PhoenixRev

To introduce concentrations camps as evidence that people can lose weight is so absurd I can't even believe you posted it. Germany's concentration camps were about malnutrition and starvation and death, not weight loss.

Good grief.

nsx

As I understand it, you get a refund if the flight was not oversold. If the flight filled up with standbys, you still get your refund. As long as nobody was denied boarding (VDB or IDB) you get your refund.

Boraxo

KS gets badly needed publicity to try and resuscitate his career, Southwest gets great publicity and new customers who appreciate its COS policy (no doubt some COS as well who appreciate the option to purchase 2 seats with a potential refund for 1).

Looks like another Win-Win (or is it WN-WN) situation!

nsx

What career? I had never heard of him before this.

I would agree with this assessment if Southwest had come out and said that they have a policy of protecting the space that customers pay for, and that you cannot fly in one seat if you don't fit in one seat. That's all that needs to be said, and it definitely would attract people who have been displaced by Customers of Size on other airlines.

ecspike

For those calling KS names and saying he's an attention whore, read this excerpt about his convo with Linda. Remember that every story has 2 sides.

http://silentbobspeaks.com/?p=393

"According to Linda, with the melee surrounding boarding and finding a second seat for the other passenger, the Pilot called for a quick settlement of any outstanding issues so that they might take off. And even though I was already planted in my arm-rest lowerable, seat-belt-buckleable seat, I got the hook.

...

She called me a little bit ago to see if I’d read the piece. I put her on hold, quickly read it, then got back on the horn.

“Linda - there’s nothing about me not being Too Fat To Fly,” I said.
“The people around you said they had to lean over to make room for you,” Linda offered.
“Linda, they didn’t! The older lady was leaning against the window like she was gonna nap, and the lady to my left was already leaning toward the aisle. I would never pick a seat that might possibly make me look even fatter because I don’t fit in it or something.”
“That’s the report I have,” she continued, then sighed and added “This is so embarrassing to talk about.”
“Wait - what people around me?” I asked.
“The people seated next to you.”
“You guys went to their houses and interviewed them?”
“No.”
“Then where’d that statement come from?”
“Others people around you.”
“Linda, there was nobody but me, the two ladies, and Suzanne. Are you telling me this is Suzanne’s report?”
“The report we received said the ladies were leaning away from you.”
“They were already leaning when I sat down! They didn’t lean because of me! I even asked them both if I was a problem. But you said you took their statements, and now you’re saying they weren’t interviewed at all. You said we’d get to the bottom of who made the decision to boot me, since it WASN’T the Pilot.”

And Linda apologized and pointed out the blog apologies for putting me on and taking me off the plane, as well as the refunded fares.

“But the last paragraph is still all about your two seat rule. By including it, you guys are still saying I was Too Fat To Fly - or at least NOT correcting it. You even say ‘You’re not here to debate the decision the Employees made.’ But when we spoke, you told me they were wrong, and THAT’S why I was happy and ready to drop all this. I don’t want your money, I just want you to put in print what you told me: that I was grabbed because I was the last guy on, not because I didn’t fit with the arm rests down, or because I couldn’t buckle the seat belt. Because I did. And we both know this.”

But wrapping up with a repeating of that 2 seat policy (the one THAT HAS NO BEARING ON MY CASE) is a reminder that you guys haven’t learned anything: you’re still blaming it on the Fatty. Still, you tried. Thank you for that, Linda - and for being human.

Southwest, I appreciate you refunding my airfare. But if you’re not gonna admit I wasn’t Too Fat To Fly, then I’ll cover it."

DeaconFlyer

Why would flights with a COS be statistically different than flights without a COS? Large people don't just fly certain routes.

Still, if there is an empty seat on the plane...you're getting a refund. Seems like a company where only 1% of its planes are going out full would embrace people who want to buy 2 seats.

Jaimito Cartero

Ah, you jumped the shark, there.

Allan38103

How would the airline VDB someone in this instance? Would the PoS get his seat (plus the additional one he paid for), and then the flight pulls away with one seat vacant, but all of them sold? What if it was IDB, any difference?

Does the fact that it's a standby make any difference?

The last seats on an (almost) sold-out plane are going to be isolated middles. How does the PoS get two together when there is no pre-assigned seating? I guess someone else would have to move, to one of the other middles.

The system is not perfect and cannot account for EVERY possibility. KS puts SW in a bad position and they don't respond in the best possible manner. Mayber a quick-thinking GA in hindsight could have handled it better. I'll bet they do next time.

Boraxo

You are dating yourself (or maybe I am). Clerks was quite the sensation among the younger set for several years after its release in 1994. Of course, he wouldn't be the first Hollywood type to work the media.

Addendum: To those who don't think he craves the publicity and/or that he's is sufficiently hefty, take note of the LA Times report where he brags about breaking a toilet due to his weight:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/movi...vin-smith.html

tusphotog

I've never heard of Clerks before today. Honestly.

I looked over KS' IMDB profile and the only movie I recognized was "Live Free or Die Hard." Then again, I only watch movies with Clint Eastwood, George Clooney or Tom Hanks in them.

MissRoseDarrensAngel

I've never flown Southwest, and I hope I never have to. I am a larger woman but I've never got into other people's space when I fly. I would not be happy to be humiliated into buying a 2nd seat. I can fly with the armrests down, and no need for seatbelt extenders. I am not sure if Kevin Smith can do that or not, or he just buys 2 seats instead of one every time he flies.

I have flown so many different airlines and none of them have ever told me at check in that I needed 2 seats. I've flown short and long haul flights within the US and Europe, and never had an issue at all.

The problem is the airlines do not take into account that people are taller and heavier these days. The seats sometimes barely fit normal size kids much less adults.

SDCA

You are right. It is totally the airline's fault.

SDCA

[QUOTE=kerflumexed;13393597]"NAAFA Calls for Boycott

The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance is calling for a Southwest
boycott. It issued a statement urging "people of size to seek out and travel
airlines that do not have such discriminatory policies.""

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/naafanews/message/472[/Q

Again? sigh!

broms

[QUOTE=SDCA;13398790]I wasn't aware such a thing as this existed!!

SDCA

[QUOTE=broms;13398922]Oh you be amazed of what exist these days.