Read this. It’s a story on Today in the Sky about a short & thin woman who paid full fare to fly standby on Southwest, from Vegas to Sacramento. She got the last seat on a plane – and was immediately berated AND told to get off. Why? Because there was a large passenger on the plane that needed both seats. Thing is, they didn’t make the pax purchase two seats, as is their “policy”.
I know how airlines treat larger customers differs. I’m larger, but I certainly don’t need either a seatbelt extender OR a second seat. But Southwest is showing their true unprofessionalism in their reaction to the story. A quote from the story/Southwest:
McInnis adds to the Bee that the airline’s staff also may have been reluctant to put the teenage girl into a possibly embarrassing situation.
I’m sorry, what? Yes, it was an unaccompanied minor. But that minor had a parent or guardian that dropped them off – they didn’t just show up at the airport. Southwest KNEW about the large teen at one point. And when they had the chance to do something about it, they chose not to. Then the decide they didn’t want to put the girl into an “embarrassing situation”. Bullshit. They’re diverting the subject of the debate from their own poor business practices on to an unsuspecting girl.
Director Kevin Smith had an issue with Southwest that didn’t go well for them. I’m trying to find the story about a woman who flew PDX -> SMF just fine, then was not allowed to fly back SMF -> PDX because Southwest refused her boarding because she was “too fat”. That was probably 2006 or the like.
Inconsistent business practices create inconsistent business. Screw you, Southwest!