This has probably happened thousands of times over the past twenty years - an employee makes a poor choice, or abuses their authority, and insults or embarrasses a passenger. The only difference is that this time, you did it to someone with a platform.
I suggest you reexamine your policy, and decide a better way to deal with overweight people on your flights. Retrofit your planes with some bigger seats near the front. Make them slightly larger as well as more comfortable, so that passengers are not entirely stigmatized by sitting in them. If there are no overweight people who need them, then offer them to business class passengers or other folks with money to burn. Or have a test seat somewhere private near the gate area so that passengers can prove that they can fit in a seat to your standards BEFORE they get on a plane and risk mortification and embarrassment.
There are a lot of overweight americans. How you resolve this issue will determine whether any of them will risk flying on your airline.
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02-15-2010
05:41 PM
Your policy states that "the armrest is the definitive gauge for a Customer of size. It serves as the boundary between seats and measures 17 inches in width. Customers who are unable to lower both armrests and/or who compromise any portion of adjacent seating should proactively book the number of seats needed prior to travel".
Mr Smith states that he was able to lower both armrests. Do you dispute this? Or was the criteria for having him removed from the flight that he compromised a portion of the adjacent seating? I think this second portion of your policy needs clarification. What is meant by "compromise"? Is this an objective or subjective assessment by the captain?
Why is the armrest gauge mentioned as being definitive in one sentence and then undermined in the next? Why is it even used as an assessment metric if a passenger is subject to a subjective visual assessment by the captain? What training does a captain undergo in assessing the flight risk of overweight passengers? Mr Smith also states that he flew in a single seat on a later flight. Do you dispute this claim? Was one of your captain's judgments compromised on this matter? If so, which one, and what actions will you be taking to remedy this matter so such arbitrary decision making does not subject another passenger to an embarrassing and unfair situation?
I have flown almost exclusively on Southwest for the past eight years, and have generally been pleased with the level of service and commitment and competence of your staff and crews. This apparent arbitrary judgment on the part of one of your pilots calls into question your fairness to passengers and a failure of communication between cabin crew and your staff on the ground. I would appreciate an answer, as well as a reexamination of your policy and its wording.
Thank you for your time.
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02-15-2010
05:40 PM
Your policy states that "the armrest is the definitive gauge for a Customer of size. It serves as the boundary between seats and measures 17 inches in width. Customers who are unable to lower both armrests and/or who compromise any portion of adjacent seating should proactively book the number of seats needed prior to travel".
Mr Smith states that he was able to lower both armrests. Do you dispute this? Or was the criteria for having him removed from the flight that he compromised a portion of the adjacent seating? I think this second portion of your policy needs clarification. What is meant by "compromise"? Is this an objective or subjective assessment by the captain?
Why is the armrest gauge mentioned as being definitive in one sentence and then undermined in the next? Why is it even used as an assessment metric if a passenger is subject to a subjective visual assessment by the captain? What training does a captain undergo in assessing the flight risk of overweight passengers? Mr Smith also states that he flew in a single seat on a later flight. Do you dispute this claim? Was one of your captain's judgments compromised on this matter? If so, which one, and what actions will you be taking to remedy this matter so such arbitrary decision making does not subject another passenger to an embarrassing and unfair situation?
I have flown almost exclusively on Southwest for the past eight years, and have generally been pleased with the level of service and commitment and competence of your staff and crews. This apparent arbitrary judgment on the part of one of your pilots calls into question your fairness to passengers and a failure of communication between cabin crew and your staff on the ground. I would appreciate an answer, as well as a reexamination of your policy and its wording.
Thank you for your time.
... View more