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Kevin Smith (Silent Bob) and Customer of Size policy

Kevin Smith (Silent Bob) and Customer of Size policy

Old Feb 14, 2010, 8:47 am
  #1  
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Kevin Smith (Silent Bob) and Customer of Size policy

another Southwest PAX was denied from flying due to his size: This time it was Kevin Smith AKA Silent Bob.

"Kevin Smith was thrown off a Southwest Airlines flight yesterday for being a "safety risk" -- a polite way of saying he was deemed too fat to fly...

...Smith also received a $100 voucher for his trouble and a few apologetic tweets from SWA, but based on the number of four-letter words used on Smith's Twitter page ... we don't think the apology was accepted.

Read more: http://www.tmz.com/2010/02/14/kevin-smith-southwest-airlines-twitter-safety-risk-fat/#ixzz0fWeM0uym"

If it's true that the armwrests went down and he didn't even need an extender, then it's a shame that FAs are enforcing this so selectively and letting planty of other oversize passengers encroach on others seat space.
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Old Feb 14, 2010, 9:02 am
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expert7700,


We are truly sorry for the experience Kevin Smith endured on his Southwest flight. As many FTers know, our Customer of Size policy is not new and can be found here: http://www.southwest.com/travel_center/cos_qa.html

Our folks are looking into the situation and gathering facts so that we may address any missteps internally. We've already reached out to Mr. Smith via Twitter and via phone to personally apologize.
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Old Feb 14, 2010, 9:07 am
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The armrests are the gauge. If Smith is being honest ("I'm seated WITH ARM RESTS DOWN"), he shouldn't have been bothered.

That said, the DYKWIA meter is pegged, and given he has a movie to promote (its poster is his Twitter background), he has incentive to be as obnoxious as possible in response and drive traffic to his Twitter page. The timing couldn't be better from his perspective.
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Old Feb 14, 2010, 11:13 am
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Actually the armrest is not the only gauge...

Customers who are unable to lower both armrests and/or who compromise any portion of adjacent seating

I can lower the armrests but I definitely compromise part of the adjecent seat so therefore I need the second seat.
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Old Feb 14, 2010, 11:44 am
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All I know is I wouldn't want to sit next to him.
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Old Feb 14, 2010, 12:26 pm
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SW is about to find out if the old adage "There's no such thing as bad publicity" is actually true.

It should at least make for an entertaining SmodCast.
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Old Feb 14, 2010, 12:55 pm
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SWA really needs to ease up. The responsibility should be with ticket counter and gate agents, people don't deserve to be humiliated by a plane full of people.

The fact that he few up to from Burbank without any problem reminds me what a lawyer told me one time, "It's better to not have a policy at all then a policy that followed only once in a while"...

I know that SWA is a very low cost carrier and I'm sure Kevin could have afforded a second seat if they had told him AT THE GATE or CHECK IN.

If SWA is so cheap they can't give a passenger of size an extra seat every once in a while, they need to have a seat at the gate and have questionable pax sit in it BEFORE they get on the plane.

The airlines must be unaware that obesity is now seen as a medical condition and ADA rules are soon to follow....

It's very sad, but it takes a large celebrity to expose the problem....
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Old Feb 14, 2010, 1:18 pm
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Who the hell is Kevin Smith?
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Old Feb 14, 2010, 1:30 pm
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Originally Posted by DrPSB
All I know is I wouldn't want to sit next to him.
I've sat next to him... not on a plane, but two chairs next to each other. He's a big guy, but I'd have no issues sitting next to him.

Originally Posted by tusphotog
Who the hell is Kevin Smith?
Writer, Actor, Director... nerd god.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Smith
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Old Feb 14, 2010, 2:27 pm
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Originally Posted by IAH Oil Man
SWA really needs to ease up. The responsibility should be with ticket counter and gate agents, people don't deserve to be humiliated by a plane full of people.



If SWA is so cheap they can't give a passenger of size an extra seat every once in a while, they need to have a seat at the gate and have questionable pax sit in it BEFORE they get on the plane.
so its not ok to humiliate them infront of 137 people, but its ok to do it infront of 137 people in the gate area and all those walking around or sitting near the gate area?
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Old Feb 14, 2010, 2:31 pm
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Originally Posted by IAH Oil Man
SWA really needs to ease up. The responsibility should be with ticket counter and gate agents, people don't deserve to be humiliated by a plane full of people.

The fact that he few up to from Burbank without any problem reminds me what a lawyer told me one time, "It's better to not have a policy at all then a policy that followed only once in a while"...

I know that SWA is a very low cost carrier and I'm sure Kevin could have afforded a second seat if they had told him AT THE GATE or CHECK IN.

If SWA is so cheap they can't give a passenger of size an extra seat every once in a while, they need to have a seat at the gate and have questionable pax sit in it BEFORE they get on the plane.

The airlines must be unaware that obesity is now seen as a medical condition and ADA rules are soon to follow....

It's very sad, but it takes a large celebrity to expose the problem....
You may want to review WN's COS policy, because they do refund the extra seat fare if there are available seats on the plane. If the plane is full, then the COS's second fare is used since they are occupying a second seat. As for ADA rules, they do not apply to an air carrier, it is the ACAA (Air Carrier Access Act) which applies.

Last edited by SCGustafson; Feb 14, 2010 at 2:38 pm
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Old Feb 14, 2010, 2:32 pm
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Several points need to be made here.

1) The PAX had actually purchased two seats for his flights from BUR to OAK and the return from OAK to BUR.

2) He decided to try to get on an earlier flight for the return. Supposedly, there was only one seat available. The GA knew that the PAX had purchased two seats and needed two seats, yet allowed him on the plane.

So the GA should have known he needed two seats both by observation and by seeing that he had purchased two seats. I suppose the PAX should have reminded the GA he needed two seats but maybe he figured they made an exception.

Very embarrasing to be kicked off the plane once you are already seated.

Why does this type of situation seem to come up with WN much more frequently than any other carrier - making people get off a plane once they are on for various reasons? Bad language on a T-shirt, inappropriate skirt length for teenage girls, etc etc. I do think some re-examination of the "appriopriate" policy needs to occur.
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Old Feb 14, 2010, 2:37 pm
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Originally Posted by IAH Oil Man
The airlines must be unaware that obesity is now seen as a medical condition and ADA rules are soon to follow....
Does this mean that a significant percentage (perhaps more than half) of the American population will soon be covered by ADA rules due to obesity?
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Old Feb 14, 2010, 2:50 pm
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Originally Posted by JerryFF
Very embarrasing to be kicked off the plane once you are already seated.

Why does this type of situation seem to come up with WN much more frequently than any other carrier - making people get off a plane once they are on for various reasons?
Agreed! WN seems to make more of a big deal about this because they want to discourage overweight people from flying with them. The fact that there are no seat assignments would make it hard for the airline to enforce that if you did buy 2 seats, that you got two seats... next to each other...

Next they will refuse Pax in wheelchairs because of the added cost...
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Old Feb 14, 2010, 2:53 pm
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Originally Posted by grain
so its not ok to humiliate them infront of 137 people, but its ok to do it infront of 137 people in the gate area and all those walking around or sitting near the gate area?
I would much rather have a GA pull me aside and have a private conversation with me about my size then after I was seated on the plane and have a FA announce to the entire section of the plane that I was too fat and needed to get off!
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