Southwest Airlines Community

If Mr. Smith can fit between the armrests and can fasten his seatbelt, I find it hard to understand Southwest Airlines policy. Is this a question of if you are in any way unsure that you shouldn't choose Southwest? Buying an extra seat does not apparently Mr. Smith had done this in the past and when buying for his most recent travel arrangements. (Though he does state that he buys more space for other reasons. If had his celebrity profile and could afford it I would probably do likewise.) Maybe southwest should have realized that they were unable to seat his entire party before offering standby. Shouldn't Southwest make those decisions before someone boards the plane where the confrontation, even if justified, will be horribly embarassing for the person involved. Most airlines can figure out baggage, It seems that a weight or maybe waistline standard that is known beforehand might be in order- Since fitting the ability to put the armrests are down or buckleing the seatbelt plays any part. It seems to be a more subjective one on the part of Southwest employees, and a standard that in Mr Smith' s experiences does not seem to be consistantly applied. Kevin Smith states he is fat, but not that fat. Southwest Airlines apparently believes that, sometimes, he is. Anyone on a plane has a right to the space they have paid for, including the people sitting next to people who can not fit in one seat. But there are more humanly decent ways to handle this I am sure. Through better policy, customer service that treats people with decency in a situation that I am sure anyone would find stressful and embarassing. Southwest might have considered this. In coming to their blog I hoped to know more about Southwest's side of the story. But looking at Southwest's response here I doubt that this is an airline that will consider, let alone read any of the above. You don't apologize for an embarassing and at the very least poorly handled situation with a Joke based on the work of the customer. (The title of the response/not quite apology) He was removed from your airplane for being to fat for one seat. This is not humourous. It is not a humourous situation. Kevin Smith might chose to deal with an embarassing situation through humor, or even cursing. He is a customer who through your actions can now be another fat joke in late night comedy. Southwest might find this sort of situation funny. I find this snide. I think that this shows a shallow PR contriteness with which Southwest views a customer service issue. To show pride in these policies says more about Southwest than any Kevin Smith tweet. ... View more