Purchasing an extra ticket due to weight...

[bicker]

I think that's just clouding the issue. The issue is simply that the rules are there to handle the general case, and for special handling of special cases (such as a mother traveling with her own two children) customers can elect to either fly a full-service airline or try to get a rebate after the flight if the flight was not full.

 

[dvc guy]

Nope it has to do with them making money if they make money of you ( Heavy person or baggage ) or they will fill your flight with the bags of the next .

Then they will either fill with cargo or airline stuff that has to be moved from airport to airport.This is the biggest money maker for airlines now.

They are also haveing a lot of disability claims from baggage handlers saying the bags are to heavy and they threw their backs out.I can beleive that 75lbs is a lot to be heaving up to the plane.

It is all about the money with Baggage. They have no problem carrying the 75lbs bag for a fee of 25 to 50 dollars. The airlines carry freight and lots of US mail. The smaller and lighter the luggage is the more freight it can carry. Every carrier is on a diet, trying to figure out how to lighten the aircraft and save fuel.
Now in response to overweight people, I can feel for them ,but have NO intrest in being squezed into 2/3 of my small seat because of there weight.
It has nothing to do with being a nice person, tall, small, or anything else. It is not about being PC , but purely about my ability to sit in the seat I paid for.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I have never flown SW, but I watch "Airline" all the time. I have seen them approach a BIG guy and tell him he might need to purchase an extra seat. He told them he fits in ONE seat just fine. They let him get on the plane and PROVE he could fit in one seat, then they didn't require him to buy another seat.

I have flown with a very dear friend who is a very large lady, and the second we got in our seats she flipped the armrest up so she could fit. I was in the middle seat, and there was a guy on my other side. NOT very comfortable! Of course I wouldn't say anything to my friend about flowing over into my seat, but if it was a stranger you better believe I would be screeching!

I thought the rule was that you had to fit in the seat with the armrest DOWN or they owuld make you buy a second seat.

 

[HolliePoppins]

But what will happen if you can't get seats next to each other? This is a real possibility with SW.

Anne

Well I would say if her 2 childrens weight combined is only 64lbs. they have to be seated together. Please dont even say they may not be seated together because I dont believe that for a second. They are 2 little children, they cannot sit alone.

 

[ducklite]

Well I would say if her 2 childrens weight combined is only 64lbs. they have to be seated together. Please dont even say they may not be seated together because I dont believe that for a second. They are 2 little children, they cannot sit alone.

Actually I've seen families with little ones get split up where four year olds were not sitting next to parents. In fact it happened on my flight this morning. A family with two younger kids (pre-K) were split up into four different rows. And no, I didn't offer my seat, I was in an exit row.

Anne

 

[HolliePoppins]

Actually I've seen families with little ones get split up where four year olds were not sitting next to parents. In fact it happened on my flight this morning. A family with two younger kids (pre-K) were split up into four different rows. And no, I didn't offer my seat, I was in an exit row.

Anne

oh well i do not have small children anymore but i will never give my money to a company that would not seat children with their parents. Since it is open seating no one had assigned seats so if something like that happens they should not ASK people they should MAKE them move, not from an exit row of course. This is absolutely ridiculous to me. No need for a reply I wont change my opinion.

 

[ducklite]

oh well i do not have small children anymore but i will never give my money to a company that would not seat children with their parents. Since it is open seating no one had assigned seats so if something like that happens they should not ASK people they should MAKE them move, not from an exit row of course. This is absolutely ridiculous to me. No need for a reply I wont change my opinion.

Actually I was on a legacy carrier with assigned seats this morning...

Anne

 

[summerrluvv]

Well I would say if her 2 childrens weight combined is only 64lbs. they have to be seated together. Please dont even say they may not be seated together because I dont believe that for a second. They are 2 little children, they cannot sit alone.

It sure does happen. Even on major carriers. On our last trip to florida, a woman and her two kids couldn't find seats next to each other. No one would give up their seat until they started offering drink coupons.

 

[Esmerelda]

Ok...I'm on my soapbox now....forgive me.

My sister in law (I love her dearly) has had to buy 2 SW tickets the last 2 times she has flown. She is about 5'8" and weighs about 350+. She had a fit the last time and threw a fit (no, I wasn't with her...) I tried nicely to explain to her that it states on the paperwork (and the SWA website) that they require this for you to fly with them. They state the following:

"Customers who are unable to lower the armrests (the definitive boundary between seats) and/or who compromise any portion of adjacent seating should proactively book the number of seats needed during initial reservations. This purchase serves as a notification of an unusual seating need and allows us to process a refund of the additional seating cost after travel (provided the flight doesn’t oversell). Most importantly, it ensures that all onboard have access to safe and comfortable seating.

For more information, please refer to our Customer of size Q&A "

I don't feel they should have to justify themselves when its their rule and their right. I personally am VERY petite (5'1" about 117#s). I have flown many many times where I was only allowed to use half of my seat because of the size of the person next to me Its a VERY uncomfortable way to fly, believe me. I can't move...can't get up to go to the powder room, can't even recline my seat (NO, these were not SWA flights). Do I say anything...no...I just bear it and pray we land soon. I think its ok that SW ask a larger customer to purchase two seats if the arm rests do not go down.
For the record, they informed my SIL in a very professional manner at the front desk that she would need that 2nd seat...and they did not do it in an embarrasing manner either.

My thought is....why do I have to pay big bucks for very nice petite clothes...when they have half the material as the normal ones do....? (same thought..different scenario..)

good day,
Esmerelda

 

[bicker]

I thought the rule was that you had to fit in the seat with the armrest DOWN or they owuld make you buy a second seat.

It is. The armrest must be down.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Well I would say if her 2 childrens weight combined is only 64lbs. they have to be seated together. Please dont even say they may not be seated together because I dont believe that for a second. They are 2 little children, they cannot sit alone.

You may not believe it, but this certainly happens, and not infrequently. I have seen families with young children split up a number of times (and not on SWA either). Most recently, I saw this on a UA flight from ORD-BOS on a day when flight delays caused many people to miss connecting flights. The flight I was on had a number of us all assigned to the same seats. I got lucky - I got upgraded (!). A Mom with two sons about ages 5 & 7, whose seats had been given away to other people weren't so lucky. They got split up and seated in different parts of the plane.

Not to mention the thousands of minors flying unaccompanied every day who "sit alone."

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

People who are large are probably acutely aware they are large, though perhaps they don't wish to acknowledge it before flying. I can only imagine how embarrassing it would be to be asked to buy another ticket at the gate. I think the Airlines ought to make the public a bit more aware about size policies. I would suggest weight loss, but people get verrrrry offended when you suggest it, even if it is in their own best interest.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

but i will never give my money to a company that would not seat children with their parents.

Then you will have to give up flying, because this happens on ALL airlines.

 

[aterriq]

Back when I was in college and weighed a lot less, I had a short flight from DFW to San Antonio. The woman next to me was large and came over onto my seat. I could scrunch over and it wasn't a problem except that she also had her son about 3 sitting in her lap. Yes this was back in the 80s when kids could sit in your lap and weren't required to have their own seat.

So when the brought the snacks around and I put down my tray, she automatically put down her and her sons drink onto my tray. I wasn't going to make a fuss since it was a short flight, and it wasn't the kids fault his mother didn't buy an extra seat.

Today I would make a fuss, since I take up more of the seat and need all the cushion I can get.

 

[seashoreCM]

If there are only middle seats when you board with your kids, you might be able to find seats in consecutive rows and you can still talk to your kids and look after them.

Do I say anything...no...

Wrong. The correct answer is "Yes".

It they started offering drink coupons.

Excellent idea to get people to switch seats.

 

[Chicago526]

I think the problem is two-fold. First, the airlines need to do a much better job of informing the public that if you are a "person of size" that you are required to purchase two seats. If a person has never flown before, they'd have no way of knowing that this is required. Not knowing can cause financial hardship (having to come up with several hundrend dollars in order to board the plane) and of course extreme embarasment (even if handled descretly by the airline rep).

The second issue is people of size who KNOW of this rule and are quite aware of their size, and don't follow the rules. Either the airline (wrongly) doesn't call them on it, or the airline does ask the customer to purchase an extra seat and the customer raises holy heck about it.

As for kids being split from their parents, the main reason this happens is due to overbooking by the airlines (which is legal, btw).

Lets say a plane has 100 seats. The airline oversells by 20, betting that at least 20 people will cancel at the last minute or just no-show on the flight. The first 100 people that book get seat assignments, the last 20 that book do not. The airline is right, and 20 people don't show up for the flight, so all 20 oversold passengers get a seat, right?

Well, the 20 people who don't show, open up seats all over the plane, in one's and two's and three's. The airline does it's best to keep traveling parties together, but they can't always and something has to give. The flight attendants will ask for people to switch, but often no one volunteers (I never could figure that out, sure some people have good reasons for not moving...but someone on the flight must be able to!). The result is that, sometimes families have to split up. The airline and flight attendants aren't trying to be mean, it's just a by-product of overselling. And before you all start complaining about overselling, it's just this practice that allows the airlines to sell tickets for $150 round-trip instead of $350 round-trip.

Moral of the story, if you MUST sit together, make sure to get seat assignments when you book your tickets (on airlines that have advance seating). Also, keep checking your reservation once a week or so, equipment or schedule changes can cancel your seats, you may have to re-select your assignments.

 

[plutolovr]

People who are large are probably acutely aware they are large, though perhaps they don't wish to acknowledge it before flying. I can only imagine how embarrassing it would be to be asked to buy another ticket at the gate. I think the Airlines ought to make the public a bit more aware about size policies. I would suggest weight loss, but people get verrrrry offended when you suggest it, even if it is in their own best interest.

This is something I never get. If you are someone who is large, I'm sure you know it. Why is it always embarrassing for someone to call you on it, be it an airline employee, friend, or family. I'm sure you own a mirror. Perhaps the airlines should have a sample seat next to the thing that allows you to see if your carry one is the right size. If you can sit in the seat, armrest down, seatbelt bucked then you're okay. If not, pay more. I mean it shouldn't be a surprise to someone that they're "big."

My daughter just had to fly home from Atlanta next to someone of size. When she told me about it I told her if it ever happens again to speak up for herself. Call over the flight attendent and demand that this person be seated elsewhere or she be seated elsewhere. She said if it had been a longer flight she would have said something. The ironic thing is that this woman had her son with her, just as large, sitting in another row. They should have made them sit next to each other and see how they liked it.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I could scrunch over and it wasn't a problem except that she also had her son about 3 sitting in her lap. Yes this was back in the 80s when kids could sit in your lap and weren't required to have their own seat.

The rule is the same today as it was in the 80s - children under the age of two may sit in a lap and are not required to have their own seat. Even in the 80s, this was NOT allowed for a 3 year old.

 

[DVCconvert]

I think people who wear strong perfumes and/or have "bo" should have to buy another seat too. They 'infringe' on my personal space and comfort -- and since I paid for my seat, if I'm not totally comfortable due to that (or any one of a hundred senarios) I should not be made to 'suffer' due to it.

Perhaps all airlines should have a mandatory feeding of 'Beano' to all passengers too...to everyone who is about to board so as to protect my reasonably expected use of my space.

Also -- people who are in wheel chairs (or worst- 'scooters') using WDW buses have always bugged me. They take up more room than the 'ideal' passenger - I think they should have to pay a surcharge for using the transport.

 

[seashoreCM]

I Also -- people who are in wheel chairs (or worst- 'scooters') using WDW buses have always bugged me. They take up more room than the 'ideal' passenger - I think they should have to pay a surcharge for using the transport.

Fine. If one of them takes four times the space of an ideal passenger he can pay four times as much for the trip from the resort to the park.