If the COS boarded the plane without buying that second seat, that's his fault. But then it becomes an ugly nightmare for the airline. Any airline.

We've seen the news stories where a COS was asked to leave the plane. And the media instantly sides with the COS, showing sympathy for that person. The airline is the evil empire. But we don't see it from the view of Daniel, the guy who got stuck next to the COS and was ultimately the one inconvenienced.

In this case, COS is long gone. SW had its policy, but once COS boarded, there wasn't much they could do without sounding like unsympathetic idiots. Daniel was the one stuck...and is trying to deal with the situation.

Personally, while he may ultimately get some additional monopoly money out of it to use on a future flight, he had to deal with days or weeks of aggravation. Taking the $50 and dropping the issue probably would've been the best bet for his mental health!