Southwest Seats Help

[ancestry]

DH and I are considering booking a last minute trip for May. Everything was timing out nicely until I realized that the airline that fits our needs price and schedule wise is Southwest.

I always swore I wouldn't fly Southwest because of a few of the horror stories I've heard about regarding passengers of size. I am a big woman but not huge. However, I am terrified that Southwest is going to tell me I need two seats, which of course I would just die over. I actually had nightmare about this when I first heard about it.

I have never needed a seat belt extender on any airline so far. The regular seat belt has always fit just fine with room to spare but I do have wide hips.

I fit comfortably in Jet Blue seats but am snug in Air Tran seats. When I flew Delta a while ago I could get into the seat but had some serious bruises on my outer thighs from from the seat handles (that doesn't happen on Jet Blue or Air Tran). I'm not sure I qualify for flowing into the seat next to me. I don't think so but I'm not positive.

Does any one have any personal experience with this either from themselves or from what they witnessed with other passengers?

I've been trying to find a 17 inch seat (what Southwest says their seats are) around the house to see how I fit in it but everything we have is much wider than that.

I'm holding off on booking until I get some feedback.

 

[Jestocost]

DH and I are considering booking a last minute trip for May. Everything was timing out nicely until I realized that the airline that fits our needs price and schedule wise is Southwest.

I always swore I wouldn't fly Southwest because of a few of the horror stories I've heard about regarding passengers of size. I am a big woman but not huge. However, I am terrified that Southwest is going to tell me I need two seats, which of course I would just die over. I actually had nightmare about this when I first heard about it.

I have never needed a seat belt extender on any airline so far. The regular seat belt has always fit just fine with room to spare but I do have wide hips.

I fit comfortably in Jet Blue seats but am snug in Air Tran seats. When I flew Delta a while ago I could get into the seat but had some serious bruises on my outer thighs from from the seat handles (that doesn't happen on Jet Blue or Air Tran). I'm not sure I qualify for flowing into the seat next to me. I don't think so but I'm not positive.

Does any one have any personal experience with this either from themselves or from what they witnessed with other passengers?

I've been trying to find a 17 inch seat (what Southwest says their seats are) around the house to see how I fit in it but everything we have is much wider than that.

I'm holding off on booking until I get some feedback.

SWA seats are going to be about an inch narrower than the seats on Jet Blue and AirTran, and about the same size as economy seats on MOST Delta planes. The problem with comparing to Delta is they fly so many different aircraft that it's impossible to be exact without knowing what type of aircraft you flew on.

You may want to look at some of the info on seat width and pitches on seatguru.com to help you compare.

 

[Big Willie]

I fly SW monthly and I'm no small fry. (ie "Big Willie"). At 6'2" 315 lbs (honest weight) I have no problems. In fact I do not require a seat extender. I have seen persons larger than myself seated without problems including those who need extenders. Plus, you are flying with your DH..lift the armrest for more room if need. On the occasions that my wife and I travel together we sometimes do this. Never had a Flight Attendant tell us to put it down. If asking for an extender embarrasses you. Purchase your own before the flight. Mark it to avoid any confusion. (my Mom-N-Law has her own)

Flew Airtran to Atlanta last year and I feel SW seats are better. Same with USAIR. Just flew them to Hawaii two weeks ago and I swear I will try to never fly them again. NO LEGROOM. Width wasn't bad.

I always take the horror stories with a tinge of skeptciism. Yes, someone could complain or a Flight Attendant could have a bad day. In 10+ years of boarding SW monthly I have never seen nor experienced any of the horror people describe or alledge. Makes me smile. I'm either Lucky or God Loves Me as much as I love him.

 

[Dizzyworld]

..lift the armrest for more room if need. On the occasions that my wife and I travel together we sometimes do this. Never had a Flight Attendant tell us to put it down.

I guess it depends on the attendant. Once we were told the armrest had to be down during take-offs and landings.

BTW, I felt more comfortable in a SW seat than an AirTran seat. I know how you feel. I get nervous each trip.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Once we were told the armrest had to be down during take-offs and landings.

That is an FAA rule. However, sometimes people get away with it up when flight attendants don't notice.

I've been trying to find a 17 inch seat (what Southwest says their seats are) around the house to see how I fit in it but everything we have is much wider than that.

Can't you just sit down and measure the "spread"? Or mark a sheet of newspaper for 17" and see if you can fit.

 

[ancestry]

Okay - I did it. This will be my first time flying Southwest. Keeping my fingers crossed that we won't have any problems.

Talk about a last minute trip. We leave in about 3 weeks.

 

[MrsBlovesDisney]

Okay - I did it. This will be my first time flying Southwest. Keeping my fingers crossed that we won't have any problems.

Talk about a last minute trip. We leave in about 3 weeks.

Best wishes!! We are taking Southwest for the first time next week!! We usually fly jetblue out of Boston but we are closer to Providence and thought we'd try it. I hope we love it as much as jetblue!!

 

[rwdavis2]

I used to be 6'2" and 315 and fit in a SW seat OK, but snug. Jet Blue seats are a bit wider. Having lost 50lbs has made the seats more bearable. If you want detailed info on all airlines go to: www.seatguru.com

 

[tanker]

I have never needed a seat belt extender on any airline so far. The regular seat belt has always fit just fine with room to spare but I do have wide hips.

I'm a pilot for SWA and the main criteria that I've seen them use is can the passenger sit in the seat and get the armrest down. From what I've seen if the passenger doesn't need a seat belt extender then they can get the armrests down.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I'm a pilot for SWA and the main criteria that I've seen them use is can the passenger sit in the seat and get the armrest down.

That is correct. This criteria is even stated on SWA's webpage regarding "Customers of Size:

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

The armrest is considered to be the definitive boundary between seats and measures 17 inches in width.