Steve M

I don't think you read it very carefully. It says:

What you said above is what it used to say a few years ago.

Unfortunately, that's not what it says. It says that a COS "has the option ... of discussing their seating needs." There is no requirement that they do so. And, in the absence of them doing so, there's no requirement of WN to do anything.

"Should have" perhaps by your opinion, but not per WN's COS policy. Please point out in the COS policy where it says they should have taken the action you think they should have.

Nobody is disputing any of that.

justhere

I'm not even going to point out why your analogies don't make sense. I'm dying to know how someone "unknowingly knows they need to purchase a second seat"?

Does someone from WN sneak into the person's house while they're asleep, put headphones on them and play a walkman that repeats "you need a second seat" over and over??

dmbolp

I'd like to know how anyone "unknowingly knows" anything???

Boraxo

I am sorry, but I fail to see how it was incumbent on OP to change seats. Because that would simply mean that the COS would be encroaching on the space of another unfortunate passenger.

My view is that there was a CS failure on multiple levels. First, WN website should have a special message encouraging COS to buy 2 seats. Second, the GA - who very well knew this was a full flight - should have stopped the COS and asked where his 2nd boarding pass was, and then IDB'd him. Third, the FA should have done the same thing when she was notified that the COS could not fit in his seat.

I'm sorry, but a WN ticket only comes with a certain allocation of space. If you don't fit in the space, you are permitted - in fact required - to buy 2 seats, with a refund due if the flight is not full. The COS did not follow the rules. The COS is not oblivious to his size. The GA and FA did not follow the rules. They, too, could well observe the situation. The passenger who is unfortunate to be stuck next to the COS should not be forced to give up a good seat just so some unfortunate soul with a C boarding pass is then forced to deal with the same situation.

expert7700

After the bad PR, WN will never IDB a COS due to unavailability of a seat if they end up needing two or three seats.

If armrest doesn't go down, their policy is the COS is encroaching on your space. Stand up, excuse yourself to restroom if needed. Do this before departure door closes or else you have no recourse. Keep standing (they cannot close the doors if you stay standing in gallrey) and let them know you need to speak to a supervisor. Their options are to find you an alternate seat or IDB you. Technically they should IDB a standby/nonrev pax or the last to checkin but this will not always happen in practice.

I have done the above twice. Once I received $1400 in IDB compensation, in the form of a check at the gate and made it to my destination 3hrs later. The other time they conferred and were going to IDB a nonrev airline employee to give me a different seat. They ended up giving the nonrev the option to deplane or take the half-seat. They took the half seat to avoid overnighting in the airport.

Both times even though the COS was in row 1, I acted on this discretely so as not to embarass them unnecessarily. They knew I left the flight and surely knew why I moved seats later, but I avoided any direct confrontation.

LegalTender

If this drama plays out around dispatch time, the 'stand-in-the-galley-demanding-a-supervisor' ploy pays far less of a dividend.

danielonn

I did exactly as you stated. I excused myself to use the restroom and mentioned it to the Flight Attendant as firm and polite as possible to no avail they said""Deal with it" its only a 1 hour flight. So in my compensation I asked to be treated as an IDB eventough I was not offered such.

I want to get the compensation as a check.

smmrfld

Of course you do. This is hardly surprising. And please let us know when you receive the internal documentation of the flight attendant retraining that you've requested also. Still trying to figure out how you fit into 1/4 of a seat, as you clearly stated.

Finkface

SMH. The neverending quest for compensation is strong with this one.

expert7700

there's raising a scene, then there is politely stating that you will wait in the galley for Southwest's airport gate superisor to get on the plane to resolve the situation. You aren't interfering with a flight crew if you just smile and hold your ground that you need the supervisor for their resolution. The airport supervisors are more in touch than flight crews who have almost no contact with corporate. When corporate needs to follow up they ask the airport supervisor, and in cases like where this thead's OP didn't get that proper attention before the flight it is not logged as any type of issue/incident.

Someone posted before a customer service reply which indicated a customer is within their rights to ask for this, and actually gives up many recourses if they allow the plane to take off and just complain after the fact.

Not sure why or how OP thinks they will compensation, other than the small discretionary travel voucher. Customer service probably read one line into the complaint, realized despite a less than perfect flight, OP did not deplane, nor did OP require/request medical assistance upon arrival

Allan38103

OP will have a better argument if the flight was actually full like the pilot and FA told him. (They often say that even when there are seats open.)

OP will also have a better argument if it turns out the COS reserved an extra seat in advance.

dmbolp

I'm still not clear on how the seats filled, but I think it was:

OP took A, COS took B, COS companion took C (so plane relatively empty if B & C just taken)

OP went to restroom and spoke with FA

OP returns from restroom and plane is now completely full?!? And FA told the companion take A instead of C, leaving the OP with C.

Why not put the COS in A???

justhere

MFSFC (masochism for the sake of future compensation). Or NPNG (no pain, no gain). Why resolve the situation in advance when there's a chance of compensation in the end.

AllanJ

You need to kibitz the airline employees or otherwise be proactive instead of just letting them figure out on their own what to do for you.

For open seating such as on Southwest, you should get up and sit somewhere else. Don't worry about what anyone else says or does. End of problem.

Don't just wait in the galley or aisle. Instead, before departure, request, repeatedly as needed, to have a conference with the pilot and the ground complaint resolution officer.

You must accept any empty seat they offer you including a crew jump seat (you should not suggest the latter).

Do not suggest what the COS should do or what the airline should do except to suggest that they ask for volunteers if the flight if full and they seem to run out of options. Do not quickly volunteer yourself.

If they absolutely positively refuse to deal with the problem, then you should get your bags and get off and ask for immediate compensation from the gate agent. And/or call the airline headquarters and bring a complaint and ask for compensation then and there.

If you took a different seat and time is short, then don't bother to move your bags in the overhead bins closer to you until after the flight is airborne.

Any encroachment -- shoulders, knees, etc.-- not just the hips and the lowered armrest, is grounds for complaint and reseating.

LWkitty

Yeah, also trying to figure out how the COS managed to lower his/her armrest (as the OP insists) and still take up 3/4 of the OP's seat. Something definitely isn't adding up here.