FlyerTalk Forums - "Passengers of Size"

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"Passengers of Size"

i've been watching this a&e show "airline" with much interest this year and last night on the WN forum I asked a WN-specific question, but now I'd now ask the question again as it pertains to the rest of the major carriers.

as you may be well aware, WN may occasionally require their "passengers of size (P.O.S.)" to purhcase another seat in the interest of the comfort of the passenger's neightbors. My question is twofold:

1) do any of the other majors enforce a policy of having to purchase another seat at the gate if the agent deems you a P.O.S?

2) if you do buy a second seat because of your horizontal proportions, either by choice or by obligation, are you rewarded double the frequent flyer program credit because you are buying and (presumably) sitting in two seats? it would seem like a logical request but i don't know if the airlines would honor such a request. given the nature of this situation, i wonder if there's even official policy on most airlines.

thanks everyone!

No, you don't get double frequent flyer miles. As I recall, this issue was extensively discussed when Southwest first initiated this - a year or two back? - although I don't know where the thread is at this moment. I am pretty sure that this thread will be moved to TravelBuzz however.

edited to add ... I did a quick search on TravelBuzz and came up with this

http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...ML/007196.html

though it's not the thread I remembered, it may be a start.

[This message has been edited by CozumelJen (edited Mar 24, 2004).]

No other carriers I am aware of have such a policy. American has specifically stated they do not do this.

http://www.naafa.org/Convention2002/airlines.html

[This message has been edited by moonvine (edited Mar 24, 2004).]

As a POS myself I think that WN policy is a very hit and miss thing. As you've seen on the Airline show, people will have been flying 20 times, and then get a ticketing agent who decides they might be too big.

Even if the airplane is half full, in some cases or even empty they're hitting you up for another seat. If their policy is that they're only doing this so that you won't infringe on other passengers, this doesn't wash. Seems like a way to make some more money on an empty seat.

I personally would probably just squeak by their test, but for this and other reasons I wouldn't book WN unless I was in dire need.

What's the #1 phrase issued by people on the Airline show:

"I'm suing Southwest".

Pretty funny. I'm really, really, really, really, really glad I don't fly WN. I've never seen more drunk, uncouth and outright dumb people in my life. Of course with editing, you might just be getting 100/th of 1 percent of the real people, so I shouldn't be too judgemental.

what i found pretty appalling was on a flight to FLL they overbooked the flight (on a 737, no less) by 52 people. 52?!! And many of those people had to be on a cruise ship that day. Perhaps we didn't see the whole side of the story, but who in their right mind would ever want to book a trip on an airline that overbooks like that? And no attempts were made (at least that I could see) on behalf of southwest to put those people on a different carrier as recompense for their mistake to make sure they got to FLL to make their cruise.

I haven't flown southwest in years, but after seeing how they handled their customers in a situation like that just reinforced my belief that sometimes it's just worth a little extra $ for reliability. People may say all publicity is good publicity, but in my case, there's no way I would willingly patronize that airline after what I've been watching.

Quote:

Originally posted by Jaimito Cartero:
I've never seen more drunk, uncouth and outright dumb people in my life.

I have - I used to ride Greyhound from time to time in college.

Greyhound is Southwest minus the wings.

Quote:

Originally posted by Jaimito Cartero:
I personally would probably just squeak by their test

Is there a real test? I wish I could apply a Tall Test to the airlines: if the aircraft fails my test, they owe me a comp F upgrade. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

Quote:

Originally posted by pinniped:
I have - I used to ride Greyhound from time to time in college.

Greyhound is Southwest minus the wings.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif I told someone this just yesterday that WN is just a grayhoud with wings, very funny (and true)!

Quote:

Originally posted by Jaimito Cartero:
Even if the airplane is half full, in some cases or even empty they're hitting you up for another seat. If their policy is that they're only doing this so that you won't infringe on other passengers, this doesn't wash. Seems like a way to make some more money on an empty seat.

Per Southwest's policy, the POS is reimbursed the cost of the second seat if the flight is not oversold (e.g. if the second seat does not end up displacing a passenger).

http://www.southwest.com/travel_cent...onal_seat.html

Quote:

When do I qualify to receive a refund for the additional seat purchase?

As long as the flight does not oversell (having more Customers waiting to board an aircraft than seats on the aircraft), we will refund the additional seat purchase. All Customers who have purchased an additional seat will receive a document that advises them to contact our Customer Relations Department after travel to request a refund for the additional seat purchased. In addition, if there is a possibility that the flight will oversell, the Customer will be given the option to purchase a second seat and travel on a less full flight to his/her destination without paying a penalty fee, regardless of the fare paid. And, unlike Customers who must purchase an additional seat to place a musical item, a child restraint device for an infant, etc. and who have other "options" such as holding the infant or placing the item in an onboard stowage space or in the cargo hold, we are sensitive to fact that a large Customer has no choice but to occupy more than one seat. For that reason, this is the one instance where we will offer a refund of the additional seat purchased as long as the flight does not oversell. A refund may be requested by contacting Customer Relations via telephone (214-792-4223) or in writing (P.O. Box 36647, Dallas, TX 75235-1647).

On the TV show this is explained to the POS once in a blue moon.

Is the second seat at the same fare as the first one, or at a walkup fare?

For an advance purchase discounted fare the second seat is sold at the same discounted fare. For an unrestricted full fare the second seat is sold at the discounted Child's fare.

I thought it was COS -- customer of size.
POS is something different (e.g. what many people think WN planes look like).

I did see that WN said they will give you a refund, but I hadn't seen it mentioned on any of the shows yet. Did my Tivo miss one? Gasp.

In a way, I think it's like rebates. People see the price (minus rebate), and buy an item, and forget to send it in. I doubt that more than 10% of people would actually send it in and get their money back.

I'd rarely think than an airline is going to be 100% full. However, after watching the Airline show, it does appear that they stuff them sardines in quite frequently.

It does seem pretty bad that people who have a time sensitive issue (cruises, funerals) get bumped and have pretty lousy compensation.

This topic has been discussed extensively in various forums. This doesn't appear to be "MilesBuzz-worthy", so I'm going to move it over to TravelBuzz where you can continue to follow it.

Regards,
Flipside