02-15-2010
07:54 PM
1 Love
When, in the early 2000s, this policy came up in many major news outlets as part of public outcry, I supported Southwest. I have been a frequent flyer on the airline since 2000 and, given that I am a larger woman, I completely understood where the policy came from and what Southwest meant to do with it. If a person is taking up two seats, legitimately, then absolutely they should pay for two seats. But, as I understood the policy then, it is if the customer is legitimately encroaching on another passenger's comfort and there is significant overlap, not the vaguest possibility of perhaps touching your neighbor.
Mr. Smith didn't need a seatbelt extender. Both armests went down. How is this a violation of the policy as it is understood? Moreover, his seatmates both agreed that he posed them no problem or discomfort. How is the so-called comfort of the passenger at risk when both neighboring passengers were comfortable with the seating arrangement? I don't understand your justification in this.
In terms of safety, my grandmother routinely flies Southwest. She is 86 years old, half-deaf and without hearing aids, and needs significant help on and off the plane. You allow her to fly, but in an emergency, she would be absolutely useless. The safety of any passenger around her or behind her would be compromised because she is very slow and often does not hear things like emergency announcements (or, indeed, her own smoke detector). Small children also can become panicked or dangerous in an emergency situation, but they are allowed on your flights. As are the disabled in general.
I am extremely disappointed in Southwest. This apology is not an apology at all, but rather a justification of bad behavior. Your crew and captain acted irresponsibly from the get-go; even if you claim it was for the own good of the passengers, that ticket should have never been sold to Smith if he was forever requiring two seats. Rather than admit to that wrong, though -- and, indeed, to descrmination -- you are laying down excuses and blaming the customer rather than yourselves.
Haven't you learned the customer is always right?
I have a booked trip on Southwest very soon that is too soon to cancel, but I am fairly sure it will be my last.
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