Barry_Green
Moderator
A consistent policy would obviously be most welcome. As I've flown over 100,000 miles each of the last four years, I have had more than my share of uncomfortable experiences due to crowded conditions.
So, yes, I do agree that there should be some basic guidelines -- along the lines of Johnnie Cochran's "If you do not fit, you must not sit."
That said -- Southwest claimed it was a "safety issue". Whether we accept that or not, none of us are pilots, none of us were the pilot or crew on that particular plane, and none of us are qualified to judge whether it was an appropriate action to take or not. But if the pilot of the plane says "no, I'm not gonna fly in this particular circumstance" then I take him at his word, and if someone's feelings get hurt, that's a very, very, very tiny price to pay as compared to the potential issues involved in having a pilot fly in conditions he doesn't consider safe.
The statement by Southwest mentions "safety and comfort" issues, as well as bringing up the notion about emergency conditions and exiting the plane and whatnot.
If they thought the plane was unbalanced, that's one potential reason for them to make this decision, I guess... I have been in that situation. Was on a small-ish plane (a Dehavilland Dash), seated in the first row, next to a 400-pound six-foot-eight guy, who was the last to board, and an employee of the airline. There were other seats available, but they gave him the first row. Pilot looked around, said "nope -- not gonna work, someone in the first three rows has got to move to the back of the plane." We waited about two minutes, expecting the obvious. It, of course, never happened, and in order to get the plane moving, I (and my massive 160 pounds) got up and moved to the back of the plane. But I can testify from first-hand experience, they do consider passenger weight distribution on planes.
Secondly, it is within the rights of a business to post a sign saying "we reserve the right to refuse service to anyone." This is a frequent occurrence with restaurants and retail shops. If Southwest was refusing service to Kevin Smith, that was within their rights, especially because he was a standby passenger. And Kevin Smith has rights too, including the right to take his business elsewhere and to tell people why he thinks they should take their business elsewhere. Undoubtedly there will be people enraged that an airline could act in such a way, and they will lose customers. Similarly, there are undoubtedly customers who are now more likely to fly on Southwest, feeling that they are taking steps to minimize or prevent the all-too-common overcrowding situation.
So, yes, I do agree that there should be some basic guidelines -- along the lines of Johnnie Cochran's "If you do not fit, you must not sit."
That said -- Southwest claimed it was a "safety issue". Whether we accept that or not, none of us are pilots, none of us were the pilot or crew on that particular plane, and none of us are qualified to judge whether it was an appropriate action to take or not. But if the pilot of the plane says "no, I'm not gonna fly in this particular circumstance" then I take him at his word, and if someone's feelings get hurt, that's a very, very, very tiny price to pay as compared to the potential issues involved in having a pilot fly in conditions he doesn't consider safe.
The statement by Southwest mentions "safety and comfort" issues, as well as bringing up the notion about emergency conditions and exiting the plane and whatnot.
If they thought the plane was unbalanced, that's one potential reason for them to make this decision, I guess... I have been in that situation. Was on a small-ish plane (a Dehavilland Dash), seated in the first row, next to a 400-pound six-foot-eight guy, who was the last to board, and an employee of the airline. There were other seats available, but they gave him the first row. Pilot looked around, said "nope -- not gonna work, someone in the first three rows has got to move to the back of the plane." We waited about two minutes, expecting the obvious. It, of course, never happened, and in order to get the plane moving, I (and my massive 160 pounds) got up and moved to the back of the plane. But I can testify from first-hand experience, they do consider passenger weight distribution on planes.
Secondly, it is within the rights of a business to post a sign saying "we reserve the right to refuse service to anyone." This is a frequent occurrence with restaurants and retail shops. If Southwest was refusing service to Kevin Smith, that was within their rights, especially because he was a standby passenger. And Kevin Smith has rights too, including the right to take his business elsewhere and to tell people why he thinks they should take their business elsewhere. Undoubtedly there will be people enraged that an airline could act in such a way, and they will lose customers. Similarly, there are undoubtedly customers who are now more likely to fly on Southwest, feeling that they are taking steps to minimize or prevent the all-too-common overcrowding situation.
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Seems like they are inconsistent with this policy.