Southwest and large customers

[cadale]

Southwest recently started flying out of my city (they took over from AirTran). We are considering using them in November as they are much cheaper but have heard they are not very user friendly for people that are on the larger side.

Has anyone ever run into this situation? My son runs 290lbs and I sure wouldn't want someone picking him out of a crowd to say he can't fly because of his size. That is just rude. He has no problem flying JetBlue but the more I read of Southwest the more unsure I am getting.

I would appreciate any info you can give. Thanks.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

SW's policy is that if you don't fit in the seat you have to pay for an extra seat.
http://www.southwest.com/html/customer-service/extra-seat/index-pol.html

That way the person who won't fit in the seat is not being rude and using part of the seat of another passenger and crowding that passenger.

It's very "user friendly" if you plan ahead.

 

[rwdavis2]

I used to be 315 (6'1") and did OK. I sat in an aisle seat and was able to lean into the aisle rather than crowd the person in the middle. FYI, JetBlue seats (Airbus) are a bit wider than the one for Southwest (Boeing 737). You can see the seat sizes here:

www.seatguru.com

If he spills over into the next seat taking up another passenger's then there may be a problem.

 

[okeydokey]

It's rude to take up part of someone else's seat. I think if your son is concerned about his size, he should buy two seats.

 

[ToddyLu]

My DH is 5'8" and sways between 275-285. I am 5'4" and weight 220. So he sits in the isle seat and I sit next to him. He may sit into me a little but I do not touch the window seat. Neither of us has ever been asked to purchase an extra ticket. We always fly SW out of New Orleans to Orlando.

The full flights are always on our trips back for some reason. I guess the 1:30 is popular. If I were very concerned I would buy an extra ticket and possibly a seat belt extender. So far seat belts have been fine for us.

DH's brother is 6'1" and at least 300lbs. I never by him a second seat either.

 

[Coonhound]

If youre worried about him being singled out and told to buy two seats, try a test at home before you go. Most airplane seats are 17 or 18 inches across. What you can do is use a ruler or measuring tape- you just draw a line, and then measure 17 across and make another line there. He can sit down, and if you cannot see the line on either side of him (if his hips or thighs are covering up the lines you made) then you know he will most likely not fit into the seats and you can go ahead and purchase his two seats in advance in order to save him the embarrassment of the staff telling him he must have two seats once he's already in line.
Or, if you have any doubts about it at all and are worried about him being embarrassed due to not fitting into one seat, the safest thing to do is just go ahead and get the extra seat.
They have those rules not just for safety but also for the comfort of the people sitting in other seats- it's very uncomfortable if you are sitting next to someone whose body is taking up part of your seat so that you are unable to sit comfortably. Some people get warm on planes and if your body is touching someone elses body it can get uncomfortable and then you two would end up sweating ON eachother which is very uncomfortable. I had that experience and so I would say just give yourself the extra room of another seat!

 

[dawnball]

Southwest recently started flying out of my city (they took over from AirTran). We are considering using them in November as they are much cheaper but have heard they are not very user friendly for people that are on the larger side.

Has anyone ever run into this situation? My son runs 290lbs and I sure wouldn't want someone picking him out of a crowd to say he can't fly because of his size. That is just rude. He has no problem flying JetBlue but the more I read of Southwest the more unsure I am getting.

I would appreciate any info you can give. Thanks.

They aren't going to tell him that he can't fly. They're going to tell him that it appears he's may encroach on the neighboring seat, so he needs to have two seats. And they're going to do it in the most tactful way they can - because that's not an enjoyable conversation for anyone.

SWA currently gives you the second seat for free, and I'm not sure how much more accommodating they can be to people who extend beyond the borders of their own seat.

 

[brettb]

Check out these links:

http://www.southwest.com/html/customer-service/extra-seat/index-pol.html

http://www.southwest.com/html/customer-service/faqs.html?topic=extra_seat_policy

 

[bumbershoot]

Different people carry their weight in different ways.

And SW hasn't been all that tactful in the ways they do things, IMO.

The number of times SW has been reported to do this truly has me steering away from it, because if they are more likely to do it, we'll just stay on United, etc, where no one has given DH grief. (apart from Jazz, which simply required an explanation of the extender/exit row rule, but the FA got attitude with DH who had been assigned a seat and *did not know* he couldn't use an extender there) DH fits in almost every seat on every airline without an extender now, and that is really good for his self-esteem which is really good for his continued work towards not worrying about this any longer...and if he were called out on it on SW it would seriously destroy him emotionally. There are other airlines, and we're choosing them.

 

[DebbieB]

When he has flown before, was he able to keep both armrests down without spilling over? If so, then he's fine.

 

[seashoreCM]

If any part of your body would extend into the next seat space then you should buy another seat.

Although airline crew might not point anything out at first, if you take up more seats than you bought then you could be bumped and not receive any compensation.

In almost all cases, including when there are two people who bought second seats and just one empty seat remains, Southwest will refund both of them their second seat purchases.

 

[PatMcDuck]

I am not a skinny person, (size 14-16), and have no problems on planes. But I am glad SW has this policy of sometimes requiring people to buy 2 seats. I like to board and grab the window seat. If someone in the middle, had her/his body spilling onto my seat, I would be annoyed and uncomfortable.

I thought SW's policy was to charge for the 2nd seat, but refund it if they flight was not sold out/full.

Oddly, once DH was flying and he bought the seats for himself and a friend. At last minute, friend could not make it, seats were next to each other (NOT SW). DH said good, he would spread out and enjoy the empty seat, after all, he paid for both himself. UMM, NOPE. They sold that seat to someone else, and there was nothing he could do about it (no refund for him either!)


Lap babies make me nuts too, but that is another topic for another day.

 

[brettb]

<snip>I thought SW's policy was to charge for the 2nd seat, but refund it if they flight was not sold out/full.<snip>

That used to be the case and I hadn't realized it had changed until I read the information at the links I posted earlier. I thought this particular FAQ was interesting:

Why would a Customer of size purchase a second seat knowing they can get a complimentary second seat at the airport?
Having a second seat purchased in advance allows us to account for the inventory need and greatly helps reduce the likelihood of an oversale situation (having more confirmed Customers waiting to board than seats on the aircraft). Also, there are a number of Customers who do not want to be approached at the airport or have a conversation with an Agent about their seating needs. These Customers of size prefer to know they have the number of seats they require, and we wanted to give them that choice. We will also refund all extra seat purchases, even if the flight oversells.​

 

[dudspizza]

That used to be the case and I hadn't realized it had changed until I read the information at the links I posted earlier. I thought this particular FAQ was interesting:

Why would a Customer of size purchase a second seat knowing they can get a complimentary second seat at the airport?
Having a second seat purchased in advance allows us to account for the inventory need and greatly helps reduce the likelihood of an oversale situation (having more confirmed Customers waiting to board than seats on the aircraft). Also, there are a number of Customers who do not want to be approached at the airport or have a conversation with an Agent about their seating needs. These Customers of size prefer to know they have the number of seats they require, and we wanted to give them that choice. We will also refund all extra seat purchases, even if the flight oversells.​

So what would stop anyone from purchasing an extra seat so they can have an empty seat next to them and then request the refund? I'm 6' 255 with very broad shoulders and would love to not be crammed up against someone else, but I would never consider saying I need an extra seat, because I don't.

 

[brettb]

So what would stop anyone from purchasing an extra seat so they can have an empty seat next to them and then request the refund? I'm 6' 255 with very broad shoulders and would love to not be crammed up against someone else, but I would never consider saying I need an extra seat, because I don't.

My snarky answer: Ethics?

I wondered that myself. I didn't look for an FAQ that addressed that. I also wonder if this works for AirTran flights booked via Southwest.

 

[smidgy]

I'm sorry, but I pay for an entire seat on an airplane. therefore I expect to use an entire seat.

I realize the seats are small. perhaps, with the prevalence of obesity (or even the increase in the average weight of people compared to 20 years ago) the airlines should offer some mid-sized seats at a mid-range price.

regardless, I expect full use of the seat I paid for.

 

[seashoreCM]

So what would stop anyone from purchasing an extra seat so they can have an empty seat next to them and then request the refund? I'm 6' 255 with very broad shoulders and would love to not be crammed up against someone else, but I would never consider saying I need an extra seat, because I don't.

Yes, you do need an extra seat if your shoulders (or elbows or knees or feet) cannot be kept out of the next seating space.

I'm sorry, but I pay for an entire seat on an airplane. therefore I expect to use an entire seat.

I realize the seats are small. perhaps, with the prevalence of obesity (or even the increase in the average weight of people compared to 20 years ago) the airlines should offer some mid-sized seats at a mid-range price.

regardless, I expect full use of the seat I paid for.

You need to be prepared to make a complaint. Summon both the captain and the ground complaint resolution officer for a conference as a last resort, before departure.

Oddly, once DH was flying and he bought the seats for himself and a friend. At last minute, friend could not make it, seats were next to each other (NOT SW). DH said good, he would spread out and enjoy the empty seat, after all, he paid for both himself. UMM, NOPE. They sold that seat to someone else, and there was nothing he could do about it (no refund for him either!)

If DH had bought an extra seat in his own name and needed (not just wanted) the space then he could keep it.

 

[aubriee]

Yes, you do need an extra seat if your shoulders (or elbows or knees or feet) cannot be kept out of the next seating space.

Last year, I paid for the aisle seat I prefer and a window seat that my mom prefers. Of course, we were hoping the middle seat might remain empty, but with the way planes are flying full, fully expected someone to be sitting there. What we weren't expecting was a very, very large (and tall) man who took up not only that middle seat, but half of each of our seats too. What was bad, was he was not only large around (well over 300lbs), but also very tall. He immediately put a leg underneath the seats directly in front of us and when I said something, he made the comment that he was too tall for his legs to fit under the seat in front of him and the only way he could stretch them out, was to put them in the space on either side. At first I was polite when asking him to move his legs to his own space, but then got irritated as me and my mom are both pooh size ourselves (but do fit in our seats with no spill over). This man had me squished very uncomfortably against the aisle arm rest and my mom squished against the window and the way he had his legs sprawled out we had no where to put our personal item or our own feet. I finally pushed the call button for the FA and asked her to have him put his feet back into his own area and out of ours. The man immediately said there was no way he could sit like that, because he was too tall and his stomach was in the way. The FA round up upgrading him to first class. This was on an American flight.

What's bad is this is the second time I have saw this on American. Someone who obviously will not fit in a middle seat, booked a middle seat and when people around him said something about it, the large person got upgraded to first class for free. I also saw it once on Air Tran.

 

[AaronInWI]

Wouldn't the most simple (and cheapest) solution to this be that you just make sure he is seated next to the rest of his family? If the main concern that an airline would have is the comfort of his seatmates, I would assume your family wouldn't mind being in close quarters for a few hours. I admit that I don't fully understand why airlines make some of the rules that they do, and if there are safety issues that I'm not thinking of then obviously this would not be a viable option; but I would hope that unless someone complains (and I can't imagine family complaining), they wouldn't single him out for being "Pooh sized".

 

[WIDisneyFan]

The hard part in answering this question is that while 290+ is large it all depends in how your son carries the weight. I am about 6'4 and close to that weight but fit comfortably in a seat (arm rests easily clear, body parts do not need to be on top of those next to me, ....). For me the only seats I have issues with are the window seats on small regional jets where the fuselage starts to angle in lower, which for me is right at my shoulder level.

Without being too personal what is the general build of your son? On other airlines does he typically need a seat-belt extender? Does he find the arm rest uncomfortable? Is he someone you would be willing to sit next to if he was not your son?