What really happened here?
This is what I think:
Southwest had an employee- (the gate agent who asked if Smith was a Revenue passenger), who had a non revenue passenger that needed one seat. That passenger was waiting for all the normal standby to be seated to see how many seats were open. When it was obvious there were none, they decided to pull Smith without the armrest/seatbelt test which they claim is the standard benchmark and talk about this particular benchmark on the reality show they did more than once.
Someone needed a family member or themselves to fly out on that flight and so they pulled Smith. This explains everything including why they did not pull the other obese passengers and why they did not listen to Smith when he attempted to do the arm rest test and why Suzanne took an extra 8 minutes on that flight- she was seating the non-rev passenger.
My Dad worked in the airlines on OZA/ TWA for decades and we flew as nonrev passengers for years and this is the only scenario that explains everything, but SW will never admit their employees arbitrarily bumped a revenue customer for an employee perk.
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Oh come on, this is completely discriminatory. There are dozens of other issues on flights that interfere with passenger comforts:Pets and Kids are a big one, the people who smell bad or use way too much perfume, the drunks, the elderly passengers who pose the same safety issue as an obese person would in blocking the aisles. SW tosses fat people all the time but not ALL fat people, just the ones who interfere with getting their non-rev pals on. If you complain about an obese person or any other person who invades your comfort, they do NOTHING unless it benefits their own seating plans.
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02-15-2010
04:21 PM
The problem is with the randomness sw uses on this policy. Listen to the people complaining about the obese passengers sitting next to them that did not get kicked off the flights- why not? If this is policy why not use it every time.
Before I lost weight I flew sw and was asked twice to buy an extra seat, ( I had flown at least 5 times that year without being asked) which I did - even though I was sitting with my mother. One time they then promptly sold my extra seat to a stand by and sat him in the open seat. I did not get a refund because according to SW it was my responsibility to kick the guy off the plane which was full. (seriously- read their policy on this).
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02-14-2010
07:35 PM
2 Loves
I was asked to purchase an extra seat on a SW flight about 10 years ago- I was obese (300lbs) and sat next to my mother. (Who was not offended by my bulk).
So, I purchased the extra seat (but they did not ask my mother to move) and then I made sure to pre-purchase an extra one for the way back. This time the plane was full. Even though I spent the extra money on the extra seat, as requested by the airline, they still seated a gentleman in the third seat- the one I had purchased. The only seat left on the plane apparently.
I have lost half of my body weight since then btw, but it was expensive and humiliating and I was ripped off.
Smith is representative of Many of American adults. You may weigh less but according to the latest statistics, most Americans are considered obese. If Smith did not need his extender, and if he could put both the arm rests down then he could not have been spilling over that much. The SW policy is vague and contradictory. You state at one point that the arm rests are the bench mark, but then later say they are not and then later again say they are. The truth is, it is completely discretionary and that is where the problem comes in. I flew many times before this occasion and had never been asked to purchase an extra seat.
Any company that cannot provide the most basic service they claim to offer to the majority of Americans they want to serve needs to retool the design of seats.
I have also flown on SW prior to this with young children in the laps of parents who poked me with sticky fingers, smelled bad when their diaper was soiled but could not be changed right away due to the seat belt light, who slobbered and cried, screamed when the pressure changed due to the ears hurting. It was not pleasant but I accepted that public transportation is filled with people like this child and the drunk businessman who thinks he is clever and won't shut up. Our comfort can be infringed upon every flight- too strong perfume, body odor of even thin people,( have you smelled someone who has been in Vegas drinking for a weekend?) couples making out, the smell of the lavatory.
SW is discriminatory in that they only pre-emptively protect their customers from obese riders, not the drunks, not the kids, not the ones that smell bad.
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02-14-2010
06:55 PM
2 Loves
I was asked to purchase an extra seat on a SW flight about 10 years ago- I was obese (300lbs) and sat next to my mother. (Who was not offended by my bulk).
So, I purchased the extra seat (but they did not ask my mother to move) and then I made sure to pre-purchase an extra one for the way back. This time the plane was full. Even though I spent the extra money on the extra seat, as requested by the airline, they still seated a gentleman in the third seat- the one I had purchased. The only seat left on the plane apparently.
I have lost half of my body weight since then btw, but it was expensive and humiliating and I was ripped off.
Smith is representative of Many of American adults. You may weigh less but according to the latest statistics, most Americans are considered obese. If Smith did not need his extender, and if he could put both the arm rests down then he could not have been spilling over that much. The SW policy is vague and contradictory. You state at one point that the arm rests are the bench mark, but then later say they are not and then later again say they are. The truth is, it is completely discretionary and that is where the problem comes in. I flew many times before this occasion and had never been asked to purchase an extra seat.
Any company that cannot provide the most basic service they claim to offer to the majority of Americans they want to serve needs to retool the design of seats.
I have also flown on SW prior to this with young children in the laps of parents who poked me with sticky fingers, smelled bad when their diaper was soiled but could not be changed right away due to the seat belt light, who slobbered and cried, screamed when the pressure changed due to the ears hurting. It was not pleasant but I accepted that public transportation is filled with people like this child and the drunk businessman who thinks he is clever and won't shut up. Our comfort can be infringed upon every flight- too strong perfume, body odor of even thin people,( have you smelled someone who has been in Vegas drinking for a weekend?) couples making out, the smell of the lavatory.
SW is discriminatory in that they only pre-emptively protect their customers from obese riders, not the drunks, not the kids, not the ones that smell bad.
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