Appeals to emotion aside, the central question is whether purchase of a single ticket entitles anyone of any size to travel for the price of a single coach ticket. That's exactly the same debate that has appeared here and on other boards many times. We know the arguments by heart.

Given that this customer was probably unaware of Southwest's policy and was clearly not a serial violator of same, and given that the flight was not full (meaning that he would have been eligible for a full refund), there was really no need to be so strict.

I applaud the actions of the Southwest agent in Dallas who bought him a ticket. When a customer is in a fix, the airline should help out, especially if health is in jeopardy. The moral hazard concern (encouraging violation of the rules) applies only to serial violators of the policy.

All the above said, I still object to the tone of the article that Southwest was at fault for even attempting to enforce its longstanding policy on Customers of Size. The customer was not entitled to this favor, but under these circumstances Southwest should have offered the favor quickly and without resort to Customer Service people in Dallas.

The article does not say whether the customer was delayed so much that he missed his intended flight, but I'm pretty sure that the author would have mentioned that. If the customer caught his intended flight, I don't see how the part about freezing in the gate area relates to Southwest's decisions.