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[Southwest Airlines] This time the skinny one gets dropped

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by Yonkers, Jul 26, 2010.

  1. Yonkers

    Yonkers Contributing Member

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    http://www.the33tv.com/news/kdaf-skinny-bumped-so-fat-can-fly-story,0,478736.story

     
  2. DaDakota

    DaDakota If you want to know, just ask!

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    14 years old and needs 2 seats.....man that is sad.

    DD
     
  3. RoxSqaud

    RoxSqaud Member

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    At least they're weighing their options.
     
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  4. s land balla

    s land balla Contributing Member

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    Where there's a will, there's a weigh.
     
  5. Depressio

    Depressio Contributing Member

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    She flew standby. If the fat kid paid for two seats, he gets two seats. Standby passengers yield to fully-paid customers. When you fly standby, you should be ready to give up your seat to any late-arriving non-standby customer, even if it is a fat kid who takes up two seats. I don't see any problem with what Southwest did at all.

    I do see a problem with someone being so fat they need two seats.
     
  6. BetterThanI

    BetterThanI Contributing Member

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    Just wanted to weigh in on this: that sucks.
     
  7. DonkeyMagic

    DonkeyMagic Contributing Member
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    do you guys really expect good customer service from an airlines? :rolleyes:

    fat chance.
     
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  8. Cannonball

    Cannonball Contributing Member

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    Agreed. While, it's not a decision they want to make, it was probably the right one. Assuming the kid wasn't on standby, the fact that he had an actual ticket for that flight and was an unaccompanied minor makes the decision easier.

    There would be more outrage if they'd kicked off an obese 14 year old flying alone to accommodate a skinny standby passenger.
     
  9. sew

    sew Member

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    Either way, it's embarrassing enough for the fatty.
     
  10. Duncan McDonuts

    Duncan McDonuts Contributing Member

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    The fact that the standby passenger was allowed to purchase the standby seat makes me think the fatty didn't originally buy two seats. Shame. Shame on her again for being fat enough to need two seats at 14.
     
  11. Major

    Major Member

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    I think what made it an issue what that the kid did not pay for two seats - just one. Though the airline put her on the next flight AND gave her a free ticket on another flight, so we don't know if it was a big deal or if she even minded (there are no quotes from her).
     
  12. DaDakota

    DaDakota If you want to know, just ask!

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    Why don't airlines put in a "FAT" row....and charge more for it? Like 1 and 1/2 times the amount?

    DD
     
  13. Depressio

    Depressio Contributing Member

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    I'm also assuming the kid had paid (or his parents had paid) for two seats. I wonder what they'd do if there were 99 paid passengers having shown up for a 100-seat airplane (thus, 1 seat available) but one of the passengers was so fat that he needed 2 seats even though they only paid for one.

    Do you give the extra seat to the fatty or to the first standby passenger? Or do you kick the fatty off because he needs two seats and paid for only one, forcing him to pay for a second seat?

    And if it's a minor (as it is in this case), what if he can't pay for the extra seat? Must he wait for a flight that has seats available without standby passengers?

    Interesting questions. It's probably all up to the discretion of the gate folks.
     
  14. CrazyDave

    CrazyDave Contributing Member

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    agreed.


    In this instance, they were weigh over the line.
     
  15. Uprising

    Uprising Contributing Member

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    God I hate sitting next to the BIG guy on planes. As soon as I see a HUGE MF'er get on a plane I'm always like please no...please no...please no...please no....till he walks by....

    Although, I tend to get quite a few of them sitting next to me. The last one, was from Bahrain to Amsterdam, dude literally had his right arm half way over my side of the arm wrest. It was insane.
     
  16. sew

    sew Member

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    I don't fly that often, bout two times a year... but I've never been on a flight where someone was fat enough to take up two seats.

    Would it be worth it for the airlines?

    I fly in Canada though, maybe fatty flyers are more prevalent in the US?
     
  17. TheFreak

    TheFreak Contributing Member

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    Oh yeah?

    [​IMG]

    Well BUH-BYE.
     
  18. Duncan McDonuts

    Duncan McDonuts Contributing Member

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    They should probably determine the fatness at the security checks. TSA has to sign off and check the ticket before you are allowed into security and into the terminal. If fatty doesn't have two tickets at security, that gives plenty of time to make changes to the flight plan.

    In the case of this girl, they could have called the parents to inform them of any changes to her ticket. Most likely, it was paid for by credit card, too (who pays for a flight with cash anymore?) so they could have automatically charged her.
     
  19. bnb

    bnb Contributing Member

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    The article says only adults have to buy two tickets....so the big kid likely paid for one.

    Standby passenger got on the next flight and got a travel credit. That's a good deal for standby.
     
  20. JunkyardDwg

    JunkyardDwg Contributing Member

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    Per the article, it sounds like because the passenger was an unaccompanied minor, she wasn't required to buy an extra ticket and the airline didn't want to leave her alone. The thin passenger bought a standby ticket and was asked to leave, but was put on the next flight AND received credit. Seems like a non-story...or rather the real story is the obesity epidemic sweeping the country's youth. Why should a 14 year old need two seats to board a plane in the first place?
     

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