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Southwest Airlines recently announced that it’s making changes to its business model with assigned seating and some premium options (more here). Most passengers are excited about the changes, but one group called the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) is concerned that this will be an end to the free lunch…I mean free extra seats that the airline’s Customer of Size policy to provide plus-sized passengers with complimentary extra seats.
The association released this statement after Southwest announced its changes:
The Southwest Customer of Size policy is the most clear and affordable procedure in the air travel industry for those who need more space than a standard economy seat. Open seating has been key to the success of the Customer of Size policy. Allowing Customers of Size to pre-board and select two adjoining seats ensures that passengers are able to choose seating in a part of the plane that is safer and more accessible.”
The Washington Post covered these concerns a few days ago as the association launched a petition. Southwest has said that it has no immediate plans to change its policy and told the news outlet that it will provide an update next month. And to think that Southwest is stirring up controversy during “Fat Liberation Month,” which runs the month of August and is as much a real observance as National Ice Cream Sandwich Day.
Southwest has long been the most accommodating to plus-size passengers and allowed them to book two seats and then get the cost of one returned if the plane was not full. With Southwest’s finances a mess and its future uncertain it will be interesting to see if it continues to throw out free seats for passengers that cannot fit in one.
Anthony’s Take: Passengers should pay for the space that they need. Just like luggage, if you pack heavy you pay for it. I book premium seats because I am tall. If you cannot fit into one, book two. Just don’t expect the airline or the government to pay for you.
(Image Credits: Ozgurcoskun and NAAFA.)
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
4 comments
The degree of your contempt is only exceeded by your inaccurate facts and poor grammar (learn to use “it’s” and “it’s”, for starters.
While you’re not completely wrong, you’re once again going with the “Let Them Eat Cake” perspective.
Here, I’ll illustrate: Let’s say you have a “Person Of Size” who’s poor but has to attend mom’s funeral. What do you suggest? They just don’t have the money to fly from SAT to LEX with two seats. Ditch mom’s funeral? You keep viewing this from a privileged perspective without empathy for fat people. I don’t love the premise of squeezing in next to them either – and I’m tall, broad shouldered, and big – but I don’t know that punching down by messing with people who just don’t have the money for a second seat is the way to go.
My issue is that this is expected for free by some people. If there is an empty seat and this can be accommodated than by all means. But some people are demanding special treatment.
For the passengers of size here, die to the shape of the wing, air accelerates over it in comparison to the air underneath it, creating a pressure differential. Low above and high below. This is the lift that is pushing up on the wings, making flight possible. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lift_(force)
Therefore, by often weighing twice as much as a “normal” person, you are putting twice as much stress on the airfoil, and impact the weight and balance calculations twice as much. Therefore, in a truly fair world, the airlines would calculate space occupied and weight when determining ticket price, which they somewhat do with regard to economy versus first class pricing.
Before you say I probably have no understanding of your plight, I’m a fit 6’6 and 220 pounds. I don’t fit in a middle seat, and anything other than an exit row or bulkhead crushes my knees, so I pay extra for them or economy plus, whatever the situation dictates. I also have to pay more for clothes to get an XLT, then have them tailored because to get the shoulders to fit right, most shirts in America assume I’ll have a gut. Plus slim fit shirts are for the emaciated.
If you would give others an ounce of the consideration you’re demanding from us you might see it a bit differently, or at least have some empathy for those you cried out in our seats.