Southwest is cracking down. os (CNN) -- Southwest Airlines says it will begin enforcing a 22-year-old policy next week when it routinely charges large passengers for a second seat on its flights. Starting June 26, Southwest passengers who are booked on full flights and need seat belt extensions, or whose bodies extend beyond the 18 3/4 inch cushions, will be required to purchase a second seat, said Christine Turneabe-Connelly, a Southwest spokeswoman. "It's a policy that has been in place since 1980," Turneabe-Connelly said. "Over the years, we allowed some flexibility with the agents at the time of check-in. As of June 26, we will be consistent." After examining the impact of the policy during the last few years, the airline's managers determined the flexibility created inconsistency and caused more stress for passengers and gate agents than it eliminated, Turneabe-Connelly said. Gate agents might not have asked large passengers to purchase second seats on their outbound, partially-full Wednesday flight, but then those same people would get slammed with an extra fee on the overbooked Friday afternoon return flight. Scenarios like that exacerbated tenuous interactions between employees and "people of size," Turneabe-Connelly said. "It's already a very difficult and sensitive issue to address." All of Southwest's flights offer coach-sized seating. Business and first-class seats do not exist. And the "people of size" policy only applies to full flights where a larger person would not have access to an empty seat. If a larger person required a second seat on an already full flight, then the flight would go into an oversell situation, and the crew would ask for volunteers to give up their seats, Turneabe-Connelly said. The policy does not necessarily mean large people will pay double fares. If a person bought a ticket within the 14-day advance purchase window and knew they needed extra space, then that passenger would buy two tickets at that discounted fee. However, if a person was buying a full-price ticket at the last minute for business or bereavement reasons, one seat would sell for the higher, walk-up fare, and the second one at the 14-day advance purchase price, Turneabe-Connelly said. If a passenger buys a second seat and the plane is subsequently not full, passengers may get a refund. That too, Turneabe-Connelly said, has been the airline's policy since 1980. The policy is really to ensure the comfort of all passengers, said Beth Harbin, a Southwest spokeswoman. Complaints from people of size have been rare, she said. Most complaints have come from people who felt discomforted by sitting next to larger passengers.
its about time! i hate sitting next to fatties that use up more than their share of what little room there is on a two seat window/aisle combo... make 'em pay! they need to go lose some weight!
Those SW seats are really cramped. Ive really never had a problem with obese people sitting next to me though. Just as long as I dont have to sit backwards in those seats by the emergency exits.... talk about weird!
i never fly because im scared so it doesn’t bother me, but i still think it's really unfair for bigger people. its not their fault that the airlines don’t make accommodations for all different shapes and sizes.
I believe there is a very large "silent majority" out there that is behind Southwest all the way on this one. The spokeswoman for Southwest said that 9 out of 10 complaints they receive are from people sitting next to obese people. When you purchase an airline ticket, you are buying a seat reservation. That is 1 seat. Not 2 seats, but 1 seat. Should you use 1 seat, you pay for 1 seat. Should you use more than 1 seat, you pay for more than 1 seat. How is this discriminatory? It is common sense! If I have size 19 shoes and have to pay more to get shoes that fit, is that also discriminatory? After all, I can't help it if my feet are that big. What is the difference?
unfair for bigger people? how about the person sitting next to their big sweaty ass? they paid for the whole seat but only get to use 3/4 of it? that's not fair ditto the above post I have to order shoes, I own big fat duck feet
I had a connecting flight on an American Eagle Turboprop out of DFW several years ago. I had to run for this hot-as-hell plane (they leave them sitting on the tarmac w/o AC) in my suit. Once on the plane, I thought that I was lucky because there was only 1 empty seat other than mine, and it was right beside me. A few moments later, the flight attendent gave me a funny look, then I heard the flimsy floor-boards creaking. The 'largest' person I have ever seen sat beside me. He was extremely overweight and also fairly tall, probably 6-4 or 6-5, making it even worse. He asked if he could raise the armrest, I'll never say 'yes' again since that is only an invitation to occupy part of your seat. I'll never forget his stomach...after he was seated, he folds his hands over it (he really couldn-t fold his arms over it) and they were eye-level for me. I had to sit sideways, sweating in my suit, pressed against the plane for the next hour. Never a 'thanks' or 'sorry' from this guy. SWA's policy is MOST fair.
How do you judge? I mean is it Mr 300, 350 , 400, 450? Who Judges. . . Is it a call at gate? On a Sold out flight . . . will the fatty be left behind? Man . . .one day fat folx may be as hated and unwelcome as Smokers. Rocket River
It's really easy if you can't bear to have the armrest down the whole time and/or not be all over the person next to you, you must get another seat I think the idea is to keep planes from being buses if yer big and you know it buy a seat i.e. you've had more than one person complain to you and you haven't lost weight buy a seat if you haven't figured this out get a peice of string and measure if you are 30 inches wide you will be some one elses problem they say that's not allowed anymore, save yourself the embarassment I don't wanna see those arguments
wow, looks like there is some repressed anger against obese people... guess this is the only place we can vent in the PC world in which we live i heard that there is an organization called the "National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance" that is trying to fight SWA... http://www.naafa.org how pathetic... as a former fatty, i hate these type of people, who relish in their "overweightness" rather than exercise/diet and try to lose the weight like I did...
Wait, wait, wait....there are lots of larger people out there who are large from no fault of their own (thyroid conditions, etc)...these people aren't all necessarily "choosing" to be large. Admittedly, some could care less...but others do. Second...I really think SWA is on the right track here...but I am not sure this is a manageable position to take. We can make any rule we want, but the question is whether or not it can be properly or fairly administered. That's a real concern here. You buy a ticket...you show up...and all of a sudden they tell you that you need to buy another ticket??? What if no other tickets are available??? SWA doesn't have reserved seating...so how would that work??
In a true efficient market, I can envision something like this happening (and working): Scenario: The flight is sold out. No empty seats. An overweight person who will occupy more than one seat does not have the luxury of spreading across two seats. That overweight person is issued a paper ticket that they must redeem upon boarding the plane for the cost of what they paid for their original ticket. Total cost would be the price of 2 tickets. The overweight person, before boarding, can "buy" his piece of paper representing the cost of the 2nd ticket for as little as possible from a willing participant who must sit next to the overweight person. A reverse-auction ensues. Bidders go lower as competition increases, and eventually the overweight person purchases his 2nd ticket for a lower price from the winning bidder. In terms of efficiency, this makes a ton of sense. First, the overweight person does not have to pay full fare for their 2nd ticket. Second, the unlucky person who sits next to the overweight person receives monetary compensation for their inconvenience. The issue of "who has to get the 2nd ticket" still remains. In order to make this as objective as possible, a row of seats is made available near the check in counter. This row of seats is behind a privacy wall. The passenger must sit down in the seat. A red line exists on the seats that marks what is excessive. If that red line is not visible when the passenger sits down, then the passenger must get two tickets.
There is something just fundamentally wrong here. Shoe analogy is horrible because airlines are an infrastructure type thing. Tax money is used to allow them to exist. Does this mean fat people can demand their tax dollars back? The average American today is larger than that of 20 years ago and it's foolish to expect that your seats shouldn't change with that average. Anyone who's over six feet and 200 pounds can surely attest to feeling like you're being put in a straight jacket when you fly Southwest. It's ridiculous.
"An infrastructure thing"? Well guess what, my hypothetical size 19 feet can't fit in small shoes. I develop foot problems. This leads to back problems. This leads to hospitalization. I have no insurance. This leads to use of public tax payer dollars. Is that an "infrastructure thing" too, Timing? If I have to start paying for 100% of my medical costs, do I therefore get my tax dollars refunded? sigh Answer this question: If you use 2 seats, should you not therefore pay for two seats? It makes no difference how you use the 2 seats, whether you put another human in the 2nd seat, or another large cheek, the fact of the matter is you are using 2 seats. Southwest wouldn't have decided to start re-inforcing this policy if they didn't see convincing evidence that it was supported by a solid majority of travellers. Southwest is the most efficiently run airline and has delivered fantastic returns to its investors.
6 ft 200 lbs you are uncomfortable but you're not all over the person next to ya you accept this if you fly swa but if you're 330lbs and you can't put the arm down... YOU KNOW IF YOU ARE TOO BIG FOR ONE SEAT the denial is what bothers me.....
Why don't they just seat the fatties next to the beanpoles. One person that uses 3/4s of a seat and one person that uses 1 1/4 seat equals two people using two seats. I am not petite, but I can fit in a single seat. I just think it is blind luck if a fat person sits next to you. I don't really mind, and I surely wouldn't complain. Should chatty people have to pay more to fly as well? Should hot babes get a discount? I never mind sitting next to them. You are paying for transportation. Unless they charge by the pound (fuel usage), everyone should pay the same amount. Be they a huge fatty or an infant that rides in mommy's arms. Has anybody ever tried to move up into first class while the plane is underway? Kind of like moving down for better seats at a ballgame. Just curious.
Another customer taking half of your seat is different than everyday annoyances like obnoxious people, etc. They are clearly 2 different subjects. And if you had to share your seat with a 500 pounder, you most certainly would mind.
Dude that's idiotic. A shoe is an item, airfare is a service. The airline industry uses a tax funded infrastructure to operate and some airlines have a monopoly on routes from certain cities. You can't comparison shop to nearly the extent you can when buying items like shoes. This isn't trickle down. The approriate analogy would be oh my foot hurts because some government subsidized industry won't make a shoe big enough for me because they've determined what size should fit all even if that determination is several decades out of date. People who buy airfare are buying transportation, the airlines are the ones who have determined the size of the seats. What's to stop them from weighing you at the ticket counter to see how much gas you're going to require on your flight? Southwest is basically comprised of flying gas cans. They strap in their inmates and serve peanuts for meals. No wonder friends fly free.
