I just had to post this article. I didn’t agree with how Southwest treated Kevin Smith, but I definitely do not agree with how they handled this situation. I’m not sure what is the right way to deal with this, but I would venture to say it would NOT be to punish the person that does NOT need two seats by removing her from the plane.
NICK UT / Associated Press file, 2008
By Bob Shallit
Southwest Airlines made headlines earlier this year for kicking overweight actor-director Kevin Smith off a flight because he took up more than one seat.
Now we’re hearing the airline recently removed a 5-foot-4, 110-pound Sacramento-area woman from a plane so a hefty passenger could have an extra seat.
The incident happened last week on an early-evening Southwest flight from Las Vegas to Sacramento.
The local woman was flying standby, paid full fare for the last available seat, got on board, stowed her bags and sat down – only to be told she would have to deplane immediately.
The reason?
A late-arriving passenger required two seats because of her girth.
The Sacramento woman, a frequent-flying sales rep, was stunned.
“It didn’t seem right that I should have to leave to accommodate someone who had only paid for one seat,” she tells us. (She has asked to remain anonymous for fear some may regard her as insensitive.)
She’s even more miffed because she says Southwest personnel berated her when she questioned the decision to boot her from the plane.
She ended up getting on the next flight.
“It’s small potatoes, in the scheme of things,” she says. But she believes Southwest should have been more considerate.
Airline spokeswoman Marilee McInnis agrees.
“We know this was awkward and we should have handled it better,” she says, adding that the airline intends to apologize to the local woman.
McInnis says normal policy is to ask for volunteers when a flight is overbooked for any reason.
In this instance, she says, airline personnel may have been influenced to choose a faster course of action to reduce embarrassment for the late-arriving passenger.
Why the extra concern? The person requiring two seats was just 14 years old.
Tue July 27, 2010 at 7:42 AM
Keven Smith wasn’t the first time Southwest did that. My wild guess and opinion, for what it’s worth..is that the only reason they reversed it in this case was to try make them LOOK better and less prejudice.
These stories are always interesting.
The saddest part of that story is the 14 years old part. :(
Julie Lost and Found´s last blog ..STRESS and Responding To It
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Tue July 27, 2010 at 7:55 AM
man that’s sad. i was so furious to hear how they treated Kevin Smith. as someone who in the past always had to squeeze her ass into an airline seat (I’m also 5’10″ so my knees often embedded themselves into the seat in front of me), i was really offended.
this new mixup doesn’t make anything better.
there’s always going to be that one person who is the biggest person on the plane. I think the only way to avoid any more messes like this is to include “larger/double seat” in the special needs area when you go online to buy a ticket. i don’t think charging extra would be out of the question. i used to think so… i get offended when people mention “fat tax”… but it does make sense in the case of needing two seats.
Allison´s last blog ..Why Gaga Gets Me Going
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Allison Reply:
July 27th, 2010 at 7:56 am
btw, why can’t i get my photo to show up in my replies? i’m logged into the Google follower thing…
*confused*
Allison´s last blog ..Why Gaga Gets Me Going
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Bobbie Reply:
July 27th, 2010 at 8:00 am
Allison, my blog uses “Gravatars” which is independent of Google Friend Connect. It’s free and easy, just sign up for an account at http://en.gravatar.com/ and upload your pic. Then you can see it on any blog you comment on that uses Gravatars (usually all non-Blogspot blogs).
Hope this helps! :)
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Tue July 27, 2010 at 8:11 AM
Oh this is such a tough and controversial subject. And no one ever seems to have a solution. Is there even a solution that would please everyone?
Karen @ WaistingTime´s last blog ..The End of Overeating
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Bobbie Reply:
July 27th, 2010 at 8:21 am
I can say that no one wants to be the obese person getting on the plane. You are worried you’ll be too fat to fit in your seat and singled out and embarrassed in front of everyone. No one wants that kind of anxiety.
I really like how NWA (now Delta) had their seat selection on the website when you purchased your tickets online. Unfortunately, Southwest does not have seat selections and is for all intents and purposes a “cattle call”.
SW needs to change the way they do things. First of all, assigned seats. If the person has an assigned seat and they FIT in that seat, they cannot and should not be booted from the plane. If the person does NOT fit in the seat, they should have to purchase another seat. If there are no more seats, then they have to wait for the next flight.
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Bobbie Reply:
July 27th, 2010 at 8:23 am
To aleiviate the issue with not knowing if you’ll fit in the seat, why can’t they have seat measurements on their website so you can be prepared before hand?
Or how about having some empty seats in the terminal where you can attempt to sit in them and see if you fit before boarding? Kind of like Disney World has for attractions? I know it would be embarrassing to try the seats in front of others, but what would be worse – trying them before hand or AFTER you get on the flight and find out your ass doesn’t fit?
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Tue July 27, 2010 at 8:37 AM
I’ve written about this issue before. Basically I think that the airlines should have sections on planes with larger seats as part of the overall plan.
I don’t think “Southwest Airlines” made this decision, but it was made by one or two people on the spot. As a pilot, weight and balance is a safety issue on an airplane, especially the smaller ones.
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Tue July 27, 2010 at 8:47 AM
I think the expectation that there is a right and a wrong here is too naive for this brave new world. This is uncharted territory which will have many snags and bumps along the way, and may never settle in to a proper protocol since… people are getting (by CDC data) larger and larger every year.
The victim here is not the person who got bumped. The victim here is social perception.
Emergefit´s last blog ..Black or White- My Way Or Yahweh- Fitly Or Fatly…
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Tue July 27, 2010 at 9:56 AM
The 110lb girl should quit her bitching as she was flying stand-by.
Harry´s last blog ..Weigh-in 45
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Tue July 27, 2010 at 11:51 AM
I’m not sure what the solution to that is…??
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Tue July 27, 2010 at 2:27 PM
Had the smaller woman not been flying stand-by, I think she’d have a greater argument against SW, but if she hadn’t been flying stand-by, I doubt SW’s on-the-spot decision would’ve been the same. I don’t know.
Like so many others, I don’t think there’s necessarily a right or wrong way to handle this.
Cammy@TippyToeDiet´s last blog ..Climb Every Mountain
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Tue July 27, 2010 at 7:39 PM
Oh Man! This is sad on so many level! I am sorry for the teenager girl, and for the woman who had to deplane. The thing I do not get is how is it that airlines always seems to overbook their seats and not have back up…it is so annoying…if they just had back up seats, they could have just switched seats! I guess the desire to make money dictates manners, which..are disappearing more and more!
Anusce@ Ciao-Chow´s last blog ..When summer and fall meet on a plate
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Tue July 27, 2010 at 8:56 PM
hmmm, flying standby sucks! Agree that there is no great answer here…. asking for volunteers to deplane (I guess with some kind of incentive?) would have been less distressing to all, but yes, as Americans grow large, the size factor will need to be taken into account when booking seats.
Cathy´s last blog ..Back on the Horse
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Wed July 28, 2010 at 12:11 AM
Holy lord…even after reading all the other comments, I still can’t come up with a great answer…and…I’m freaking smart too!
All said and done, this was next to an impossible situation and I have sympathies for all parties involved including the decision makers and those impacted.
I actually think this should be a bigger indictment about how much responsibility we show for minor children. Not only are we shipping our kids to see our ex’s around the country, but we aren’t looking after their health either. Clearly, we don’t know what happened here, but just sayin.
Kyle´s last blog ..Because its there
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Wed July 28, 2010 at 6:21 AM
My biggest fear when we flew from Canada to NZ was that they would make me pay for two seats. Thankfully, the only person I intruded on was my 8 year old daughter. Actually, she intruded on me more than anything.
The saddest part of that whole article, for me, was that the person was only 14 yrs old. That’s awful.
Mad Woman´s last blog ..A couple quick things
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Wed July 28, 2010 at 8:55 AM
This is always hard stuff….. I feel so conflicted but if I had been bumped for a person that took 2 seats, I know I would have been upset…. I wish I knew all the little details here…
Jody – Fit at 52´s last blog ..Pushing the Envelope-More on Out of the Comfort Zone
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Wed July 28, 2010 at 11:08 AM
Goodness gracious there HAS to be a better way to deal with the whole thing. It almost seems as though that was a PR move on their part to show that they are not prejudice against fat people.
Thank you for post it!!
I haven’t been here in awhile I know. I am just sorting things out and trying to get back on track. I have missed reading your blog and hearing your thoughts on things! I plan on being around a lot more though!
I hope all is good! I love the new blog theme! It is fabulous! :)
~Kellie
The Chubby Girl Diaries´s last blog ..Tidying up my e-mail… tidying up my life
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Wed July 28, 2010 at 1:00 PM
Hm, this is a sensitive one. I don’t think there’s a right or wrong way to handle this one. I mean, hopefully the 14-year-old realizes the destructive path he/she is heading down and gets a grip on the situation before it gets worse, but otherwise, nothing else was wrong. The smaller woman got the next flight and was flying standby anyway.
Jess´s last blog ..Vulnerability and Failure
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Sun August 01, 2010 at 8:30 PM
Why didn’t they kick the fat obese girl off the airplane? She is the one with the weight problem and if she too fat for flying then she should have to buy 2 seat tickets. I hate how we let fat ppl get away with so much in this country. If you don’t want to be charged another seat, then don’t fly or stop being greedy and eating all the food in the world. Why don’t these fat ppl give their food to people who need it, disgusting gluttony ppl.
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