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Southwest’s Customer of Size Policy Stirs Controversy- Again

Airlines & Airports — on July 28, 2010 12:58 pm

Plump Silhouette Against the Sky - Southwest’s Customer of Size PolicyIn 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.

Overweight Passengers & Southwest's Customer of Size PolicySouthwest’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 logoSouthwest 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.

Related links: Huffington Post, CBS News, EmpowHer.com

Related Links on PeterGreenberg.com:

  • NancyinFlorida

    Anyone who has been seated next to someone very large knows the discomfort for the entire flight, so the woman would have had an uncomfortable flight. However, Southwest broke their own policy and didn’t use the best judgment in handling the situation. IF the parents were there at check-in, they should have been forced to pay for another seat to comply with their rules. If they WERE NOT, they were in a no-win situation. I hope they compensated the woman.

  • Ka1634

    She was standby, and as such, you may be lucky, you may not, even at the last minute for a late arriving passenger, in this case, a passenger of plus size had the priority since he was booked on this flight.

  • Tina614u

    Being a “person of size” I think it unfair to charge me for two tickets. I sit on the aisle and try my best to give as much room to the person in the next seat as possible. It is not a thing I have control over but I shouldn’t be penalized for my girth! Discrimination over my size is something I have to deal with daily and not right. I don’t discriminate any other “issues” and should be treated fairly!

  • Jack W Perry

    I think the airlines need to make the seats bigger for everyone. They have been trying to jam too many people into too small a space. I dislike airlines and don’t feel they really care about consumers.

    I am 6′ 2″ and 220 pounds. I am not fat. I can fit in the seats. But they do seem to be made for 5′ 4″, 120 pound women. There needs to be more room.

  • Ndclark

    Since he was a late boarder and standby passengers had already been let on the plane and allowed to take that flight, the overweight teenager should have been put on the next flight out. That would have saved face for Southwest.

  • Alex

    As also a “passenger of size” (i.e., fat dude), I would eagerly pay 1.3x what I currently pay in order to get a seat 1.3x as big. I meet the requirements set forth (arm rests, seat belts) but still want more room. The trick is, to get a seat 1.3x as big in business class i have to pay 3x as much, or buy two seats in steerage. That’s just a non-starter for me, particularly when I have to travel frequently for business.

  • L7

    First of all, I love Southwest, generally. But this overt discrimination against OW passengers is unacceptable. Southwest, step up to the plate. Assign one of your seats on each flight as a ‘Compassion’ seat. Two seats together, the armrest must lift, not all do. Allow this seat to be utilized by the OW or ANY passenger that may need a little extra room. Folks with a broken leg, foot, etc,.. certainly could use a little extra room and COMPASSION!! Finally, airplane full? Have someone on standby? Don’t need the ‘Compassion’ seat on that flight? Fill the seat. Everybody, sit down, shut up, hold on! Ding, your free pretzels have arrived. p.s. I find it hard to believe SW requires someone who needs a seatbelt extender, i.e. pregnant woman, to buy an extra seat. Really?

  • JH

    Nobody has even suggested that the “late arriving” customer could have been put on the next flight. He was 14 after all not 5. She was already on the flight. She obviously was one time and seated. Did anyone consider that they could have put the young man on the next flight? He is at an age where he doesn’t want this kind of publicity even if they have not released his name. And frankly his parents should get some of the blame here too.

  • Daddyde8

    Southwest thought bags fly free

  • Guest

    They should have charged the kids’ parents, especially after they had already cleared the standby passenger.

  • JohnMD

    at 6’2″ 220 lbs, you are actually BMI of 28.2. Overweight and closer to obese (BMI>30) than normal (BMI<25). Your ideal weight is BMI 19-25, 148-195 depending on your build.

    Would I consider you fat? These days, no. Not when more people in this country are overweight than not. But 737s were designed years ago, when people were at the healthy weight, rather than overweight (and soon obesity) was the norm. But our country's health is going down the gutter as people eat worse and exercise less than any previous generation. Maybe the solution for us all is a good exercise program rather than larger seats.

  • Dasher

    No offense intended whatsoever, but is body size something you have absolutely no control over? The standard seems quite cut and dry – if you take up more than one seat, you must pay for more than one seat. It’s no different than saying a hungry person doesn’t need to pay for a second hamburger, because he or she can’t control his or her hunger, and he or she didn’t completely consume the second hamburger.

  • D_man3700

    Once cleared for boarding, a standby passenger becomes “booked on this flight”. The boarding policies for all airlines clearly state that anyone not checked in within 15 minutes prior to departure could forfeit his or her seat.

  • D_man3700

    Southwest Airlines is in the air travel business, not in the compassion business. As one of the few successful low-cost airlines, every dollar counts. They will not be profitable by giving away seats, and thus, away they go.

  • D_man3700

    What an incredibly reasonable suggestion! Thank you!