A 'heavy' subject

Southwest Airlines is in the news again, after having to deny one of its passengers boarding. The reason: the man was considered too big for one seat and refused to buy a second seat. Southwest has had this policy in place for a few years now. Basically it states that if you are too big to fit into your one seat, then you must buy a second seat. Southwest does charge the lowest ticket price for the second seat, and if the flight is not full, they will also refund the second ticket completely. The airline states that it requires an average of 1 in every 200 passengers to comply with this rule, but over 97% of those passengers end up receiving a refund as the plane was not full, so mathematically, only 1 per 2000 passengers ends up having to buy a second ticket with no refund. Not too bad.

This passenger though, refused. During an interview, he freely told the TV station that he was 6'1" and weighed over 350 pounds. Now, the average coach seat is a mere 18" wide with the armrests down. I'm pretty sure that he was not going to be able to fit in his seat alone.

We have all seen it, or have even lived it, having to sit next to the passenger who takes up their seat, as well as half of your own seat. Many cannot even sit with the armrests down. I think that as touchy as this subject is, you should be required to buy an additional seat. As I was reading the message boards on MSNBC, the responses were numerous, but almost all seemed to agree with the airline. One person stated his opinion very well, saying that buying a ticket is somewhat like renting real estate on the airplane. You pay for that particular 18" for the entire flight. You should not have to let anyone into your space.

The common factor in almost everyone said on the message board is space. Airlines charge extra fees for overweight bags, so why not people. Many people also believe that infants should not be able to sit on parents laps, as they too "spill" over into the seat next to them. The bottom line is planes are crowded and cramped. It will only get worse as flying is reduced. People should be entitled to their 18" and only their 18". I say kudos to Southwest for taking a little bad PR for making the rest of the 150 passengers comfortable. And to the guy who had a fit, if you are overweight, you are overweight, deal with the situation. It is not fair to make someone else uncomfortable because you cannot fit in your seat.

People may disagree with me on this one. Believe me though, if you have not sat next to someone who is literally spilling into your seat, than you may not understand. When it does happen, you will then think a second seat should be required.