As a pax of size, I have, up until this minute, lauded SWA's "Passenger of Size" policy. I've found the policy to be clear, and ultimately, fair. As a matter of fact, when I first heard about this story, I was on my first flight in 5 years without a second seat for comfort. I initially backed Southwest. "If I can afford a 2nd seat, so can he. What's his excuse?" But now that I've read both sides of the story, I feel like a fool. Well, Southwest hasn't given much for it's side of the argument. These blog posts are a transparent attempt at PR-spin without even acknowledging the possibility that this was truly a mistake. And it's done well in playing up to "average" or skinny people who don't know all the details. That's why we see all these brilliant posts like "I've sat next to a fatty before, and they smell and take up my seat. Good going Southwest!" But this clearly wasn't the case here. The man sat down, passed the stated test of armrests going down, and the passengers next to him, by their own admittance, did not feel uncomfortable. So where's the issue?
Now, not only do I feel foolish in supporting SWA in this matter, even briefly, but I also feel extremely lucky. I had to make a last minute trip on Sunday. Booking literally 8 hours before departure, fares were very high. As I've been losing weight over the years, I gauge myself when I get on a plane. Even though I have two seats when I fly SWA, I always put that armrest down, at least for a minute, to see how I fit. On a number of my most recent flights, I found that I fit reasonably comfortably, and did not encroach upon the passenger next to me at all. So when I had to book this last minute trip, and found that I literally could not afford to purchase a second seat (even if I *knew* it would be refunded afterwards), I confidently booked passage in 1 seat. Sure, I was nervous about how comfortable the whole thing would be for myself, but I knew that I could sit in my allotted space without disturbing anyone else. As I've seen now, I could've easily been ejected from that flight for no particular reason. If I knew then what I know now, fear, even if not outrage, would have kept me from making that flight. I know that there's a certain amount of capriciousness in enforcement of any policy, and especially in the air in a post-9/11 world (as we saw on "Airline"), but when I can't even feel confident that I can reasonably trust your stated policies, that's just no good.
To top it all off, if someone (even moderately) famous, like Kevin Smith, can't get satisfaction or an honest apology, then what chance do I have? Mistakes happen, it's a fact of life, but it's the way that we handle those mistakes that truly speak volumes. And frankly, the doublespeak trying to make it look like a defense-able course of action is an extra disgrace. In an attempt to CYA, you're fostering hatred. All of the published comments of "Good, that fatty had it coming to him!" prove it. Not the kind of thing you'd expect from the "LUV" airline.
I, for one, will have to re-evaluate my flying habits. If this is where the matter is left and no concrete changes happen, I doubt I can continue to fly Southwest Air in good faith. And to tell the truth, if that happens, I will miss you. But as customers, our true voice is our dollars, and I'll have to put my money where my mouth is. Which is not always around a hamburger.
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