Southwest is a great airline. I stand 100% behind them in this situation. In fact, the fact that they even let this flame war go on is another indication of their coolness.
I am grateful that a company is standing up for their rights in the face of a grossly growing American public.
I understand the problems that some may face in their weight issues, and also that some have conditions that they can't control due to medical reasons. For the vast majority of obese Americans, however, it comes down to a personal lifestyle choice which companies and other customers should not have to underwrite. Kevin Smith, futhermore, clearly has the means to get PROFESSIONAL HELP for his considerable exra weight. In case anyone is not clear on that, go to images.google.com and enter the keywords 'kevin smith +2010'. Putting a plus symbol at the beginning of 2010 ensures images from 2010, when this incident occurred.
If an overweight person truly needs two seats due to medical reasons, it should not be companies who should eat it, but rather government programs. Obesity is a growing trend, and it would be totally unfair to force companies (and us, once the cost is spread out) to pay for this trend. Contrary to popular belief, corporations are not actually as greedy as is thought, and have to work in extremely competitive climates for small margins.
So kudos to Southwest.
Perhaps they should close this thread at some point, in spite of my admiration for not having done so yet.
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