In a bizarre reversal of the drama that followed Southwest Airlines' ousting of rotund director Kevin Smith for being too big to fly, a Sacramento woman is now claiming she was kicked off a Southwest flight so a hefty teenager could have two seats.
The unidentified 5-foot-4, 110-pound woman was a standby passenger on her way to Sacramento from Las Vegas. She had already stowed her bags and sat down when she was told she would have to deplane the Southwest flight.
A late-arriving passenger had shown up and would require two seats, the woman was told by Southwest employees. She would need to leave the plane to provide room.
The latecomer was a 14-year-old boy whose parents had only paid for one seat, a violation of the Southwest's "Customer of Size" policies.
Southwest's policies require large passengers to buy two seat tickets. The airline even has an online
"Customer of Size" FAQ document, where it lays out the rules regarding large passengers.
Overweight passengers are not the only ones affected by Southwest's size policy. Pregnant woman who are too large to lower their armrests are also required to buy two seats.
Though recent publicity has made Southwest's size policy the most visible among the airlines, other carriers such as Continental, United Airlines, and Delta Air Lines require passenger to buy a second seat if they cannot lower their armrests or put on their seat belts.
Previously: Kevin Smith Challenges Southwest Over "Customer of Size" Policy
American Airlines has the most lenient policy, with employees instructed to first accommodate a larger passenger near an open seat before requiring them to pay extra.
Southwest representatives have admitted that the situation could have been handled better, but said that employees acted to reduce embarrassment for a minor.
They have also said the woman's removal was for the safety and comfort of all customers, maintaining that she would have been blocked from exiting quickly in the event of an emergency. The woman was later put on the next flight out.
PeterGreenberg.com wants to hear what you think about airline size policies that require large people to buy an extra seat.
Did Southwest get it right by bumping a Southwest standby passenger or should they have charged the kid's parents for an extra seat? Leave a message in our comments section with your opinion.
By Adriana Padilla for PeterGreenberg.com.
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