Kevin Smith evicted from Southwest flight for being too fat

[Trooper110]

Kevin Smith Kicked Off Southwest Flight for Being Too Fat | PopEater.com

Any comments Duke? I know I've been shuffled around before on smaller flights to maintain mass distribution, but I don't think I've ever seen anyone taken off a flight due to size. And this being Kevin Smith I really don't see him letting things go either.

[Duke{CLR}]

Southwest will patch things up as they are a people orientated airline BUT they were the first to be strict about charging wide people for two seats so this doesn't surprise me.

As far a safety concern goes I don't think weight and Balance would be an issue on a 737 but if he were in an exit row then he would be as dangerous and an elderly person, a child or a panicky person.

The next time I run into a Southwest crew in I will ask them about it because I'm sure the crew has their own version of what happened.

I was deadheading Friday from DTW to ORD and I was next to a large guy, he really had to cram himself in the seats. I waited until everyone else sat down then I moved to the only other seat on the plane to allow him to have the full row he was a happy camper after that. They really squeeze them in theses days.

[Rand{CLR}]

He's not even that fat. This is absurd, and Southwest is going to look very, very bad as a result.

-Rand

[Zantheus]

Yea that is pretty ubsurd....SWA has been making decisions in the past year that seem to be digging them into a hole of no return

[Duke{CLR}]

Their fat policy has been around for a few years and it hasn't hurt them yet and their CEO took a pay cut along with the rest of their company like the AMR guy did EXCEPT he didn't taken a 40 mil bonus like the AMR guy did so I have some respect for him.

It's a tough business and you have to think about who you want to PO more the heavy guy being cramped or the people who sit next to him.

The thing about airlines is that service doesn't really matter. It's all about being on the first page of a Google search with ticket price. For every AMR customer that swears he will switch to United on a given day there are just as many doing the opposite. I have seen people book a two leg trip with a layover to save $100.00 for a family of four. Half of that will be spent in the airport during the layover and they risk a miss connection but hey they save a few $$$.

It's a crappy business.

[Apache Warrior]

Yep, Herb Kelleher was one smart and determined man when he started Southwest. One of my wife's friends started out with him as a stewardess and eventually moved up to corporate and she never regretted taking the chances with a startup. And she has always admired Herb Kelleher. You have to love an airline that has never had an in air fatality.
Apache

[Skud]

I'd have to look into their rules before saying too much on this one...nah, I don't. Here goes. (Skuds can do this) I know for carry-on luggage the maximum allowable dimensions are given in advance. Do they have maximum dimensions given for passengers? I think it would be fair if beforehand the rule was established that, hey, these are the size of our seats, if you don't fit into one you will have to pay for two or depart the plane.

I don't think that the airlines should be made to re-engineer their planes to keep up with the obesity epidemic (yes that's an overly general statement, and things like a person's height [like, what about folks over 6' 6"?] are not taken into consideration [but I don't want to write a novel on this])...that would be counter-productive for all parties involved, imo. And if on a packed flight they have to choose between one plus-sized person and two average sized stand-bys, I think that the solution that helps the most passengers seems logical. I think it would be fair for an airline to charge, and even deny flights according to passenger size, seeing that there are spacial limitations to aircraft, if the customer is aware of the rules beforehand.

There, I'm out on a limb again. Just wanted to put another perspective out on this, to help balance the thread. I'm not really taking one side or the other, without knowing the whole story or being on the plane at the time. To me a coin toss would probably be the best way to decide whose argument has the most truth to it: the raging film director's or the airline spokesperson's.

[juneau]

Oh dear. Of all the people to remove from a plane they choose Kevin Smith?

[Dead_And_Gone]

He BARELY met the arm rest test, but he would have been
knocking into the passenger next to him. Can sit and actually
lower the arm rest.

Their policy, is somone who is huge, has to buy 2 plane tickets.

He didn't, and the plane was full. Hence they asked him to leave.

I have sat next to people that were LARGE. They will bumb you,
knock into you, etc.. It just is what it is.

They decided that he met the too big category, and dealt with it.

Yes, he is burning the tweeter pages up, but policy is policy.

[baconoclock]

I'm torn on this one. On one hand i love to fly southwest. On the other hand i like Kevin Smith.
If he was too heavy he was too heavy. From what i have read he purchased two tickets initially, then wanted to catch an earlier flight. the catch is there was only one spot available on the earlier flight.

I'm having a hard time finding sympathy for him if he was indeed to big for the seat. I have been stuck next to some very fat people on flights and its not a fun flight when thy are ...'oozing' over into your seat.

If he wasn't too big then southwest needs to review its policy to insure this doesn't happen again.

[Dead_And_Gone]

If he Barely fit in the seat, you KNOW he would try to raise the arm rest, which would intrude on the passenger besides him.

Otherwise, he'd look like he was about to explode. For how many hours? i don't see it.

[ch33s3r]

I'm so sick of the attitude, "We don't wanna hurt fat people's feelings " What about the feelings of the person that is stuck next to them? People need to start taking responsibility for their own lives. Besides, I think he is enjoying the publicity

[Hammy]

I dont have an opinion on this one. Except for the staff inside the plane, I really have no respect for the airlines.

And in terms of Fat people rights, I dont think it's really my place to judge. For all I know, Kevin has diabetes, which makes it really hard for him to work out because of the insulin balancing act he must do- I just dont know enough about the situation.

And finally- I admire Kevin's management of funds. I mean he is sitting coach on Southwest- thats responsible wealth management in my opinion- and Southwest is a pretty decent airline in my opinion, and I log a ton of miles.

By the way, this is why I fly Virgin America everytime I can- their seats and leg room are the best of any airline, and quite often, the flights are just cheaper than Southwest- then I dont have to worry about the fat blob invading my seat.