Woman suffers "big" bump off Southwest Flight

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   Mighty Momposted 13 years ago

   I post this with the certainty that people will weigh in (oops-- sorry for the bad pun) on this story. Basically, it's about being too fat to fit in a single airplane seat. But there's more to it:
   
   Published: Saturday, Jul. 24, 2010 - 12:00 am | Page 1B
   Last Modified: Saturday, Jul. 24, 2010 - 9:56 am
   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.
   
   
   Read more:http://www.sacbee.com/2010/07/24/291174 … z0ukRjNcpL

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   Cagsilposted 13 years ago

   That's a perfect example of what's wrong with society. Unreal!

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   LegendaryHeroposted 13 years ago

   Why does it seem like it's always Southwest causing problems?

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   Mighty Momposted 13 years ago

   Maybe Southwest gets in the news more due to this issue because they have smaller seats to start with... (?)
   
   There used to be a really intersting show called "Airline" that chronicled Southwest personnel interacting with customers. This was the first time I ever knew they canr refuse to let you board if you are too intoxicated! Who knew???

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      Cagsilposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Hey Mighty Mom,
      
      I was more blown away by the fact of the person who replaced the other passenger?
      
      The person requiring two seats was just 14 years old.
      
      I mean, what were the parent feeding this child?

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         Ron Montgomeryposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         other children

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            Cagsilposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            They were feeding something. That's for damn sure. Talk about a lack of responsibility.

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               LegendaryHeroposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               I know, really. They're practically killing him.

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            Teresa McGurkposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            ROFL
            
            but she could easily have a thyroid problem, which can cause kids to put on weight and retain it in no way related to diet (whether it's other kids or not).

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               Ron Montgomeryposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               That's always been my excuse.

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               Cagsilposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               I'm willing to go out on a limb, and hazard to say it is more likely a parents' fault, due to lack of responsibility, before I pass it off onto some form of disease or organ problem.
               
               I would think the statistic would hold up too, however, I didn't bother to look them up before posting this.

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   Ivorwenposted 13 years ago

   Wow!  This is wrong on so many levels...
   
   If you take up more than one seat, pay for it.  Plus, since when is it the airline's responsibility to make sure you are not embarrassed by your weight? 

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   Cagsilposted 13 years ago

   More "political correctness" in perfect action. Making people weak-minded and dumbed down. It's a sad day folks.
   
   Actually, it's down right pathetic.

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   Ron Montgomeryposted 13 years ago

   
   
   Plus, there's other ways to deal with the situation.

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   Mighty Momposted 13 years ago

   Southwest needs to change their boarding system. Instead of A,B and C zones they should have
   Pee Wee
   Normal
   Slightly Chunky
   Gigordo
   
   As people line up into their lines Southwest could count the number in each class. This would enable them to pair 1 Pee Wee or a smallish Normal with each Gigordo.

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      Cagsilposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      

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