Many of you reached out to us via Twitter last night and today regarding a situation a Customer Twittered about that occurred on a Southwest flight. It is not our customary method of Customer Relations to be so public in how we work through these situations, but with so many people involved in the occurrence, you also should be involved in the solution. First and foremost, to Mr. Smith; we would like to echo our Tweets and again offer our heartfelt apologies to you. We are sincerely sorry for your travel experience on Southwest Airlines.
As soon as we saw the first Tweet from Mr. Smith, we contacted him personally to apologize for his experience and to address his concerns on both Twitter and with a personal phone call. Since the situation has received a lot of public attention, we'd like to take the opportunity to address a few of the specifics here as well.
Mr. Smith originally purchased two Southwest seats on a flight from Oakland to Burbank – as he’s been known to do when traveling on Southwest. He decided to change his plans and board an earlier flight to Burbank, which technically means flying standby. As you may know, airlines are not able to clear standby passengers until all Customers are boarded. When the time came to board Mr. Smith, we had only a single seat available for him to occupy. We are responsible for the Safety and comfort of all Customers on the aircraft and therefore, we made a judgment call that Mr. Smith needed more than one seat to complete his flight. Our Employees explained why the decision was made, accommodated Mr. Smith on a later flight, and issued him a $100 Southwest travel voucher for his inconvenience.
You've read about these situations before. Southwest instituted our Customer of Size policy more than 25 years ago. The policy requires passengers that can not fit safely and comfortably in one seat to purchase an additional seat while traveling. This policy is not unique to Southwest Airlines and it is not a revenue generator. Most, if not all, carriers have similar policies, but unique to Southwest is the refunding of the second seat purchased (if the flight does not oversell) which is greater than any revenue made (full policy can be found here). The spirit of this policy is based solely on Customer comfort and Safety. As a Company committed to serving our Customers in Safety and comfort, we feel the definitive boundary between seats is the armrest. If a Customer cannot comfortably lower the armrest and infringes on a portion of another seat, a Customer seated adjacent would be very uncomfortable and a timely exit from the aircraft in the event of an emergency might be compromised if we allow a cramped, restricted seating arrangement.
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oh -- and on all airlines -- and for any airborne flight -- the captan is absolutely in charge -- he can actually marry couples.... and that goes for 2 seat single-engine planes as well. It's not an airline rule -- it's the FAA. HOWEVER, that doesn't mean the pilot of the plane your flying on has the sense god gave a turnip. There are a slew of friggin crazy pilots hurling iron through the skies every day.
I agree 100% with Southwest here. Kevin Smith needs to get that Hypothyroidism Type II under control immediately. Also, his movies suck, and he is not funny.
This policy scares me so much. I recently bought a ticket on one of your flights to attend my sister-in-law's wedding, and I didn't see ANYWHERE during the purchase process that I might have to buy a second seat in case I am arbitrarily deemed too large for your flight.
I have flown with Allegiant Air for a couple of years now, and they have 17" seats like you do and I have had no problem flying with the armrests down and my seatbelt buckled, but now that I have already purchased a ticket, I am absolutely terrified that you may send me away and make my wife (98lbs 5'5) go on alone without me. We can't afford the second seat, and now I understand that we may never get our money back.
This is just awful.
How does no one fail to mention that he is flying SW which is known for its airfare. A guy who has made TONS of great movies. Nows hes fat and broke and making things like Cop Out.
Forget about him SW you don't need him.
Your comments is hoefull and ..........................
Best regard,
Thank
Like Bob, I am a person of size, however, I fit into one seat. Have flown Southwest several times, no problems nor was I asked to consider another seat.
On a flight from Detroit to Albany on another airline I was seated in a middle seat. An older man was in the aisle seat and though of average size he manage to intrude on my seat for much of the flight (his elbow stuck in my ribs).
Southwest is a great airline. I stand 100% behind them in this situation. In fact, the fact that they even let this flame war go on is another indication of their coolness.
I am grateful that a company is standing up for their rights in the face of a grossly growing American public.
I understand the problems that some may face in their weight issues, and also that some have conditions that they can't control due to medical reasons. For the vast majority of obese Americans, however, it comes down to a personal lifestyle choice which companies and other customers should not have to underwrite. Kevin Smith, futhermore, clearly has the means to get PROFESSIONAL HELP for his considerable exra weight. In case anyone is not clear on that, go to images.google.com and enter the keywords 'kevin smith +2010'. Putting a plus symbol at the beginning of 2010 ensures images from 2010, when this incident occurred.
If an overweight person truly needs two seats due to medical reasons, it should not be companies who should eat it, but rather government programs. Obesity is a growing trend, and it would be totally unfair to force companies (and us, once the cost is spread out) to pay for this trend. Contrary to popular belief, corporations are not actually as greedy as is thought, and have to work in extremely competitive climates for small margins.
So kudos to Southwest.
Perhaps they should close this thread at some point, in spite of my admiration for not having done so yet.
Ever heard of a heartfelt apology? This is pathetic. I will never fly Southwest again.
Kevin Smith has no problem sitting in an airline seat. He can put the armrests down, and buckle his seatbelt. He doesn't need a seatbelt extender. He's a big guy, and he says that himself. But he isn't so big that he has a problem sitting in a coach airline seat.
He shouldn't have been thrown off the plane. He was insulted, and humiliated, and subjected to an arbitrary policy. Southwest Airlines was wrong. The end.
I've flown on SWA 56 times in the last year. Please keep fat people out of the seat next to me, and preferably, off the plane completely. They are disgusting. I want to puke whenever their rolls of fat infringe on my personal space, or worse, make physical contact with me. Plus, most of them are sweaty and stink, and breathe loudly. Ugh, I just threw up in my mouth a little.