My recent (positive!) experience flying Southwest as a deathfat!
So...my deathfat self and my deathfat hubby flew Southwest yesterday and had a really good experience!
I'm a size 26-30, 5 foot 5, and weigh about 330 lbs. My husband is 5 foot 11 and weighs (I'm guessing since he won't tell me) about 310? He has a 51 inch waist and carries his weight in his thighs/tummy. I carry my weight in my tummy and upper arms with relatively smaller legs/large waist/flat butt and average hips.
Neither of us were given any hassle by ANY of the employees - not the gate agents nor the flight attendants - and in fact we thought they were some of the friendliest staff we've ever encountered on an airline. My husband didn't need a seatbelt extender (he usually doesn't) but I did (I always do) and the flight attendants were completely discreet and nice about it. I did feel the seatbelts were longer than most but they still weren't enough for my big ol' tummy - lol. :) If you have your own seatbelt extender, be warned it may not work on Southwest planes. Their belts had a completely different latch than any others I'd ever seen before on a plane.
We paid a little extra to be in the first seating group (you pick your own seats when you board the plane so obviously it pays to be in an earlier group - I believe they have 5 groups, plus the pre-boarding and the "business elite" or whatever they're called.) This was a really good decision as we ended up with no one sitting between us even though the flight was nearly full. We purposely spread out a little hoping people would choose to sit between smaller-sized people rather than ourselves, and fortunately they did. We were both able to put our armrests down, although I would've been pretty squished if I'd had to leave mine down. The seats weren't as roomy as some planes I've been on, but weren't the smallest either. I felt MUCH more squished on the US Airways flight we'd taken several days earlier, although I was sitting in the middle with my husband and someone else surrounding me on that flight (I do think the US Air seats were a tiny bit smaller, though.)
Southwest gives everyone each 2 free bags of snacks and free non-alchoholic drinks - they even offer extra drinks (I had two!) Wi-Fi is free to use as well.
All in all, I'd fly them again. We really loved the fact that we didn't have to pay to check our bags, that saved us tons since we had 3 checked bags total (I'm a shopaholic, especially when I travel lol :) I'm sure experiences can vary due to the particular staff in each airport or who is on duty that day, but I'm glad to say that my experience was excellent. Maybe Southwest has learned their lesson on how to treat fatties? We can only hope...
I'm a size 26-30, 5 foot 5, and weigh about 330 lbs. My husband is 5 foot 11 and weighs (I'm guessing since he won't tell me) about 310? He has a 51 inch waist and carries his weight in his thighs/tummy. I carry my weight in my tummy and upper arms with relatively smaller legs/large waist/flat butt and average hips.
Neither of us were given any hassle by ANY of the employees - not the gate agents nor the flight attendants - and in fact we thought they were some of the friendliest staff we've ever encountered on an airline. My husband didn't need a seatbelt extender (he usually doesn't) but I did (I always do) and the flight attendants were completely discreet and nice about it. I did feel the seatbelts were longer than most but they still weren't enough for my big ol' tummy - lol. :) If you have your own seatbelt extender, be warned it may not work on Southwest planes. Their belts had a completely different latch than any others I'd ever seen before on a plane.
We paid a little extra to be in the first seating group (you pick your own seats when you board the plane so obviously it pays to be in an earlier group - I believe they have 5 groups, plus the pre-boarding and the "business elite" or whatever they're called.) This was a really good decision as we ended up with no one sitting between us even though the flight was nearly full. We purposely spread out a little hoping people would choose to sit between smaller-sized people rather than ourselves, and fortunately they did. We were both able to put our armrests down, although I would've been pretty squished if I'd had to leave mine down. The seats weren't as roomy as some planes I've been on, but weren't the smallest either. I felt MUCH more squished on the US Airways flight we'd taken several days earlier, although I was sitting in the middle with my husband and someone else surrounding me on that flight (I do think the US Air seats were a tiny bit smaller, though.)
Southwest gives everyone each 2 free bags of snacks and free non-alchoholic drinks - they even offer extra drinks (I had two!) Wi-Fi is free to use as well.
All in all, I'd fly them again. We really loved the fact that we didn't have to pay to check our bags, that saved us tons since we had 3 checked bags total (I'm a shopaholic, especially when I travel lol :) I'm sure experiences can vary due to the particular staff in each airport or who is on duty that day, but I'm glad to say that my experience was excellent. Maybe Southwest has learned their lesson on how to treat fatties? We can only hope...