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Kevin Smith: Film Director Too Fat For The Friendly Skies? Are You?
“We use the ability to lower the armrests as the gauge, as the armrests are truly the definitive boundary between each seat.”
Blanche Africa Reilly Dark has her say about Southwest Airlines and movie director Kevin Smith.
Over the past weekend the Internet was all a buzz with news a young fat movie director was ejected in a manner he considers inappropriate whether he is a well known fat dude flying the people’s airline or just one of the unknown people who fly affordable air transportation. I should add right here I agree with Smith. The disrespect and humiliation demonstrated toward him was absolutely unacceptable! It’s unsatisfactory to be rude to any paying customer in any industry.
According to Southwest Airlines own web site this policy for “customers of size”–read that phrase as a euphemism for fat, overweight or obese, has been followed “for 29 of our 38 years of operation, but only became more vigilant regarding the additional purchase when we began seeing an increase in the number of valid complaints from passengers who traveled without full access to the seat purchased because a large Customer infringed upon the adjacent seating space.”
Many Americans are overweight. Many airline seats are too small and uncomfortable to accommodate regular size, “normal” size, American travelers. Seventeen inches wide indeed! My office desk chair is an inch wider. It does not mean I wish to sit in it for a two hour flight!
I believe Smith and his wife when they say he’s got the body of a stout fellow; that he’s not a portly man whose body can be accurately described as one encroaching into another passenger’s territory .
“.Purchasing two seats on Southwest Airlines is significantly less expensive than purchasing one first class seat on another airline..” from the Southwest Airlines web site Customer Of Size Q & A page
I believe Smith when he says he buys two seats on the regular because he can afford to do so to insure his traveling privacy and comfort given the seats are really small.
To end this controversy I suggest there be a scale to weight passengers, just like the luggage is weighed, before the board the aircraft.
A tip to the heavyweights who choose air travel over car, bus or train, make sure you’re not the last fat chick or fat dude to board the plane.
I say this because as I listened to Kevin Smith’s description of his experience of Southwest Airlines poor customer service it became quite clear he was, as a passenger flying on stand-by status, the last fat man to board the plane. This by no means justifies the maltreatment he received.
In fact it is a call for larger seats, and more respect for the not so skinny average American traveler. Shame on you Gary Kelly and your band of corporate associates. All your platitudes and lofty musings have not trickled down to the rank and file as courteous action. Tsk! Tsk!
Blanche predicts more passengers will begin to ditch Southwest and book flights with the competition.
Unless Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly, Greg Crum, VP Operations, who I understand is responsible for those who interact with the public, as well as Matt Hafner, (Ground Operations executive) and Mike Hafner, (Inflight Services); –I wonder are those two brothers?… and company can reinvigorate in their personnel with some of that Southwest Airlines culture– the “warrior spirit”, “a servant’s heart” and that well promoted “fun-LUVing attitude” along with some real love toward the flying public whether they are Kate Moss skinny, Moni’que big or chubby like comedian Earthquake or hefty like Ralphie May.
If you ignore this matter Southwest Airlines could go the way of Pan Am.
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