Skip to main content

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
Jessica14
Explorer C
He does not need two seats, but prefers them. He can sit in the seat, and lower the arm rests. Southwest is trying to cover up their extremely rude mistake by standing by the "too fat to fly" policy, even though Kevin Smith is not too fat to fly.
Kathy6
Explorer C
Thank goodness, I haven't tried to fly Southwest. I'm XL, but from front to back. I fasten the seatbelt around my hips, like the card says anmd I don't lap over the armrests. I have been asked to switch seats on a commuter plane to balance the weight, but not in a manner that alerted the entire plane to my size. Wise up Southwest - the overweight passenger IS the "NORMAL" one. TYhe skinny assed people are not the average consumer anymore. Deal with it.
Anonymous3713
Explorer C
Would you have apologize if he wasn't Kevin Smith but John Doe? I have my doubts.
Anonymous4093
Explorer C
Suckwest have you updated your Not So Silent Bob letter again? I know you don't change the timestamp. Do you do that same type of thing to cover yourself in other situations? If you do it with so many people watching what else would you do when no one is watching.
Jared_Smith
Explorer C
I wished I could've been there to see it myself, but Smith stated that he demonstrated to the Southwest employee that asked him to leave the flight that he COULD lower his armrests and even asked the two passengers he was sitting between if he was encroaching on their space (they said 'no' by the way). If the ability to raise and lower the armrests on the passenger's seat is the measure that your company is going by as to whether or not a passenger can safely and comfortably sit in a seat, then why was Smith forced off of this flight when he clearly showed that the armrests could be moved? As an airline I understand that policies have to be put into place to ensure the total safety of your passengers and crew, but the manner in which you've described this policy in your post seems ludicrous and, as another commentator put it, "arbitrary." If Southwest truly feels that this policy needs to be kept in place as it has for the past 25 years, then I think one important measure has to be taken. Obesity is in an increasing health concern amongst the population of the US, as we are easily the "fattest" country on Earth, and customers far larger than Mr. Smith (some of whom were on that same packed flight that he was escorted off of) undoubtedly fly Southwest every day. The company needs to make a more earnest attempt to let their customers know BEFORE buying their ticket that people of larger size may need to purchase two tickets and not simply wait for them to board the flight and then address them about the issue in front of the other passengers. DO NOT put this policy in fine print on the ticket; DO NOT ask Southwest employees to mention this to passengers at the gate as they most likely will not be consistent with this; DO NOT continue on as you have been with your enforcement of this rule. Here is what Southwest SHOULD DO: Place a notice that can plainly be seen by all customers at the airport and on your website stating that people with a waist size greater than X inches wide may need to purchase a second ticket for safety reasons. It's either this or abolish the policy altogether, which, to be frank, I would much rather see happen than my suggested alternative. If you find this suggestion foolish then please bear in mind that American consumers vote with their dollar. When cash exchanges hands that means we, the customers, are favoring your company over your competition. Disappoint, anger, patronize, malign or disregard us and our dollar will never go to you again. We can vote for Jet Blue instead.
Chillinbill
Explorer C
My sister went through security gates and was seated on a SouthWest Airline seat when they they, (SouthWest), found that this baby had a two year old had a birthday a few days before the flight. They all sit on the plane and then are escorted off. Grandma will have to wait for the grandchild she has never met
Safety
Explorer C
Just wanted to add my "I'll never flying southwest again." to the list.
Scott6
Explorer C
Just another example of why I don't fly Southwest anymore. They were great when Herb ran the day to day operations, but they are no longer the "I LUV SWA" airline. As Kevin said many times, it's just a bus in the sky. The quirky airline that as I kid I could fly alone from ABQ to OKC with the 2 hour layover at LUV (when "hot pants" were still the standard uniform), flights so cheap I could impress a date by having dinner in PHX, or making those college weekend junkets to LAS. They've gone as corporate as American, United, Continental, or Delta without the perks. If Jet Blue ever arrives at DAL, Southwest will be in trouble. They thrived under the protection of the Wright Amendment when it suited them, and then lobbied against it when threatened with competition in the same markets. I miss the days of Herb. So long Southwest. Ding.
Anonymous2019
Explorer C
I'm simply beside myself with glee that all the "people-of-size" will no longer be flying on Southwest. I'm really looking forward to my next cross-country flight now. Sign me Cornered, Squished and Cramped
H_o_wie
Explorer C
I know Silent Bob from his affiliation with the Ohio Players, and I understand his comiseration with Kevin. They're both fat monsters who don't give a hoot about the poor person stuck sitting next to them. Lose some weight, Jumbo. It's not all about you.
D__Woodruff
Explorer C
Mr. Smith should be shipped as baggage in the cargo hold!!
Anonymous2128
Explorer C
Good job being full of shit! No more flying SW for me!
Anonymous4025
Explorer C
kill yourselves southwest.
Anonymous1012
Explorer C
I will never fly SWA ever again, simple.
TJ1
Explorer C
What a lame non-appology. Nothing but corporate rhetoric, and an inappropriate attempt at humor with your title. I was going to suggest you seek some PR help, but it is better this way. Let the world see how you really handle these things. Thank you for making my decision to actively seek any other flying solution than SWA easy.
cwise
Explorer C
Shame on you SWA! Great day for Alaska Airlines. I will never EVER fly Southwest again.
Anonymous4287
Explorer C
The way you treated Kevin Smith and Natali was completely unacceptable. Your "apology" was a joke. I will no longer fly your airline.
Ellen_G
Explorer C
You know, it's sad that we as a nation are getting bigger. I applaud the First Lady for addressing childhood obesity. However, this is not really the issue here. Why? Southwest has an oversized person policy. That's fine. Stick to it. But do NOT take a person's money, start to seat him, then publicly humiliate him by taking him off the flight. That call should have been made at the gate not in the plane. THAT is the crux of the matter. I am slightly fat. But I do not "spill over" SWA's seats. I have ridden with other fat people who do. I have ridden with people who needed a seatbelt extender. These were all SWA flights. I fly SWA for its price and its good reputation. In the last year, I have flown Southwest 24 times cross country. However, now I am directing my business that I want to booked through Delta. I am not going to take the chance of being publicly humiliated like t hat because of the poorly thought out judgment call of some SWA employees. So me & my 180 pound self and my company flight expense will not fly SWA again.
jclark1978
Explorer C
Southwest, I have always appreciated your airline for it's policies, and fun loving spirit. Traditionally your customer service is excellent, but I feel you are missing the point here. Kevin Smith WAS let onto the plane and had comfortably seated himself, in ejecting him from the plane Southwest airlines may have observed it's own policies with regards to size but you failed your own policies of the customer comes first. Whether Mr. Smith was over the size limit isn't the question. The question is whether Southwest handled the situation correctly and the fact of the matter is NO. Kevin Smith should have been notified well in advance of being in on the plane in front of a substantial number of people, that he was not going to be able to fly standby for whatever reason, but the decision (right or wrong) was made once the point of no return had been reached, and it was thoughtless .
Anonymous328
Explorer C
there are too many comments up here to read through but i hope all are siding with kevin smith. those that want to know the truth of the situation, listen to his smodcast episode 106, it explains it all. he did not violate any safety restrictions nor was he "too fat to fly". he buys two seats by choice, not by necessity. he offered to go on live television to sit in a row of southwest seats to prove he can fit just fine with the armrests and be able to buckle his seatbelt properly without the extender. the women who sat next to him did not find him invading their personal space either so southwest had no right to eject him off the plane. this apology is hardly an apology, it's basically saying, we were right, you're too fat. i hope everybody boycotts this airline until something is done about the situation--a REAL apology, where they admit they were in the wrong. that's all kevin smith wanted, an rightful explanation as to why he was wrongfully ejected from his flight, and southwest's admittance to their mistake. like kevin smith said, you have to OWN the things you're stuck with. OWN the fact that southwest were assholes, accept the consequences, and make it right again. (although at this point, you pretty much fucked yourself up the ass already, and things will never be the same again)
Ex-flyer
Explorer C
SWA has forgotten that they are in the service industry. SWA handled this in the worst possible way, and it is apparent that their customers are treated simply as "revenue". As with any airline we have a choice on who we fly, and you will never see this passenger in your planes....not just temporarily, not ever. We should not tolerate being treated badly, and we should do the one thing we can do...walk to the competition.
Muk
Explorer C
SW, you're idiots. Your policy is horrible. I will never fly with you and I hope others choose to boycott you as well.
Sat_next_to__th
Explorer C
I had to sit next to "that" guy this past Friday. He made the whole trip unbearable, I could not move my arms or legs, I had to twist my body to accomodate HIM, and I could not even put the arm rest down. Kevin Smith does not deserve an apology- I don't care who he is. If you are too large, you are too large. Why should a full fare paying customer be sat on for 3 and half hours while the overweight clueless guy SWEATS all over you?? Because we might hurt his feelings? Forget that. I paid for my seat. It is small enough already. I deserve what I paid for, you do not deserve half of my space because you are too fat.
Anonymous1945
Explorer C
Well Southwest, now is your chance, everyone is watching. You have an opportunity here to change things. Flying sucks. Everyone knows it. Whether you are fat or skinny - it is a royal pain in the butt. Your broken business model was just exposed for all the world to see. What will you do? Completely overhaul your customer service policies to make flying *gasp* FUN again? Make a commitment to reprimand those involved? Add a few extra-large seats to your plans for "people of size" or just those that want a bigger seat? Make any attempt to make things right? I really hoped, when I listened to Kevin Smith's podcast, that your answer would not be to write a passive aggressive "apology" that should be featured on passiveaggressivenotes.com. If have a guest in my home - and for whatever reason that guest has one of the most humiliating experiences of their lives - my reaction is not to say "well, sorry that's just how we roll!" Apparently, that's OK in your industry though... And please, when your airline begins to fail miserably because your a bunch of a-holes - don't ask for a bail out.
Kreyz
Explorer C
Kevin confirmed that he fit within the cramped confines of your arm rests without choking the outside people with his fat, but your stewardess kicked him off anyways, claiming that the pilot could see him from the cockpit. Except that the pilot was in the cockpit and Kevin Smith was in COACH! Since when do airline pilots have binoculars to view the Coach area? Although Southwest is a popular airline, and is able to get you where you need to go in the quickest way possible, the next time I use an airline, I don't care if I have to pay extra with more stops along the way to get to my destination. Southwest Airlines can kiss my balls.
Lee_Burd
Explorer C
Overweight folks aren’t always kicked off of Southwest. I was once PINNED against the window on a Southwest flight for SIX HOURS because the morbidly obese woman in the seat next to me took up 1/2 of my seat. It was literally painful, and I did not get a 50% discount for only getting 50% of a seat. Fat people have every right to eat more calories than they burn off and thus have rear-ends that take up more than one seat. But, I have every right to get 100% of the space I’ve paid for. Obese people should absolutely have to pay for more than one seat. 
 I used to be a smoker, and when non-smokers finally complained loud enough, and the evidence of how bad it is for you (like being overweight) and the cost to society (also like being overweight) became louder than the smokers who wanted to smoke, smoking became banned on planes and in countless other places. Guess what? It became such an inconvenience that I, along with millions of others, quit. The same needs to happen with the obesity epidemic in this country. Perhaps this is the impetuous Kevin Smith needs to get healthy. I hope Southwest sticks to its guns.
Randy8
Explorer C
Smith deserves no apology. He should keep his fat ass off of airplanes, and his fat mouth shut..
____________
Explorer C
southwest says its not a revenue...but the money generates to southwest profit sharing. yes, i agree if the customer is to big for the seat, i am for them buying two. but dont say its not about money!
How_Randy
Explorer C
Congrats Randy, you are the winner of today. Why? Because you failed to notice that it is mentioned TIME and TIME again that Kevin Smith FIT IN THAT SEAT without an extender or anything else and even the people who shared the seats with him did not seem to complain. It was proven time and time again, from the undenied reports to The Daily Show. So now you pin Kevin Smith as a sign of a good move because someone else who didn't fit their seat made you suffer even though he complied with the rules? Good going. Maybe the rules should be broken to keep people like you off the flight. By the way, keeping away from your flights. Because I don't fit. Not in the girth, but in the shoulders and legs. I don't think a second seat will fix that, either.
Anonymous1132
Explorer C
no matter how you twist it, facts come down to facts. you policy states that that if the arm rest can go down then you can fly in one seat. He (Kevin Smith) did that and was still asked to vacate the plane. though this is not the fault of having the policy, the employees "judgment" is invalid as they must follow policy. their "judgment" is not southwest policy. if it is then southwest is also liable for what ever "judgements" their employees implement on their own, be it about size, skin color, religion and so on and so forth. this issues really isn't about size, its about how your employees treat people. and how he was already feeling upset that he had to use an extra seat, and felt he wasn't being listened to and rushed, then to have something so embarassing happen to him on the plane, which by the way if it truely was a matter of safety for the passangers, then they shouldn't have let him on in the first place. if anything i feel southwest is a good company. unfortunately they have serious issues with their personal, and should look into the young lady who was serving him. (Kevin Smith). if you think i am wrong please i would like to see the fault in what i said so email me back. and please dont just point out spelling errors. that really isn't the point of the comment.
Dan12
Explorer C
How about you make the metal detectors slimmer, and you can take the fatties aside and ask them to buy two seats -if they have to walk through them sideways. That way you can pretend you're just checking them for bombs, and drugs like regular criminals.. Rather than embarrasing them when they try take a seat on the plane.. Airlines suck, you've just demonstrated that you suck more than most.
Anonymous1507
Explorer C
SWA is a horrible airline i was stuck on a plane waiting to switch flights and was told my next flight knows situation an are waiting. i arrived at the gate 5mins before boarding was to start and they already boarded and gave my seat to someone on standby. And now what they are doing to people that are "Fat" is disgusting. i would rather sit next to someone that they deem "Fat" then to someone that smells. For SWA being light years a head of other airlines is a load of crap.
Anonymous3945
Explorer C
Wow. One more corporation that just doesn't get it.How often is this happening? With out the platform Kevin Smith has most of the world would not know what Southworst's policy and DELIVERY of that policy is to its paying customers. It's nice to see that Southwest is doing so well in these tough economic times that it can choose who and who should not fly on their planes. Nice.
SteveTR
Explorer C
If the poor treatment of one of your frequent customers and the lousy way you handled his complaints weren't enough to turn me away from you airline, then the fact that you've disclosed information regarding his previous spending habits with your business certainly is.
Mattvi6
Explorer C
ugly; the whole thing. to Southwest : policies are great excuses, but they should only excuse you if you actually follow them. Now in this case, i think your response is a pathetic attempt to hide behind your "Passenger of Size Policy" ; when that policy was not the basis in fact for removing Kevin Smith from the flight. He sat in a single seat on his way to Oakland, and was sitting in his seat with armrests down when your Suzanne(a real sweetheart for customers) came to remove him. Ignoring your policy's assertion that the "definitive boundary between seats is the armrest", you admit KS was removed because "we made a judgment call that Mr. Smith needed more than one seat to complete his flight." If he actually violated your size policy i'm sure you would come out and say that, as it would be your strongest argument. Instead, you put a paragraph reciting the facts (some of them) adjacent to one which begins with the line "you've read about these situations before..." , and slimily goes on to explain the virtues of enforcing your Size policy and its "definitive boundary" (you know, the one "we" of the "judgment call" ignored); hoping i guess that people giving you the benefit of the doubt , cuz they dislike overweight people in general or just KS, will assume that this is just another one of "these situations" where a fat person's body size exceeds the dimensions of the alloted space; and, will conclude instinctually that southwest should do this MORE OFTEN and that FATTIES have to shut up about it, especially KS, cuz no one is as fat as him and of course he was spilling over the armrests. Well, you'd have to forget most of the facts to come down on your side of this, but some on this thread have managed to do that. Good business judgment. Fiscally responsible. maybe. but customer driven, really? Really? i don't know what kind of customers you are serving but most of america is overweight last time i checked. Maybe you should also enstate a policy to throw the biggest and/or worst (as voted on by cabin crew) luggage out in midflight unless each owner of that luggage paid a "stowage of size convenience fee" on the spot . you could lighten the load and make some more revenue. Or maybe you could, contrary to your "never kill customers" policy toss people out of the plane into the ocean or right into the jet turbines (messy) and then just claim it was a judgment call that had to be made for safety reasons and blahblalalalala, and "safety reasons" always means secret reasons (as in this case) and of course we should just trust you and the good people working there that even though it appears your employees just arbitrarily violate your own policies at their whim and rely on the secret safety considerations and ancillary "captain's" discretionary powers to violate definitive boundaries to obscure the truth, it's all cuz you love us. Suzanne, et al should be fired if they abused their authority, and clearly someone did. that would be step one of actually dealing with your problems: the unintended consequences of your genius policy to provide customer comfort and safety. ugly.
Anonymous1285
Explorer C
I hope that this incident brings SWA down if they don't make a policy change. This is the same as when Blacks were discriminated against on buses. Publicly available transportation must accommodate all but the smallest percentage of people. Large people are way more than a few percent of the population. I'm talking about someone who is openly diseased with a communicable disease. Or someone who perhaps needs some special care that the flight personnel are not qualified to provide.
Anonymous2745
Explorer C
Southwest will just have to stand by their stupid policy. If they want to deny a large (no pun intended) percentage of the American population, then screw them. I will give another airline my dollars. Way to go , Kevin Smith!
Not_so_silent_D
Explorer C
SWA has found a way to discriminate against the only ones that it is allowable in our society.FAT PEOPLE! It is a outrage to humiliate folks for their size. I hope SWA chokes on all the PR they are getting. I am soooo thankful Kevin Smith had taken this injustice on. It takes someone of his fame to even (possibly) make SWA reevaluate what an unjust, and down right RUDE policy they have. (they may have had it for 25 years but by God they didn't enforce it for 25 years!) Just people UNITE. Don't Fly SWA. Take your hard earned dollars elsewhere. I and my family are planning on 14 flights in the next few months...let's see, that's about 4 grand. Not a million but not too shabby either. Too bad for you SW , you won't be seeing any of that buckage! Oh yeah your rates are so cheap...and you don't charge for bags!? Maybe I should take SWA! NOOOOOO Way will I take that dispicable airline! Feelin the pain yet SW? God da*m I hope so!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anonymous2465
Explorer C
I love the fact that nobody who commented was on the plane and doesn't know what really happened. It's similar to making a mistake in a big game. We can shout and scream all we want, but the best decision was made in the moment. I'm fairly sure that the employees didn't think to themselves, "I know! Let's make a lot of people made by kicking this guy off." They were probably thinking, "What's the fastest way to take off while being safe and comfortable?" With that being said, there does need to be a revision of the policy and consistency of it actually being followed or abandoned. There needs to be a fine line.
Jeff_Smite
Explorer C
As someone who flies twice a week I can honestly say, I will never fly SW again. This has nothing to do with my size (I am quite average) but I feel like they have no problems mistreating me on a whim. I am sure SW does not need me alone, but 5000 people like me will make a difference. I hope it was worth it SW.
P_Bryan
Explorer C
i just listened to Mr Smiths account of the entire Feb 14 incident. I also read Southwests posts on this blog explaining their side. I can say that Mr Smiths account is entirely believable. The post at the top of this blog does not explain or excuse the behavior of the Southwest crew. It was clearly a case of heartbreaking discrimination. I have had my own share of problems with Southwest employees. In many cases they have gone out of their way to make a problems instead of solving them. This is a perfect illustration of that. My family will not fly Southwest ever again.
Not_So_Silent_M
Explorer C
I fly all the time for work, and will never fly SW because of your policy. I fit just fine into an American seat, I've never had any complaints or problems, but just the Idea that I might be singled out on a SW flight is enough to keep me off your planes. I feel sorry for an airline who feels justified in singling out potentially 35% of US passengers, rather than finding ways to be better accomidating. How can alienating 35% of a population be a good business model?
Erin11
Explorer C
I, myself, have had a bad experience tonight with Southwest. I have been working to book a trip to four for my entire family to Orlando and been checking flights daily. I decided to book our flights today, even though they were incredibly expensive AND choose SWA over others that were cheaper because of the reliability. After booking three flights (because the site would not let me book them at the same time) the fourth flight price went up within 5 minutes of my first booked ticket. The customer relations person said that the flights must have been book for that price. Give me a break, we are all flying at the same time, sitting in the same section, with no special treatment. I was appaled that we now have to pay for more expensive air fare for one of the passengers because of this. It is so ridiculous and completely unreliable. I will never fly SWA again.
Anonymous4531
Explorer C
I, myself am a person of large size and listening to Smith's podcast has opened my eyes about you guys the way you handled it was way off and i will never fly southwest again you guys did wrong and you guys really need to admit it.
Anonymous1402
Explorer C
Discrimination, blatant discrimination. I can squeeze into one of those airline seats designed for a 12 year old Asian boy, but I still have broad shoulders. And yes, in my mid 40's, I do carry a little extra in the middle unlike an Olympic swimmer. Does that mean I'm FAT? Fat people are aggressively and openly discriminated daily. Would you kick someone off the plane for being Black? How about wearing a turban on their head? Here's a thought, come up with a policy regarding the lady sitting next to me holding a screaming baby all the way to Tampa!!!
Anonymous1725
Explorer C
SW states they are a " Company committed to serving our Customers in Safety and comfort", but they have identified that this is true only IF YOU ARE NOT BIG. I'm a big person, without enough money to buy an extra seat, but I fit within the two arm rests of one seat, and the skinny guy beside me takes up that arm rest and more.... Other Big People Know exactly what I'm talking about because we are the trure individuals who are "commited to comfort of others on the flight". (PS. Kevin buys two seats because he can afford not having to share.... aren't we all happy when there's an empty seat next to us - YES) Over one-third of U.S. adults are "obese", which means this one-third has a chance of being kicked off SW. If the one-third is OK with the chance of being imbarased in this way they would pass on SW. I'll be letting my friends know about this and I'm not flying statistic source: www.win.niddk.nih.gov
Anonymous2034
Explorer C
I'm a reasonably intelligent person and realize that half these posts are BS, people who love the opportunity to complain about something, or have an agenda/axe to grind about discrimination in general... But SWA, take note: I am a large person who flew on your airline a few weeks back from San Antonio to Omaha - and I had no problem. But this morning, when I had the opportunity to select another flight from San Antonio to Orange County, I chose another airline. Why? Not because I think you're totally in the wrong, but Mr Smith's account IS the more believable of the two and I, for one, won't take the chance of the same thing happening to me. Doesn't mean it won't happen to me on another airline (and I will come back here and post my experiences if it does), but one DOES tend to shy away from the KNOWN bad experiences vs. the unknown ones. Bad publicity is a very delicate thing and you didn't handle it well - even with a 25 year old policy on your side. Public opinion may even grant you the logical victory - and STILL stay away based on the 'spirit' of how you defended your actions. And it IS customers that keep your company running, yes?
Anonymous875
Explorer C
isnt this discrimination against him because hes overweight, by him purchasing two tickets he handled his end of the problem.. i recently fly on sw and purchased 3 tickets and 3 of us flew. the customer service on our return flight was terrible.. my son had not flown much and went back to use the rest room he ask if it was empty and where it was located the flight attendant reply to him was do i look like the bathroom monitor and if you dont know where it is then maybe you dont need to use it. TOTALY UNEXCEPTABLE IN MY BOOK I then went to use the restroom and this flight attendant was on her cell phone texting messages when all the others were busting their buts to do their job i ask for her name and id and she refused to give it to me. DO THESE PEOPLE FORGET THAT BY US FLYING ON THEM WE ARE PAYING THEIR WAGES. I HAVE FILED A COMPLAINT ABOUT THIS BUT THAVE NOT HEARD BACK.
Anonymous3751
Explorer C
Southwest sucks, plain and simple. It's time the airline industry put an end to this bus in the sky mentality that pushes any decent airline out of the way with their cheapness. Cheap, not inexpensive. Here's hoping Southwest fails - soon.
Anonymous4316
Explorer C
I don't know or care who Kevin is. I also don't think it is my place to determine who is actually fat or not, the medical data is available. I do think this is the role of the airlines and I think they should post their policies on their websites and play it on the tvs in the boarding area. If you don't like the policies find another airline. Airlines could also post seat space measurements so you could measure yourself at home. I think people with children should have to sign that they are expected to mind them. It is not the role of the attendant to mind you or your children. Again play it in the boarding area. My flight should not be ruined by your lack of parenting skills. And if your child is having a bad moment you should apologize to everyone. Be gracious. Oh and those people who need to innebriate themselves before flight, give them a breathalizer. I've had to be reseated to get away from one of those. I don't think alcohol should be served in airports or on flights. Let's put that one up for a public vote. I don't want to set next to someone who bulges over into my space. I paid for my space and they theirs so they need to keep themselves in their space. If they cannot then they need to pay for more space. I think persons who store their carry on in the first available space should have to move it to their seat area. So rude to put out others like that. I think this could have been handled better by all involved but I want SW and other airlines to uphold policies which give us all a reliable form of transportation.