby to get on who was booted in that circumstance--he was disappointed but polite about it; he had had the seat next to me). I am truly curious if this policy of once seated being confirmed is newish or perhaps just for some airlines or what. Can you please point me in the direction of where to find it in writing?
Thanks.

 

[sbell111]

To tell the truth, I don't care if the teen bought two tickets or not. That's a revenue issue that is between the airline and her and isn't pertainent to the issue of whether the standby passenger should be bumped.

The simple fact is that we have a woman that was travelling standby. SWA thought that they would be able to get her on the flight. As it turned out, they couldn't. Therefore, she was bumped.

If I were the SWA supervisor and my choices were to take a chargeable delay or bump the stand-by passenger, my decision would be easy. The standby passenger would be off the plane.

Here's another thing, the decision would never be between bumping the teen or the standby passenger. The teen was a confirmed passenger who either was checked in at the ticket counter or arrived on a connecting flight. Either way, she gets on the plane if she makes it to the gate prior to it being buttoned up.

One more thought:

In my younger days, I worked for a commuter airline. Due to many factors, our aircraft were often required to go out with less than all the seats filled. A heat restriction may result in a 19 seat plane to only be able to carry 16, for instance. The takeaway is that it's not about seats. An aircraft can be 'full' and still go out with empty seats.

 

[DawnCt1]

Dawn, where are you getting the information that once they are seated a passenger is no longer stand by and becomes confirmed? I can think of a few instances (on various airlines) when I have seen standby passengers who have already been seated removed because the passenger who was originally ticketed made it at the last second (generally running from a tight connection) or because there ended up being a malfunctioning seat on the plane and they had to fly with one less passenger (okay, i saw that once, but it was the last standby to get on who was booted in that circumstance--he was disappointed but polite about it; he had had the seat next to me). I am truly curious if this policy of once seated being confirmed is newish or perhaps just for some airlines or what. Can you please point me in the direction of where to find it in writing?
Thanks.

I believe that someone in this thread already confirmed that, who is in the position to know.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rora
Once you pay for your seat, you're no longer stand-by, according to my BIL who is a pilot.

Once this woman paid for her seat she was not a stand-by passenger anymore.

Where are you getting your information that this fourteen year old had purchased two seats? The passenger was asked to give up her seat, not to provide a seat for a passenger that would occupy that seat but one who would occupy the seat she paid for. Some standby passengers are actually family members of airline employees, and they will always have to give up their seats for a paying passenger. My niece flies with such a family frequently as a guest. She just pays the tax but they know that they are always "standby" and it may take them a day or two to reach their destination.

 

[sbell111]

Once a passenger is ticketed, boarded and seated, they are no longer standby, they are confirmed. They asked this womon to get off of the plane, after her luggage was checked, her carryons stowed, etc. Passengers who give up their seats while seated are told to take their carryons and meet their luggage at their destination. It happens all of the time.

That is simply not correct. On SWA, a passenger can standby on a flight other than the one he/she is confirmed on. The fact that a boarding pass is issued to the passenger doesn't change the fact that he/she is flying standby.

 

[sbell111]

People are making hay over this sentence: "The woman, a petite 5-foot-4, 110 pounds, said she was flying standby when agents sold her the last seat available on the plane.", so let's address it.

As I understand it, Southwest allows you to standby for an earlier flight if you have a full-fare ticket. Beyond paying the difference between a discounted fare and full-fare, there is no cost to standing by. Also, upgrading to a full-fare ticket is no guarantee that you will be issued a boarding pass. Further, neither upgrading your ticket to full-fare nor being issued a boarding pass will change your status from 'standby'.

 

[Stacy9402]

Oh and forgot to add to my post last night. That I am glad they decided to accomodate the teenager but wished they had handled it better.

Also just in the last month (June 30th). My 16 year old was on her way to her father in KY and I decided to try out IAD (10 - 15 minutes away) instead of driving all the way to BWI (1-3 hours on a good day) since SW had a flight that did not require plane change. She had one stop but she was not suppose to get off. But some circumstance came up and they made her deboard the plane in Chicago for 2 hours by herself. I was not happy but I had to go with the flow and eventually she ended up at her destination but I stayed on the phone with her the whole time... So in this instance even though she was a minor they did not treat her like one. Even when she told the flight attendant "My mom told me to stay on the plane"

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Oh and forgot to add to my post last night. That I am glad they decided to accomodate the teenager but wished they had handled it better.

Also just in the last month (June 30th). My 16 year old was on her way to her father in KY and I decided to try out IAD (10 - 15 minutes away) instead of driving all the way to BWI (1-3 hours on a good day) since SW had a flight that did not require plane change. She had one stop but she was not suppose to get off. But some circumstance came up and they made her deboard the plane in Chicago for 2 hours by herself. I was not happy but I had to go with the flow and eventually she ended up at her destination but I stayed on the phone with her the whole time... So in this instance even though she was a minor they did not treat her like one. Even when she told the flight attendant "My mom told me to stay on the plane"

I don't have a problem with that. I didn't as a child and I don't now. In my Tweens/teens--I had stopover flights where the gap between arrival and departure was significant enough to allow the opportunity to deplane and stretch your legs and use a real bathroom and get non-airplane food. At 16, the person can drive a car. I would not expect
an airline to treat the teen any different than any other passenger.

I recall weather delays at Dallas fort worth. Boy is that a huge airport. I was 15 and ran like crazy to make my connection. I can see how a novice flyer might be nervous and flustered. But at 15, I didn't expect
the airlines to treat me like a child. As sheltered as I often was, it felt good to be independent and not have to be signed in and out of flights anymore. I don't recall when that stopped as I had some gaps in air travel. But I loved it.

 

[NHdisneylover]

I believe that someone in this thread already confirmed that, who is in the position to know. Where are you getting your information that this fourteen year old had purchased two seats? The passenger was asked to give up her seat, not to provide a seat for a passenger that would occupy that seat but one who would occupy the seat she paid for. Some standby passengers are actually family members of airline employees, and they will always have to give up their seats for a paying passenger. My niece flies with such a family frequently as a guest. She just pays the tax but they know that they are always "standby" and it may take them a day or two to reach their destination.

Sorry to have had you quote what was already in the thread. From the authoritative way you posted i thought you knew of actual airline policy to the contrary of my own (and many other poster's) experiences. I did see the post you quoted. I do not take heresay on the DIS about what a BIL says as absolute truth. Her may be mistaken, the rules could vary by airline, the poster may be confused, etc. If you find something official online I would love to see that though.

Oh and forgot to add to my post last night. That I am glad they decided to accomodate the teenager but wished they had handled it better.

Also just in the last month (June 30th). My 16 year old was on her way to her father in KY and I decided to try out IAD (10 - 15 minutes away) instead of driving all the way to BWI (1-3 hours on a good day) since SW had a flight that did not require plane change. She had one stop but she was not suppose to get off. But some circumstance came up and they made her deboard the plane in Chicago for 2 hours by herself. I was not happy but I had to go with the flow and eventually she ended up at her destination but I stayed on the phone with her the whole time... So in this instance even though she was a minor they did not treat her like one. Even when she told the flight attendant "My mom told me to stay on the plane"

I am not sure why you expected or wanted her to be treated differently than other passengers. When you booked her on Southwest you knew children 12+ flew under the same rules as everyone else, correct? Why did you feel you needed to remain on the phone with her for 2 hours? I think if a child can handle the flight without a "babysitter" they should be able to handle the layover too.

I know I am jaded. At 16 I flew home from Spain. I took a train (alone) from Valencia to Madrid, spent the night (alone) in an airport hotel, flew to NY, went through customs and immigration found my connecting flight to Denver on my own etc. Long before cell phones. I know that may be a bit much for many kids that age but I really think if they cannot handle being in the airport for two hours they should not be travelling alone in the first place.

 

[bettymae1121]

Even after she paid for her seat after clearing the standby list, SWA still had the right to bump her off the flight. ANY airline can bump any passenger, even paid passengers, in an oversold situation. They are requried to compensate the bumped passenger, but they can still do it. In a situation like this, the 14 year old gets priortiy because she is a minor. A minor can handle a couple hour layover but SWA doesn't want the risk of the kid being stuck overnight if the later flights are canceled or also oversold.

I've been a travel agent for 13 years, PAYING passengers get bumped every day. All airlines oversell their flights, this isn't unusual in the least, other than SWA needing two seats rather than one due to the girls size.

SWA could have handled it better to be sure, but they had every right to bump the woman in favor of the child.