"Baby got back"? Beware of new Southwest policy

[Anonymous]

"Southwest Airlines will soon require travelers who don’t fit within the armrests of their seat to pay for an extra one in advance ..." and "If a passenger who needs an extra seat doesn’t purchase one ahead of time, they will be required to buy one at the airport, according to the new policy. If the flight is full, the passenger will be rebooked onto a new flight."

My question is this: What does "fit within the armrests" mean exactly? Will they have a human butt & gut measurement device along with baggage measurement devices? Or is it entirely up to the gate agents to give people an eye-ball estimate of whether they will fit or not? And are the armrests the deciding factor?

What about the 6'7" person who has slim hips but linebacker shoulders that extend well into the other seats?

What about the person who is a bit generously sized in the hips but slim from the waist up, and might extend an inch or two under the armrest itself - is that considered not fitting "within the armrests"?

IMO this is a class-action lawsuit waiting to happen.

Full AP article below.

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Per Associated Press: "Southwest Airlines will soon require travelers who don’t fit within the armrests of their seat to pay for an extra one in advance, part of a string of recent changes the carrier is making.

The new rule goes into effect Jan. 27, the same day Southwest starts assigning seats.

Currently, plus-size passengers can either pay for an extra seat in advance with the option of getting that money back later, or they can request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the carrier’s new policy, a refund is still possible but no longer guaranteed.

In a statement Monday, Southwest said it is updating some of its policies as it prepares for assigned seating next year.

“To ensure space, we are communicating to customers who have previously used the extra seat policy that they should purchase it at booking,” the statement said.

It marks the latest change at Southwest, which had long been known for letting its passengers pick their own seats after boarding the plane, and for letting their bags fly for free, which ended in May. Those perks were key to differentiating the budget carrier from its rivals.

Southwest says it will still refund a second ticket under its new policy for extra seating if the flight isn’t fully booked at the time of departure, and if both of the passenger’s tickets were purchased in the same booking class. The passenger also needs to request the refund within 90 days of the flight.

If a passenger who needs an extra seat doesn’t purchase one ahead of time, they will be required to buy one at the airport, according to the new policy. If the flight is full, the passenger will be rebooked onto a new flight."

[Anonymous]

Very simple - never fly Southwest. All the advantages they had are now gone.

[Anonymous]

It's the person who overflows so I cannot use the controls on the armrests for the screen without burrowing through multiple folds of flab.

[Anonymous]

They’re going to have to come up with clear guidelines.

I’m not a large person, but I read stories of large people who buy two seats and then the airlines oversell and take the “extra” seat away. So they’re squished into one seat anyway.

I’m small and hate flying because I will inevitably be stuck in between two very large people bleeding into my seat. i’ll be happy to fly and have my own space.

[Anonymous]

This is nothing new. If your fat @ss doesn’t fit in the seat you pay for another one.

[Anonymous]

If you take up more than one seat, you pay for more than one seat.

There, policy made.

[Anonymous]

I was on a flight recently in the window seat. The woman in the aisle seat was overweight and had purchased the middle and aisle seat. They told her they needed the seat. She said she had paid for both and they told her too bad and she'd be reimbursed. I think that's crap. She paid for two seats, she should have had two seats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is nothing new. If your fat @ss doesn’t fit in the seat you pay for another one.

What about the big-shouldered body builder that sprawls 6 inches into both the seats next to them? They get a pass?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was on a flight recently in the window seat. The woman in the aisle seat was overweight and had purchased the middle and aisle seat. They told her they needed the seat. She said she had paid for both and they told her too bad and she'd be reimbursed. I think that's crap. She paid for two seats, she should have had two seats.

Yep. And it takes them 90 days to refund the money. What a scam! Three months of free capital for the company and three months of loss for the person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you take up more than one seat, you pay for more than one seat.

There, policy made.

That includes the 22 month old child held in a lap that kicks and flails beyond the parent's seat throughout the flight, right?

[Anonymous]

The policy is not discriminatory, it just takes away a financial benefit that larger people used to have on Southwest, because they could avoid purchasing a second seat on flights that weren't full. Southwest was able to do this because they didn't have assigned seating, so their old policy would not inconvenience passengers assigned to sit next to someone who doesn't fit in their seat.

On full flights, customers who cannot fit in one seat have always been required to purchase the second seat in order to ensure they could fly. That hasn't changed, it's just now Southwest can't allow you to roll the dice and hope for a less than full flight which would allow you to spill into an adjacent empty seat free of charge.

Smaller people also have to pay for the seats they use, and always have.

There's no potential lawsuit here, I'm sorry. It's just that Southwest used to offer a convenient benefit to larger customers that allowed them to save money, and now they don't.

[Anonymous]

I have sympathy. My mom was obese and was so worried about flying because of it. She always sat next to me or my little sibling though and would take up some space from us. So hopefully that is still allowed? Like you can encroach on your kid's space? My mom flew with a seatbelt extender.

I'm petite and I can't tell you how many times I've been squished on a flight by obese people. It's really not fair. And being in the middle and people take both arm rests...

Maybe flights could have one row of obese seats? Like instead of a row of 3, it's a row of 2 larger seats that cost more. Or force them to fly 1st class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you take up more than one seat, you pay for more than one seat.

There, policy made.

That includes the 22 month old child held in a lap that kicks and flails beyond the parent's seat throughout the flight, right?

Wrong.

That child belongs in the overhead bin or with the checked luggage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have sympathy. My mom was obese and was so worried about flying because of it. She always sat next to me or my little sibling though and would take up some space from us. So hopefully that is still allowed? Like you can encroach on your kid's space? My mom flew with a seatbelt extender.

I'm petite and I can't tell you how many times I've been squished on a flight by obese people. It's really not fair. And being in the middle and people take both arm rests...

Maybe flights could have one row of obese seats? Like instead of a row of 3, it's a row of 2 larger seats that cost more. Or force them to fly 1st class.

This doesn't seem that sympathetic!

[Anonymous]

Finally.