'Passengers of Size' Pay Double on Southwest
Thu Jun 20, 7:20 AM ET
By Jon Herskovitz

DALLAS (Reuters) - Passengers who are too large to squeeze between the arm rests of Southwest Airlines ( news - web sites) Co. seats will be charged double for flying the low-cost carrier, the company said on Wednesday.

The Dallas-based airline, which does not have first or business class sections with larger seats, said the policy has been in effect for some time but will be more strictly enforced beginning next week.

Starting next Wednesday, its "people of size" policy will require passengers who need seat-belt extensions or cannot lower the arm rests on their seats to purchase two seats if they are flying on a plane near or at capacity.

"If you consume more than one seat, you will be charged for more than one seat," said spokeswoman Beth Harbin.

Harbin said that under the existing policy, fewer than 1 percent of Southwest passengers have been asked to buy a second seat, which is offered at the same rate at which the passenger purchased their original ticket.

Southwest seats are 18-3/4 inches (48 cm) wide.

When the plane is not crowded, a larger passenger can apply for a refund for the second seat, she said.

Southwest said that about 90 percent of the letters it receives on the issue have been from passengers complaining that their seating has been encroached upon by larger neighbors. The airline said one of the top complaints it receives are from passengers who say they were "sat on" during their flight.

Fat activist Marilyn Wann, author of the book "FAT!SO?," said airlines should provide seating that accommodates people of all shapes and sizes who are paying for a trip.

"You are buying passage from point A to point B. You are not buying real estate," Wann said.

SENSE OF FAIRNESS

David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association, said that airlines have had an informal policy for years of encouraging larger people to buy an extra seat.

He said the topic will likely gain greater attention as Americans grow fatter and airlines try to keep seats narrow to comply with federal mandates on aisle size and their own need to pack passengers on planes.

The extra seat policy is not unique to Southwest. American Airlines ( news - web sites) said the "purchase of an additional seat will be necessary for customers whose bodies protrude extensively into an adjacent seat," while other carriers have formal and informal policies on the extra seat requirement.

Stempler said he supported charging certain people for two seats out of fairness to other passengers and the potential safety concern of having people of size shoehorned into a small coach seat.

"If people are taking up two seats, they ought to pay for two seats," Stempler said. "They are really impinging on the sense of fairness."

Southwest was sued eight years ago on the issue by a larger passenger forced to buy a second seat and the case was dismissed, Harbin said.

The airline said the move to more strictly enforce the policy was prompted by its decision to stop giving out its trademark plastic boarding passes on a first-come, first-served basis to passengers at its departure gate.

Southwest, which does not have assigned seating, is starting to dispense paper boarding passes instead in an effort to cut waiting time for customers who have to pass through more stringent security measures after the Sept. 11 attacks.

The new boarding passes, which are given out at Skycap counters, ticket gates and at departure gates, provide an opportunity for Southwest workers to show greater discretion in enforcing the people of size policy, airline officials said.

Morgan Downey, executive director of the American Obesity Association said his organization is considering lawsuits against the carrier for a policy he called highly subjective.

"They are packing us in like sardines and they say it's our fault that their seats don't fit the traveling public," he said.