Twitter, Over-Weight Passengers, and the Truth

Note: The article I am referencing in this blog post can be read here.

I came across this news story this morning and initially did not think anything of it, as I know that Southwest Airlines has one of the more aggressive “over–weight passenger” seating policies. However, after reading the entire article, I became quite disturbed by Southwest’s actions. Let me preface my thoughts by saying yes, I do think passengers that are proven to not fit in one seat should be forced to purchase an extra seat if they wish to fly. That was not the case with this gentleman.

This gentleman and his wife flew from Chicago to Vegas for a vacation. This gentleman, according to the news source, flew from Chicago to Vegas without incident. When making their return flight home, this gentleman was stopped in the gangway by a Southwest employee and asked if he could fit in the seat with the arms down. After replying yes – that he has never had a problem (i.e. his outbound flight) the Southwest employee told him “Well, you’re not flying today.” All this without even letting him prove that he could fit his person into one seat.

The gentleman was taken back to the gate, and according to the article, argued in an “elevated voice in a belligerent tone.” Several passengers reported they would not feel comfortable flying with this gentleman. He was thus refunded his ticket and denied boarding. He and his wife had to purchase last minute tickets on another airline, at a very high price, to fly home. Needless to say they are asking for compensation.

Southwest claims he was ultimately denied boarding because of his “tone,” but the facts speak for themselves when the employee initially told him “Well, you’re not flying today” with no proof to back up their accusation. I think this is completely ridiculous. The gentleman flew out to Vegas with no reported seating problems and he was not even allowed to demonstrate (to the employee that denied him boarding) that he could fit into one seat.

So are we now going to have an airline that randomly denies boarding to over-weight people, without even letting them prove they can fit in a seat? This gentleman and his wife should be compensated for their airfare home (funny how that other airline had no problem fitting him in a seat). What do you think? How would you feel if this happened to you, and you could not prove your “innocence?”

Below is my conversation with Southwest Airlines, on Twitter, about this situation. While I respect their open dialogue (try getting that from most airlines) I think they are dead wrong.