Comments on: Kevin Smith Kicked off Southwest Flight for Being Fat

By: O.C.

O.C. — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:26:10 +0000

Well, folks, apparently you CAN pay a little more to get more LEGROOM on Continental, so the idea that airlines can’t accommodate different body shapes is now officially debunked. An email I just got from them:

“On March 17, 2010, we’ll be introducing a new option allowing you to purchase seat assignments for unreserved, Economy Class seats that feature extra legroom. Depending on the type of aircraft and row, seats with extra legroom offer a minimum of seven additional inches of legroom.

You will have the ability to purchase seat assignments when checking in at continental.com or at an airport kiosk during the normal check-in period, beginning 24 hours prior to flight departure. The price of these extra legroom seats will vary depending on a number of factors, including the length of the flight and market.

Consider this choice when you want extra legroom for more comfort on your flight.

We appreciate your business and thank you for choosing Continental.

Learn more about Extra Legroom Seats.
http://email.continental.com/servlet/cc6?JHQWBACQSYVthjLnmptuHjlpgxPHohhQJhuV2VTRVwvGy611Xv3f7G0V25SYWCSS

By: Carl Youngblood

Carl Youngblood — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 06:34:45 +0000

@Queen_George I understand that it makes you uncomfortable, and as I said, I too find bigotry abhorrent, but I personally still don’t think that individuals, including business owners, should be forced to comply with a certain kind of morality, even if they are among the elite and privileged. I’m even okay with government incentives and tax breaks for “non-bigoted” corporations (admittedly a difficult-to-define category) in an attempt to level the playing field more, but I don’t think they should be forced. To this extent I disagree with how the commerce clause has been used in a lot of recent cases. I’m just not comfortable with that level of intrusion by government into the private affairs of citizens. It might support your agenda now but it might backfire on you later if your morality differs from that of the majority.

By: Harley

Harley — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 19:53:06 +0000

After doing 2 term papers on Southwest, I’m really shocked at the Kevin Smith incident and the mother and child who were booted off this company airline. I wonder how Herb Kelleher feels about these reports. I too like Southwest Airlines. I hope that they can recover from these incidents.

By: Name Here

Name Here — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 21:34:12 +0000

Well, I don’t have a million or so twitter followers, so I guess that is the end of it. And I agree that it probably reflects some inflexible corporate policy. But I certainly will never fly them again, and would not recommend them to anyone.

By: closetpuritan

closetpuritan — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 19:26:31 +0000

Name Here, that’s terrible. I suspect the flight attendants were probably too worried about going against corporate policy to actually use some goddamn common sense, which is probably a sign that it’s more USAir’s fault than the flight attendants’ fault. But none of it is your fault.

By: Name Here

Name Here — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 06:09:55 +0000

ahhh, USAir hates teh pregnant ladiez. Or at least the flight attendants on the last flight with them I will ever take did.

So, for context, I am tallish for a woman at 5’9″, and I was a generous size 16 before I got pregnant. At the time of this flight I was 8 months pregnant, and I gained a substantial amount of weight while I was pregnant in addition to the human being sloshing and flipping around inside me. I have no quantitative data on the width of my ass at the time. I was traveling with my hubs who is 6’4″ and who has proportionally long legs for a man…

So we were on a late flight, only half-full, and everyone starts moving around to get more comfortable, then settles down to sleep. We moved to the bulkhead seats so that my husband could have more leg room. About halfway through the flight, I realized that the immovable arm rests are digging into my gravid body in an intolerable way. I can see 1st class in front of me only about 1/3rd full. I asked an attendant if I could move into a 1st class seat, and was told ‘no, they don’t allow that.’ But I could, if I wanted to, wake up a coach customer who was lying across an entire row and ask them to sit up so that I could sit separated from my husband in a non-bulkhead seat. I am no shrinking violet, but this was not a workable option to my pregnant brain, so I asked (in tears) again, and was told no. I made my husband ask, and they still said no. I wasn’t sure who would be filling those 1st class seats as we were in the air over Utah.

In short, I spent the next 2 hours alternating between perching on top of the immovable arm rests and wedged in between the seats and the bulkhead on the floor, openly weeping in pain and discomfort. The flight attendants just averted their eyes as they went by.

Anyway, a little off-topic for here. And I guess you could say that it is my own damn fault for giving up my non-bulkhead seat in the first place. (I had no idea that it would be such a mistake.) But someone asked for details, and there you are.

I did write an email to their cust serv., and got the standard “we’re sorry you had that experience” boilerplate with no remedy offered.

But that is about what I think of USAir… the airline that would rather let a pregnant woman weep in pain than to let her sit in an empty 1st class seat.

By: Sweet Machine

Sweet Machine — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:24:08 +0000

Thank you, closetpuritan. Trix, thanks for the information from an industry perspective. And now that you’ve addressed some of these risks, let’s let that topic drop.

By: closetpuritan

closetpuritan — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:00:20 +0000

@Trix: I’m wondering if this is the best place to have a discussion about what is Acceptable Mom Behavior and which risks are Not Acceptable Risks. I don’t have a dog in this fight, I can see both sides of this argument, I’m not a mod, disclaimer, etc. But I’m personally thinking a feminist space isn’t the best place to attempt to police other women’s behavior.

I agree that most people don’t fully understand the risks–although that applies to an awful lot of things in life. It sounds like hsofia has in fact done some research on this, though.

By: liz

liz — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 17:26:42 +0000

Exactly hsofia! I forgot to say, that the free flight for an under two is only if they’re flying on your lap.

By: hsofia

hsofia — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:48:59 +0000

@Liz – most airlines charge full price for an infant if they have their own seat, too. It’s not required, but if you do want an extra seat for your 1 year old (or 6 month old, or whatever), you have to pay full price. I’ve been researching as I’m planning two trips this spring. Delta, United, and others. Southwest is one of the few that offers partial fares for under 2s (you have to call to book it, cannot book online).