kiwifuz

Wouldn't that only apply under the COS or musical instrument policy? Hence the card for the seat? If 5'2" 120lb me buys two seats how do I get the GA to scan both, the FA not to direct someone to my 2nd vacant seat where my laptop is residing, and the guy w/ B21 from taking it?

Boraxo

This was all over every major 11pm news broadcast last night, and then on ET and all of the other silly celebrity reporting shows. No question that Smith is eating up all the "well-timed" publicity.

It is too bad that WN has to take a bit of a publicity hit but as noted above there are probably more people who appreciate this policy than those who don't (even infrequent travelers have been subjected to the COS "squeeze"). In fact it might even attract COS as other airlines do not publicize a similar option to buy 2 cheap seats though I've seen reports on FT where it has been done.

My only fear is that the government might intervene with some nonsense under the ADA though to my knowledge obesity isn't considered a legal disability - yet.

FCfree

If my understanding is correct, ALL airlines have a CoS policy. Its only logical when a customer can't fit in the seat with the armrests down.

If all airlines have this policy, why do we hear about it more regarding WN than other airlines? First, there was the guy in Chicago, now KS (who I didn't know -- had to Google him).

WN made a good offer in terms of refunding his airfare. KS ranted more at it. That shows me that its about publicity for KS.

DeaconFlyer

The law of averages with a large sample size says that if 1% of the planes with a COS go out full, then close to 1% of planes without a COS will go out full. No way there is that big of discrepancy (1% vs. 50%). It's just basic probability theory.

SAPMAN

I agree. But I wonder if the stats are that 1% are fully booked (no standby or non revs) or if a greater number are not booked full, but with standby and non revs and other, they fill up.

I travel on WN quite a bit and would guess that 10-15% of my flights are full (no empty seats). maybe I just fly at busy times??

Mr. Morris

I saw this on the internet, and like others, I had no idea who Kevin Smith was. Initially, I was sympathetic because it must be tough for a CoS to squeeze in a coach seat and then get kicked off the plane. Then I listened to the first few minutes of one of his podcasts. He is so arrogant and disingenuous. He claims that he buys an extra seat to avoid "convo" with the person next to him and because he is shy in real life, but how does an empty middle seat necessarily avoid "convo"? Also, if he is taking advantage of the CoS policy to get tickets refunded, he should disclose this.

I'll pass on that Bruce Willis cop movie he directed.

SpaethCo

The guy was needlessly embarrassed in front of a plane full of people; you'd yell loudly about something like that if it happened to you. The only difference here is he has more people listening to him than you.

There was all kinds of opportunity for SouthWest to do the right thing. If you listen to the whole story, the counter agent told him there was only one seat available but he could get on the flight, and 2 different gate agents told him there was only one seat available but there would be no problem getting on the flight. It was only after he was already in the seat with his seatbelt on and the armrests down (supposedly the definitive metric for determining when one is a CoS) that they came and instructed him to get off the plane.

In what way is that even remotely acceptable?

Jaimito Cartero

Actually, he hadn't put his seatbelt on yet.

Boraxo

It's not needless embarrassment when you crave publicity for your new movie.

It is not up to the GA to determine whether KS can fit into one seat. Logically and practically it makes sense for the FA to determine whether he can fit into the seat without inconveniencing the adjoining passengers. In this case, they correctly determined that his obesity was unfair to the rest of the row. I really don't care whether the armrests are down or he can fasten the belt - I've seen plenty of fatties that met those requirements and still infringed on the space of others. Now that - IMO - is not remotely acceptable. If you can't fit into your seat without spilling into my space, you need to buy a larger seat or in this case, 2 seats.

SpaethCo

I know they say there is no such thing as bad press, but I don't think this really helps sell his movie any more than Mel Gibson's anti-Semitic tirade a couple years back helped out his career.

Go see Cop Out, directed by the guy who was deemed too fat to fly by SouthWest Airlines!

Riiiiight....

Ken hAAmer

Regardless of whether you know who Kevin Smith is or not, or what you think of him before, during or after, there's no denying that he's a congenial and riveting speaker and raconteur. He's also very forward about what and who he is, and contrary to some claims is still very successful.

Here's him talking about protesting one of his own movies, and the news coverage that ensued: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UDoIBgiUAQ . (Take note of his self-description at about 6:30.)

And here's the actual news clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QepgKVOVfZ8


He's also, probably, of the 6+ billion people on the planet, the worst one to get involved in a public spat with.

tusphotog

Maybe. Everyone now knows who he is and he has a new movie coming out. Before this whole hullabaloo, I had no clue who Kevin Smith was. Now I know he's a fat, foul mouthed, sub B list movie director.

Firewind

See my last paragraph @41, though I stipulate to us coming from fundamentally different perspectives.

Firewind

First, the Gibson incident and this one just don't feel like the same thing.

Second, to Mr. Smith's followers, "Go see Cop Out, directed by the guy who was deemed too fat to fly by SouthWest Airlines!" does not seem far-fetched.

PhoenixRev

According to whom?

Smith says in his blog posts that he did have his seat belt fastened and the arm rests down before he was pulled off the plane, and WN has never stated that Smith didn't have his seat belt on.