Because Wednesday is boring, and I like to stir the pot.

[mijan]

The headline:
"Skinny Woman bumped off flight so overweight person could have two seats."

Yes, there were circumstances involved.  The overweight person was 14 years old and traveling alone, and had NOT purchased two seats.  However, the "skinny" person had paid full price.  Nobody was asked to voluntarily give up their seat - the skinny passenger

Comments

[ruisseau]

First of all, I will not fly Southwest Airlines because I'd rather not be humiliated and penalized for my size.

However, it seems that the following smart thing was done: a minor was not stranded. The following stupid thing was done: a volunteer to give up a seat was not found (Kit and I once agreed to a later flight when asked -- it happens). The only thing they may have been thinking was that the person who got bumped was flying on standby, which is a shaky guarantee of a seat anyway.

I don't believe malice was intended here and I actually have to approve of Southwest Airlines' decision to not penalize a minor.

[mijan]

Thank you for your well-considered comment! (I'm really just trying to collect a variety of opinions on the topic, to see how people react to it.)

I think my biggest point of contention in this whole story was that they didn't ask for volunteers. Often, people are quite willing to fly later, because they get perks for waiting.

I'm curious how people's analysis of the situation would change if the overweight individual was an adult.

[ruisseau]

Well, if it were an adult, the whole thing would become about fat-bashing, which is still considered quite acceptable even among some folks who are anti-discrimination. Of course, if it were an adult, Southwest would have made her pay for an extra seat and possibly wait for the next flight as the flight was full once the standby passenger had boarded.

I try not to get into discussions of whether fat people should pay more for things. The airline industry is one of the few who have *decreased* seat size over the years, while others, like theatres, have increased seat size.

[mijan]

*nods* There are many issues with the airline industry, and this is only one of them. General treatment of passengers is atrocious, and accessibility for MANY people is horrendous. For example, I actually have an old back injury, which mostly hasn't given me trouble in a few years. Army injury, not as recent as the knee injury. I CAN'T sit rigidly upright in a seat for more than a few minutes without severe back pain. In cars, I ALWAYS lean seats back, or stuff a pillow behind my lower back if I'm going to be in a seat for more than a few minutes

[mijan]

Thank you for contributing your ideas!

Seat belt extenders are available on all major airlines, so that covers that question.

I don't know if Southwest has a wheelchair spot available.

True, the woman had a standby ticket, but at that point, she'd already paid and was in her seat.

Next question - what if the obese individual was an adult? Would that change anything?

[ruisseau]

Yeah, the seat belt thing is about the extender. Southwest believes that fat people's butts shouldn't touch other people's butts, essentially. When I fly, I sit very still, choose a window or aisle seat, and sit as far away from the person next to me as possible. It's torture.

[quiet000001]

Most of the airplanes I've investigated regarding wheelchairs, you don't get to belt in your wheelchair but rather transfer from your chair to a special narrow one and then transfer into a normal plane seat, and your wheelchair is stowed. (If you need to go to the toilet en route you have to ask for the special wheelchair again

[probing_grays]

The petite passenger was flying standby, where getting bumped is pretty common. I don't know why the airline felt compelled to explain to this person exactly why they were bumped, given how standard a procedure it is for a variety of reasons.

[mijan]

I suspect, based on the video and the article I linked, that the teenager approached the seat, and the nature of the circumstances became obvious to the passenger who was bumped. So I think she would have known exactly why she was bumped, even if the airline personnel had said nothing. She was already seated when she was pulled off the plane.

[mijan]

Several good points. Thank you for mentioning them.

I don't think the woman was forcibly removed, but I got the impression that she was "told" rather than "asked."

At one point, Midwest Airlines had larger seats, which both my spouse and I found quite comfortable. Oh, how times have changed, in just two short years.

[mijan]

It was on the "new" Midwest airlines (a Frontier Airlines plane, actually), that this happened to me last week:

http://mijan.livejournal.com/177232.html?thread=4951632#t4951632

You can imagine my thoughts on Midwest now.

[gmonkey42]

The woman who got bumped had a standby ticket. I think that's an important distinction to make. I've flown with standby tickets before and I don't have any expectation of getting a particular flight. Yes, it would be disappointing to be on the plane thinking you lucked out and then be asked to wait for the next flight but it's not like she arrived at the airport that day knowing she needed to arrive on that flight and not a later one

[mijan]

(Not so concerned about the occasional swear-word. I was more concerned about people cussing AT people. Or using swearing to insult others.)

[gmonkey42]

OK cool. I'm so used to using swearwords online that it's weird trying not to ;)

The funny thing is I hardly swear at all IRL.