Southwest Airlines Community

I have always loved flying on SW and have always found your attendants to be friendly and helpful in the past. This whole incident, however, is very shocking to me and making me reconsider using you in the future. The no fees for bags thing, genius. But why would I pick you over other carriers when I or one of my travel mates just have to buy an extra seat, shelling out the money they thought they were saving, and then possibly be humiliated by the attendants or other seatmates just before we take off? Every customer deserves dignity. I fly several times a year and have since I was a baby; I have sat next to people of all sizes, abilities, ages, races, and yes levels of respect for their fellow seat mates. Being thin does not equate to being a desirable seatmate; trust me, I know. (I say all this as a very tall woman who can buckle her seat and put the arm rests down, thanks. But if the person puts their seat back in front of me, my knees cry the whole flight. But guess what? I am just getting from point A to point B; I put up with being treated like cattle for the convenience of flying. But maybe it's not a convenience any more, knowing people will be treated this way?) The people falling all over the "safety" issue to excuse their bigotry of fat people, please stop. You sound ridiculous. A lot of overweight people are actually very strong; I have a good friend who weighs over 300 lbs, but she works on a farm and is lifting hay bales equal to her weight all day. She is very agile; when we go hiking it's like watching a mountain goat skip up the hills. In an emergency, she would not only be able to get the plane doors open no prob but also CARRY people to safety if need be. Trust me, you WANT her on your flight and in your row if crap goes down. Stop judging people based on size. If you kicked Smith off because he was on standby and you needed the seat, fine. But to single him out after he boarded and claim it was because he was too fat, and then not publicly retract this after the fact? Shame on you, SW. ... View more

I have always loved flying on SW and have always found your attendants to be friendly and helpful in the past. This whole incident, however, is very shocking to me and making me reconsider using you in the future. The no fees for bags thing, genius. But why would I pick you over other carriers when I or one of my travel mates just have to buy an extra seat, shelling out the money they thought they were saving, and then possibly be humiliated by the attendants or other seatmates just before we take off? Every customer deserves dignity. I fly several times a year and have since I was a baby; I have sat next to people of all sizes, abilities, ages, races, and yes levels of respect for their fellow seat mates. Being thin does not equate to being a desirable seatmate; trust me, I know. (I say all this as a very tall woman who can buckle her seat and put the arm rests down, thanks. But if the person puts their seat back in front of me, my knees cry the whole flight. But guess what? I am just getting from point A to point B; I put up with being treated like cattle for the convenience of flying. But maybe it's not a convenience any more, knowing people will be treated this way?) The people falling all over the "safety" issue to excuse their bigotry of fat people, please stop. You sound ridiculous. A lot of overweight people are actually very strong; I have a good friend who weighs over 300 lbs, but she works on a farm and is lifting hay bales equal to her weight all day. She is very agile; when we go hiking it's like watching a mountain goat skip up the hills. In an emergency, she would not only be able to get the plane doors open no prob but also CARRY people to safety if need be. Trust me, you WANT her on your flight and in your row if crap goes down. Stop judging people based on size. If you kicked Smith off because he was on standby and you needed the seat, fine. But to single him out after he boarded and claim it was because he was too fat, and then not publicly retract this after the fact? Shame on you, SW. ... View more