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Southwest Airlines Community

Not So Silent Bob

cday
Frequent Flyer C

Many of you reached out to us via Twitter last night and today regarding a situation a Customer Twittered about that occurred on a Southwest flight.  It is not our customary method of Customer Relations to be so public in how we work through these situations, but with so many people involved in the occurrence, you also should be involved in the solution. First and foremost, to Mr. Smith; we would like to echo our Tweets and again offer our heartfelt apologies to you.   We are sincerely sorry for your travel experience on Southwest Airlines. 

As soon as we saw the first Tweet from Mr. Smith, we contacted him personally to apologize for his experience and to address his concerns on both Twitter and with a personal phone call. Since the situation has received a lot of public attention, we'd like to take the opportunity to address a few of the specifics here as well.

Mr. Smith originally purchased two Southwest seats on a flight from Oakland to Burbank – as he’s been known to do when traveling on Southwest.  He decided to change his plans and board an earlier flight to Burbank, which technically means flying standby. As you may know, airlines are not able to clear standby passengers until all Customers are boarded. When the time came to board Mr. Smith, we had only a single seat available for him to occupy. We are responsible for the Safety and comfort of all Customers on the aircraft and therefore, we made a judgment call that Mr. Smith needed more than one seat to complete his flight. Our Employees explained why the decision was made, accommodated Mr. Smith on a later flight, and issued him a $100 Southwest travel voucher for his inconvenience.

You've read about these situations before. Southwest instituted our Customer of Size policy more than 25 years ago. The policy requires passengers that can not fit safely and comfortably in one seat to purchase an additional seat while traveling. This policy is not unique to Southwest Airlines and it is not a revenue generator. Most, if not all, carriers have similar policies, but unique to Southwest is the refunding of the second seat purchased (if the flight does not oversell) which is greater than any revenue made (full policy can be found here). The spirit of this policy is based solely on Customer comfort and Safety. As a Company committed to serving our Customers in Safety and comfort, we feel the definitive boundary between seats is the armrest. If a Customer cannot comfortably lower the armrest and infringes on a portion of another seat, a Customer seated adjacent would be very uncomfortable and a timely exit from the aircraft in the event of an emergency might be compromised if we allow a cramped, restricted seating arrangement.

1,758 Comments
Rob_Clark
Explorer C
Kevin's side of the story. http://www.smodcast.com/smods/smodcast106.html The treatment of the woman, as discussed 54 minutes in, is what did it for me. This isn't any way to treat another person, let alone a paying customer. I don't see an apology here for how Smith was treated. Instead what I see is an organization feeling sorry they've been called out on it. I see attempts to deflect the fault back to Smith and again thinly veiled insinuations that he is 'too fat to fly'. What we should have been seeing is reassurances that people shouldn't be treated that way and an explanation of what will be done to ensure it doesn't happen any further. - Rob Clark http://disclz.me/RobClark
Dan27
Explorer C
I will be taking my business elsewhere for my regular flights.
Jon_in_Calgary
Explorer C
I can only imagine how embarrassing it would have been to be in Kevin's place. I also think that he is only getting this response from you because of his platform. He is not THAT big of a guy and if he can get discriminated like this so can I. I hope you make this right for Kevin and everyone else you have ejected because they don't fit within the marketers and engineer's specifications for seat pitch.
Anonymous4445
Explorer C
"If a Customer cannot comfortably lower the armrest and infringes on a portion of another seat, a Customer seated adjacent would be very uncomfortable and a timely exit from the aircraft in the event of an emergency might be compromised if we allow a cramped, restricted seating arrangement." He was able to do this, try again Southwest. Just admit that you wrongly ejected him. Won't be flyign with you guys again.
Anonymous2907
Explorer C
I couldn't believe this when I read it... how awful that you humiliate a human being with this insensitive act. And then write a pathetic apology note ONLY because you knew the backlash on this was going to be huge. It's awful enough to fly nowadays... the seats are uncomfortable, the bathrooms are the size - actually not even the size - of a small closet... your charged for everything - please even Southwest is now charging for you to get a BETTER seat - and you have to deal with unfriendly customer service agents and overworked flight crews. Why just pick on overweight people when it comes to safety... pull off the handicapped, the crying babies, the elderly who can't see, the skinny folks to wimpy to open an emergency door... where does it stop! This discriminatory policy needs to change now... or else I will also be looking for a new carrier for all my business trips.
Anonymous294
Explorer C
If you fit in the seat without an extender, you shouldn't have to pay for a second seat. Kevin more than likely bought the extra seat not to have to sit next to jerks as he's FAMOUS rather than because he's fat. Besides, I've sat beside fat guys and I've sat by skinny guys. Every single "fat" guy tries to take up as little room as possible. Skinny guys think they own the world and spread their legs apart so far they extend into the middle of my seat acting as if they need the room for their privates. Get a life, you're not that big.
Anonymous294
Explorer C
If you fit in the seat without an extender, you shouldn't have to pay for a second seat. Kevin more than likely bought the extra seat not to have to sit next to jerks as he's FAMOUS rather than because he's fat. Besides, I've sat beside fat guys and I've sat by skinny guys. Every single "fat" guy tries to take up as little room as possible. Skinny guys think they own the world and spread their legs apart so far they extend into the middle of my seat acting as if they need the room for their privates. Get a life, you're not that big.
Not_Flying_Nort
Explorer C
If you fit in the seat without an extender, you shouldn't have to pay for a second seat. Kevin more than likely bought the extra seat not to have to sit next to jerks as he's FAMOUS rather than because he's fat. Besides, I've sat beside fat guys and I've sat by skinny guys. Every single "fat" guy tries to take up as little room as possible. Skinny guys think they own the world and spread their legs apart so far they extend into the middle of my seat acting as if they need the room for their privates. Get a life, you're not that big.
Anonymous796
Explorer C
Southwest is the cattle truck of the skies. Most of the people who fly this craptastic airline couldn't care less what Kev Smith has to say, they case more about the slumlord pricing; and as customers we get what we pay for. For what it's worth I won't fly Southwest, and Southwest is foolish for not doing more than a piss-poor, lame-ass, press release like this.
Anonymous483
Explorer C
I'm a 5'7 female and 300 pounds. I have flown many flights on Southwest. I liked them because of cheap fares, and their bags flying free when so many other companies overcharge you just to bring your clothes and things with you on trips. I have no problems getting the belt around me - never had to ask for an extender or anything. I ALWAYS take a window seat so I can stay up against the wall just to make sure I don't bother anybody on tiny planes. I don't get up and go to the bathroom while on the flight. I always wait until a flight change or I get where I'm going. I bend over backwards to make sure I can't possibly be in anybody else's way, or cause any problems. Yet, I'm paying to be there. I'm paying for their service. And Kevin Smith even goes a step further. He buys an extra seat! Here we all are, going out of our ways to make sure we fit into YOUR plans when we're paying for your service. How about you go a little bit out of YOUR ways to make things easier for ALL of your customers? You're so worried about the idea that some fat person's chubby belly might touch somebody hanging over the armrest. How about worrying about inconveniencing and embarrassing your local customers of size? I think that from now on I will just shell out the extra money for the flight and send my fat people clothes ahead of time to avoid such treatment.
Anonymous1172
Explorer C
i hope he sues !
Anonymous2729
Explorer C
Southwest, it is time to suck it up and admit that you mishandled this situation. I'm sure you have mistreated many other POS this time it just happened this time to be someone that has access to the media. This post is just defensive and not taking responsibility for poor customer service.
Anonymous959
Explorer C
What do you do with screaming kids? Throw them off? How about stinky people? Throw them off too? What about people that are skinny but cant stay within the confines of their seat and constantly move and flail around and bump into you even before the flight leaves? If its about passenger comfort, I can think of a whole lot of things that make me uncomfortable on a plane and I've complained to no avail. So your only purpose is to pick on fat people. Just say it, just admit it. You know its the truth. You want to fess up? Now's the time. Good luck with that.
Anonymous3443
Explorer C
But Mr. Smith was able to fit in between the armrests. And why do you always capitalize "Safety?" Do you think that capitalizing it makes us more likely to believe you? Have you done any safety studies? What evidence do you have regarding safety? If getting out of the aircraft quickly were a safety issue, then why don't you require wheelchair-bound people to buy 2 seats? After all, they are very slow to evacuate in an emergency. I'd think that would also be a safety issue. And if it were about quick evacuation, why not just require fat people to sit near the window? Also, how is it easier to exit a row with a fat person on the aisle if there are one or two people sharing the row? The fat person is still there. Your "Safety" argument is a load of hooey. When you get sued on this policy (and you will be *successfully* sued because your policy has no rational basis and has a disparate impact on women and people of color), what are you going to use to back up your "safety" argument? Good luck with that. It is as transparent as Saran wrap.
Anonymous2367
Explorer C
SW FTW haha J/K wow you guys messed up have fun with the negative press during the next week....shameful also you should send your workers back to school so they know the difference between obses and overweight. Also, let me know when you start charging extra for avg size people or anorexic then this would seem so discriminatory.
Anonymous1772
Explorer C
Sounds like most of these responses are coming from a bunch of tubb-o's.
Bob_From_Tampa
Explorer C
Its obvious (Anonymous — Sun, 02/14/2010 - 15:52), is a Southwest employee; shame on you, I know you have pride in your Company, But you are taking this too personal, Let the Board members settle this issue. As a Frequent A-list member since it's inception I just wish you could be consisitant instead of being slective of when and where the rules will be inforced. I have sat next to two 6 ft 400 pound guys from Tampa to Las Vegas and no one from southwest ever said a thing. I slept with my arms at my side. I did not complain but again you are not being consistant. If you want to enforce this rule it should start at the ticket counter NEVER on the Plane!! You can take responsibility for this mistake and move on or show your customers that you just don't Care what we Think or expect from our Airline.
Sean_D__Francis
Explorer C
I think you are probably fully aware of just how horrific this one pilot's decision was and I know you are probably really trying to spin this the best way you can but the fact of the matter is, removing a person after they have been seated due to weight is a horrifying humiliating thing to do to a person. This is the exact kind of thing that feeds my social anxiety. What are the rules? Who is setting the standards? Your explanation makes no sense since Kevin has flown on other planes without a problem. Your standards aren't consistent which sends a mixed message to your passengers/customers. Better to avoid flying Southwest. Best to avoid flying at all. It is a crazy nightmare experience. Eat the rich. Corporations are the death of the individual.
j0phus
Explorer C
Perhaps you shouldn't give a customers account history to anyone who can read. Everyone should take note at how eager Southwest is to give away your personal information to the public.
Whitney_Starlin
Explorer C
I think that Southwest Airlines handled this situation in the best way possible. Kevin Smith was rude, abrasive, and whiny on his tweets. I personally believe that he was exaggerating at many different points. He clearly knew the policy because he ordered 2 seats and then changed his flight. SWA can't help it that there was only 1 seat left when he got on the stand-by flight. They gave him as much as they could and even made sure that he had a flight. Sometimes you can only offer so much to customers. Some will never be pleased.
Anonymous483
Explorer C
I'm a 5'7 female and 300 pounds. I have flown many flights on Southwest. I liked them because of cheap fares, and their bags flying free when so many other companies overcharge you just to bring your clothes and things with you on trips. I have no problems getting the belt around me - never had to ask for an extender or anything. I ALWAYS take a window seat so I can stay up against the wall just to make sure I don't bother anybody on tiny planes. I don't get up and go to the bathroom while on the flight. I always wait until a flight change or I get where I'm going. I bend over backwards to make sure I can't possibly be in anybody else's way, or cause any problems. Yet, I'm paying to be there. I'm paying for their service. And Kevin Smith even goes a step further. He buys an extra seat! Here we all are, going out of our ways to make sure we fit into YOUR plans when we're paying for your service. How about you go a little bit out of YOUR ways to make things easier for ALL of your customers? You're so worried about the idea that some fat person's chubby belly might touch somebody hanging over the armrest. How about worrying about inconveniencing and embarrassing your local customers of size? I think that from now on I will just shell out the extra money for the flight and send my fat people clothes ahead of time to avoid such treatment.
cfeagans
Explorer C
"Not So Silent Bob [...] As soon as we saw the first Tweet from Mr. Smith, we contacted him personally to apologize for his experience [...] ... made the determination that Mr. Smith needed more than one seat to complete his flight." Wow. An "apology" wrapped in further insult. Way to go SW. Clearly Smith was able to lower both arm rests. He's big, but he isn't that big. This is a case of an airline employee who had a psychological complex of power that made a decision on his/her own and now the airline lacks the moral courage to stand up for the customer. In less than 24 hours, your the internet buzz on this is out of SW's public relations control. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out. I'm just glad that Smith has a platform he can use to bring attention to what amounts to corporate abuse of customers. Just because you provide cheap flights doesn't mean you get to treat customers like dirt. You can't pretend that your bottom line is that safe that a few hundred per day, per city who choose other airlines won't hurt. Good bye South West... I won't even be comparing prices with your airline again. I didn't like driving to Love Field anyway.
Anonymous3494
Explorer C
As a traveler who uses Southwest frequently, I'm shocked by how Mr. Smith was treated. The title of your blog is anything but conciliatory. According to Mr. Smith, both of the armrests were down, and he was in the process of buckling his seatbelt (which apparently he is quite capable of doing as he flew on your airline later that day) when he was removed from the plane. Clearly this was not a safety issue. If you are enforcing a just policy, you have no need to offer an apology or restitution. Both were attempted, but your apology was as back-handed as I've ever seen, and the restitution was an insult. While I won't make the threat that many others have made about never flying SWA again, I will look at all other options first. We've all experienced bad customer service, and in most cases there's nothing we can do about it as even though we are paying customers, we need the service, and are therefor powerless. But we don't forget. And we talk about the poor customer service we receive, and act accordingly in the future. That's what Mr. Smith has done. And I was listening. How about you, SWA?
JustinHa
Explorer C
Way to provide horrible customer service, seriously this the blog post you want the world to see? Very sad on your part.
Lori_Mooney
Explorer C
From the absolutely condescending and snarky title to your trying to justify humiliating a human being under the guise of "safety," I am downright disgusted by Southwest Airlines and will never, under any circumstances, travel with your airline. I am not a person of size, quite the opposite in fact, but if your policy is to seat passengers and then boot them from the plane when there have been a) no complaints made against them from other passengers b)their armrests could easily go down and c) no seatbelt extender was necessary, then there is no telling what you will do to others. I applaud Mr. Smith for using his celebrity to speak out against your airline and I hope millions of others follow suit through boycotting. If this were just one unfortunate incident, then I would say, okay, shit happens, but how you did the same thing to another overweight passenger in Mr. Smith's row who was in fact sitting next to an empty seat, and how you accepted no blame for your rudeness and mistreatment of a passenger, it is clear that it is your policy to embarass, degrade, and discriminate against everyone. And Southwest Airlines, that just sucks.
leana
Explorer C
Whoever wrote this blog needs to visit Kevin's smodcast website. This is ludicrous. Kevin clearly states that he just doesn't like sitting next to people, and since SWA tickets are so cheap, he is able to buy out the seat. When he flies with his wife, he buys out the whole row. Ever seen a picture of his wife? Can tell you she's thinner than a stick. Your customer service is horrible. Don't think I'm just an oblivious customer; My father flew for USAir for 25 years. Believe me, I KNOW bad service, but this is ridiculous, and I know your policies. You had ample time to tell Kevin that he was too large for the plane and couldn't fly, but no. You had to humiliate the man while he was on the plane and seated. His seatmates said they were comfortable, and you couldn't even tell him the reason he had to get off other than "safety reasons". You gave him no actual safety procedure that he could have messed up. You just said that he wasn't safe. Then you had the nerve of telling that large girl that she needed to ask Kevin if it was okay that she "shared" his second seat? Are you serious? And what a nice apology. Hey, we didn't really handle the situation that well, but you're a fatass and you're still in the wrong. No, that is not an apology. He had the arm rests down, and he could buckle up without an extender. If you wanted to kick him off this easily, you needed to have your policy more clearly stated, because looking at it now, it's very vague and can cause you a LOT of trouble with lawsuits. An apology is when you fess up and say that you were all wrong, and you hope that Kevin can forgive you. You're just trying to make your airline look like what you did was right. I'm not falling for your shit, Southwest. I'll take USAir over you. And that's saying a lot. Teach your employees at least a LITTLE common decency.
Anonymous3494
Explorer C
As a traveler who uses Southwest frequently, I'm shocked by how Mr. Smith was treated. The title of your blog is anything but conciliatory. According to Mr. Smith, both of the armrests were down, and he was in the process of buckling his seatbelt (which apparently he is quite capable of doing as he flew on your airline later that day) when he was removed from the plane. Clearly this was not a safety issue. If you are enforcing a just policy, you have no need to offer an apology or restitution. Both were attempted, but your apology was as back-handed as I've ever seen, and the restitution was an insult. While I won't make the threat that many others have made about never flying SWA again, I will look at all other options first. We've all experienced bad customer service, and in most cases there's nothing we can do about it as even though we are paying customers, we need the service, and are therefor powerless. But we don't forget. And we talk about the poor customer service we receive, and act accordingly in the future. That's what Mr. Smith has done. And I was listening. How about you, SWA?
Anonymous1661
Explorer C
I have flown Southwest several times a year for many years. I'm 5'9 and 170lbs. While it is inconvenient for me to sit next to an overweight person who "spills" into my seat, I would never rob them of their dignity. I can tolerate a short 1 hr flight. What I will not tolerate is this company that treats people the way they do. Tomorrow morning I am selling my stock, and I will no longer fly Southwest. That is unless one of two things happen: 1) Southwest attendant Suzanne and/or Captain Leysath publicly apologizes to Mr. Smith, on camera at a press conference so she can feel the shame that she cast upon Mr. Smith, 2) Southwest revises its policy about overweight passengers, to dedicate 10% of each flight to oversized people. Since I'm fairly certain that neither of these things will happen, I'll just say - "See ya Southwest. Nice knowing you".
A_FORMER_SW_Air
Explorer C
Sorry, but your customer service is by far the worst in the business. I stopped using your airline long ago. No discount could make me change my mind. As for the persons of substance issue, there is nothing worse that have a parent with a baby in his/her lap next to you and yet you allow this. Every baloney rule you posted above would apply to the babes in arms as well, and yet you allow them. Evidently you don't care about the comfort of ANY of your customers. By the way, you can have planes made more comfortable, oh, but you'd have to let go of some revenue and we know how the few at the top like their big bucks.
Anonymous652
Explorer C
Go Frontier Airlines!
ThinksThis_Make
Explorer C
The problem with this particular occurrence is that Mr. Smith was able to release the arm rest comfortably, and restrain himself accordingly with the seat belt. One of the captains on the flight did not express any justification for removing Mr. Smith from the flight. The Airline's own policy reads, according to the airline's apology: "As a Company committed to serving our Customers in Safety and comfort, we feel the definitive boundary between seats is the armrest. If a Customer cannot comfortably lower the armrest and infringes on a portion of another seat, a Customer seated adjacent would be very uncomfortable and a timely exit from the aircraft in the event of an emergency might be compromised if we allow a cramped, restricted seating arrangement." The conflict with Mr. Smith isn't justified by this statement, because his armrest was able to be released enough where safety of an adjacent passenger was not compromised, nor was Mr. Smith infringing on a portion of the adjacent passenger's seat. If even the captain on the plane was satisfied with Mr. Smith's seating arrangement and felt there was no safety concern, then Mr. Smith's rejection from the flight, according to the airline's own policy, was unjustified and unreasonable. The real embarrassment is that this injustice has likely been equally unjustifiably done to numerous other paying customers, whose voices we don't get to hear as loudly as @ThatKevinSmith. Worst apology ever.
Mark_Skram
Explorer C
Nice, just needed this extra reason not to fly your low-grade airline. Thanks for clearing up the air, I'll go Air Tran--or anyone else--for our flying needs now. And I'm not even fat--just tall (oh heavens no!). If you're going to violate someone's rights, at least be smart enough to NOT do it to a celebrity. Maybe then you won't look so stupid (and scummy)!!!
ThinksThis_Make
Explorer C
The problem with this particular occurrence is that Mr. Smith was able to release the arm rest comfortably, and restrain himself accordingly with the seat belt. One of the captains on the flight did not express any justification for removing Mr. Smith from the flight. The Airline's own policy reads, according to the airline's apology: "As a Company committed to serving our Customers in Safety and comfort, we feel the definitive boundary between seats is the armrest. If a Customer cannot comfortably lower the armrest and infringes on a portion of another seat, a Customer seated adjacent would be very uncomfortable and a timely exit from the aircraft in the event of an emergency might be compromised if we allow a cramped, restricted seating arrangement." The conflict with Mr. Smith isn't justified by this statement, because his armrest was able to be released enough where safety of an adjacent passenger was not compromised, nor was Mr. Smith infringing on a portion of the adjacent passenger's seat. If even the captain on the plane was satisfied with Mr. Smith's seating arrangement and felt there was no safety concern, then Mr. Smith's rejection from the flight, according to the airline's own policy, was unjustified and unreasonable. The real embarrassment is that this injustice has likely been equally unjustifiably done to numerous other paying customers, whose voices we don't get to hear as loudly as @ThatKevinSmith. Worst apology ever.
Anonymous2189
Explorer C
Man, nothing like an isolated incident to promote the spewing of self-righteous vitriol, eh folks? In two months when you all forget about this, I bet you all come crawling back to the airline with the lowest fares, which in my experience tends to be Southwest. I hope I never have to sit next to any of you.
Anonymous1503
Explorer C
Has it ever occurred to anyone that Smith buys two seats because he doesn't want to be cramped. Do you get on every packed bus/train or do you sometimes wait for one with fewer people on? Just because Kevin Smith can afford to buy some comfort does not necessarily means he is too big for one seat. And I still haven't seen SouthWest address the fact that both arm rests were down. Clearly Smith was in compliance with SouthWest seating policy.
meege
Explorer C
SW you REALLY pissed off the wrong guy. Kevin Smith has an extremely large fanbase ( pun intended). Apparently Kevin was able to fit in the seat and buckle his seatbelt. To humiliate anyone in that manner is absolutely reprehensible. All he asked for was why he was pulled off the plane. He deserved a straight answer and to be treated with dignity. Not the "avoid litigation double-speak". I think it would be awesome if every "fatty", in mass, protested by buying a round trip ticket from Oakland to Burbank. I'd like to see how SW's "customer service" staff would deal with that. BTW, is there any chance you could stock full sized cans of soda and maybe offer Cheetos instead of peanuts?
Anonymous2241
Explorer C
I fly about 30 times a year. About 20 of those are Southwest flights. In the future, I'll pay a little extra and support a company that can own up to its mistakes.
vanbrujah
Explorer C
Wow...could you guys have screwed up any bigger? I've flown on SW in the past, only to have my suitcase completely destroyed, but have been willing to give you another chance - mostly due to low fares. Never, ever again. I think you've underestimated Kevin's fan base, not to mention people don't like it when they're treated like shit, which is what you've clearly been doing all along. It just took you doing it to a celebrity to bring it to the attention of more people. In today's economy - HUGE mistake. I wonder if this will spell the beginning of the end for Southwest Airlines.
Anonymous147
Explorer C
FWIW, I agree with the policy. That said this is a massive failure on SWA's part and enough to lose me as a customer. There are reams of comments above that explain the details of why, but I'll summarize. Don't screw up, then justify it in a non-apologetic apology that doesn't get it's facts right. (I want to say lies, but we'll give you the benefit of the doubt.)
Aims
Explorer C
I'm not an overweight person, but I still find airline seats to be small to the point of uncivilized and degrading to passengers. And I sympathize with people who loath sitting next to an overweight passenger. But that's not the passenger's fault ... it's the airlines. It's true that Americans could stand to lose weight. It's a chubby country. But you don't design airplanes and seats around some economically idealized fictional passenger that maximizes profits for your airline, and then humiliate those passengers because they don't fit your fictitious specifications. You design your seats and services for the people who are actually using them. Oh, and the average internet user is educated well enough to see through the corporate-speak "apology." You would have done better if you had remained silent rather than publish that great big slap in the face for your customers. Either apologize, let heads roll internally and change your policy ... or stand your ground and tell passengers up front (right on your homepage) about your overweight policy. From what I'm reading, roughly 5% of the commenters here would applaud a "no-fatties" policy. But don't faux-apologize. We've been insulted enough.
Vas
Explorer C
Southwest you are so wrong for this. You have made a PR nightmare for yourself. You need to CHANGE YOUR POLICY.
Anonymoustms
Explorer C
I have flow SWA exactly once, about twelve years ago, and that was enough for me. This episode and the airline's pathetic response only underscore why I will never fly with them them again.
Sara12
Explorer C
Lol to the numerous posters who keep saying that they're too big to lower the armrests and they've never been kicked off. Well, just because you haven't been kicked off doesn't mean you shouldn't have been. I fly across the country somewhat often and there's nothing worse than having to spend 6 hours feeling extra claustrophobic and not being able to use the armrest. Maybe if people actually purchased a second seat when they need it instead of squeezing in and acting like no one will notice then there wouldn't be a need to embarrass them by pointing out the obvious, that being they can't fit in one seat. Whether or not Kevin Smith fits into the seat without infringing on the next person's space I can't say since obviously I wasn't there, just like everyone else posting here! It might help his cause if he would actually admit how much he weighs instead of avoiding the question.
Anonymous230
Explorer C
Just read your response and listened to his smodcast on the subject. You're a bunch of jerks. I grew up flying your airlines. Never again. Not for him. But for the unknown chick who you treated the same friggin way. Celebs I could care less about. Celebs letting us know how you treat the "little people" you just want to grab cash from our wallets from and treat us like dirt... to hell with you. I'll pay extra for a smidge of human dignity to my overweight friends. Screw off with your BS spin.
Anonymous3101
Explorer C
This so called apology is hilarious- a back handed apology that doesn't even address the problem. Unbelievably unprofessional.
RonN
Explorer C
A necessary part of admitting you are wrong it not backtracking afterwards and trying to justify it. He was seated, belted, both armrests down. Arbitrary rules allow attendants to be mean to whoever they like, whenever they need a laugh, and ignore it the rest of time. How many have you humiliated before Kevin?
Anonymous1353
Explorer C
Kevin Smiths SModcast 106# is the worst thing that could happen to you!!! Southwest, you suck so bad...
Anonymous4376
Explorer C
Hey, Southwest. I have flown your airline with my spouse and my mother. We are all fat, my mom so much so that she needs an extension seat belt to be able to fasten it. We have never been kicked off a plane or bought extra tickets, which makes me wonder just what is going on over there. I will never know the entire truth because I wasn't there, but it seems to me that this rule is arbitrarily enforced and as such should include an amendment for specificity, otherwise this WILL happen again in the future, and in these times you really don't want a bunch of rabid fans of whichever celebrity you kicked off that week all frothy at the mouth and looking for the blood of your airline. As for me, the threat of being publicly humiliated on one of your planes is enough to make me think twice before purchasing a ticket, especially when the seats on jetblue are so much more comfortable to us fatasses of the world. Thanks for making my flying choices simpler.
Anonymous3430
Explorer C
Honestly, it wasn't your treatment of Kevin but of the girl he sat next to later....that is what did it for me. Never flying with you again. I am one consumer but this one consumer feels your company is not worth her money, her families money, nor my company's money. We will be closing out our account tomorrow morning post haste.
dmanning
Explorer C
Listen to Kevin Smith on smodcast.com and hear how humiliating it was for him. I took the time and heard it and I felt the poor guy really got a kick in the head. I feel for the guy and when you hear the whole story on his smodcast.com you can hear what occured. Seems he uses the airline all the time and had just flown it that same week and even dealt with the same SWA counter employee Suzanne emp ID#84175 . With flying the same week why did she not take him off that flight as he only had purchased one ticket. Yup it is tough when you get thrown off a 100% full plane in front of everyone and not getting your satisfaction of why really makes a nasty PR situation when you can twit and get it all over the internet.. I have to agree with Kevin Smith here and hope he gets an apology out of this one. I would not want to be placed in his situation and SWA should clean up this mess and offer a sinsere apology and get this resoloved. An investigation into this may show that the employees are over worked and under paid and need to reconsider how to deal with such a sensitive issue.