02-15-2010
11:30 PM
I'm sick and tired of this. I don't understand why Kevin Smith (who I have a lot of respect for in general, otherwise, and who acknowledged that he needed two seats by purchasing them for the original flight) got upset when the airline agreed with him by refusing to seat him in a single seat on the standby flight. But the responsibility should be shared equally -- neither Mr. Smith nor Southwest should have put him on a plane with a single seat remaining if he admittedly needed two seats!
The armrest policy, while an admirable attempt at applying some obbjective measure to this problem, cannot be an argument used to trump the flight attendants' judgment. Their job is to enforce safety rules. I for one -- like many other people of smaller size -- am really glad that the Persons of Size policy is enforced on Southwest. On many flights, I end up sitting in a middle seat so that my husband or another taller passenger can have more legroom on the aisle. I'm okay with that, because when you switch with a tall guy and take the middle seat, he tends to be very courteous about the shared armrest. But I've also been forced on more than one occasion to spend three or four hours holding my arm across my body because the large person next to me is taking up the three inches of my seat where my arm would normally go. It's not a matter of not wanting to touch someone -- that's not even an option in these situations.
I have friends and family who are large and are courteous enough to buy the extra seat, for their comfort as well as other passengers'. Yay for you, Southwest!
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