From
Southwest's Customers of Size Policy:
Customers who are unable to lower the armrests (the definitive boundary between seats) and/or who compromise any portion of adjacent seating
should proactively book the number of seats needed during initial reservations. This purchase serves as a notification of an unusual seating need and
allows us to process a refund of the additional seating cost after travel (provided the flight doesn’t oversell). Most importantly, it ensures that all onboard have access to safe and comfortable seating
Originally Posted by vanderaj
So even if they wanted me to pay, some poor bugger is going to get squished next to me.
Incorrect - you are paying to gaurantee the extra seat next to you is empty - you have booked 2 seats. However if the flight departs with empty seats, then you get your 2nd fare back - and if you happened to book a fully flexible ticket, the 2nd fare can be booked at a childs fare.
Originally Posted by vanderaj
If I do get that spare seat, the method by which a thin passenger gets it for free, or a fat passenger has to pay becomes the issue
The difference being that a Customer of Size
requires it - the "thin" person does not. If the "thin" person does not get it, they are not going to encroach on the space of the person who happens to sit next to them. A "customer of size" will.
Originally Posted by vaneraj
My airfares are paid for by the travel girl who has a different bucket of cash than me. The fatty payment - if you get dinged for it - is due at time of boarding, and you don't get it back immediately when the seat is taken by some poor sod.
Incorrect - see
bolded parts of the above policy. Additional seat should be booked at the same time as the initial booking, giving access to the same fare .
Originally Posted by vanderaj
It's the method of implementation, and the choices foisted upon you. I have the choice not to use Southwest or any carrier which will try to shame me for an extra buck.
Who is shaming anyone? Its about ensuring the comfort of not only you but the people around you as well.
I choose that path. Why can you folks not see that? LCC's path is
wrong. There is no other disease or predicament that would allow such discrimination in modern life as being fat.
IT IS NOT DISCRIMINATION. I don't mean to be rude here, but
you are not a victim! You wanna hear about discrimination? I can tell you all about it - from experience - but I choose not to do so in a public forum.
That gentleman is no Mrs Parks, but it's a wonderful step at reclaiming the airline industry from unnecessary bigotry and humiliation.
Incorrect again. The only thing that happened in this case that shouldn't have taken place is the measuring of the passenger at checkin - that is 100% unacceptable.
Its a s-i-m-p-l-e concept - you pay for what you need. Do you see me going to a hotel, booking a single room, then expecting a King size bed just because I am tall and it makes me more comfortable when I am sleeping? No... I book what I know I NEED. And again, I will reiterate - this is NOT about being unsympathetic to customer needs nor displaying a lack of compassion and customer service. Its about people expecting more than they pay for and then bleating on about being discriminated against if they don't get it.