Southwest Customers of Size
 

I have read on various forums that Southwest Airlines will make bigger customers pay for two seats if they can't get the arm rests down. Being a size 18 woman I vowed never to fly them but just booked a flight on them from Denver to San Diego and am now afraid I made a mistake.

I usually fly Frontier with their 18" seats and while cramped can get their arm rests down. I booked Southwest against my better judgement but went with them because it was the difference of getting back to Denver at 7pm instead of 11:50 pm on Frontier.

Now I'm worried because I justed checked on seatguru and found all their seats are only 17". I should have checked before I booked but didn't think to since you can't pick your seat so saw no reason.

The Southwest website is nice enough to have a whole page dedicated to the Customer of Size instructing us to book and pay for two seats in advance to avoid embarrassment. If I wanted to spend that money I would have just paid for another night in the hotel in San Diego and came home the next day on Frontier.

My question is does anyone actually know if they really tell people they are going to have to buy another seat or is that just talk. I'm not trying to start a flood of people complaining about us fattys spilling over on to their seats, how we should diet etc. Sorry I'm so fat and am doing something about it but in the mean time can't stay at home.

Maybe I'm worrying for nothing, like I said can fit into an 18" seat but am really worrying about the 17" and also Southwest seeming to let us know in advance they will charge us

Your size is 18??? You will not have a problem fitting into the seats.

18 is not considered a "person of size". (Unless you are built to somehow be very much wider than the average size 18)

I am 18. Frontier has ample space for me! I don't understand what you worry about.

Get an isle seat to keep one arm-rest up if you worry so much. You need both arm-rests down only while they're checking if everybody's ready for take-off and landing.

They do have extentions for seatbelts on Southwest, but again, for size 18 the regular one is fine.

Yes, they do make the customers pay for the 2nd seat, I saw that.

Do they have a test at the boarding gate?

<b>You must be narrower than this -&gt;|&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;|&lt;- or pay extra.</b>

I'm not an 18 but don't like to be too confined. I'm more comfortable in SW seats than I ever am in AA or UA. Think you'll be fine.

ttt

Faina:

Excuse me, but is she's sitting next to me, the armrests will stay down the entire flight. Period.

It's always nice to see a kind response.

I guess people like rick_c are why I'm worried. Just came back from LA where I booked United Economy Plus next to someone like him who made sure he got full use of &quot;his&quot; arm rest. The joke was on me since I paid extra for extra leg room and then since the flight was so filled with carry on junk that the flight attendant actually put his carry on under the seat in front of me since he had 2 things. So much for the extra leg room her reason was there was no other place for it since flight was packed and everyone brought everything with them so they wouldn't have to pay for checked. I would have thought that the jerk would be a little nicer about my arm being on the rest since my legs were cramped by his stuff and I couldn't extend them out. Guess I am getting worried about inconsiderate people who seem to be the norm anymore for me. Yes I know I'm overweight and admit I'm far from perfect but am sick of being a punching bag for those that are &quot;perfect&quot;

rick_c,
I think faina was referring to the arm rest on the aisle (which sometimes raise), not &quot;your&quot; arm rest. So you can chill.

Good point

Precisely why does it make me a bad person if I want the armrests on either side of me left in the down position? My feeling is, I paid for my seat. I'm entitled to that amount of space. If the amount of space allotted for each seat is not enough for a given passenger, then they should buy two seats. That seems harsh, but the only other way to do it is to ask passengers, when they are choosing seat assignments, if they would willingly sit next to an obese person and allow that person to put the armrest up if they so chose.

My guess is, if given the choice with the privacy of their own computer screens, most of my detractors here would NOT volunteer to give up their space.

So is &quot;your&quot; space measured from the outside of each armrest - away from you, while &quot;others&quot; space is measured from the inside?

jellybeana, part of your mistake here is posting that you are a size 18 woman. Plenty of men are wider in the girth -- and length - than you are (I'd like to see some of them in a size 18 dress!! ;-) ). But there are people here and on planes -- a LOT on planes -- who don't really want wimminfolk traveling with them at all unless they're a size 0 and bringing them a martini.

CFC:

Makes no difference to me where the measurement begins. The arm's not a big deal; it's the rest of them that I don't want up against of me. If anybody here enjoys having their hip or leg partially enveloped by another individual's protoplasm, that's fine. Go ahead and let them. I prefer a distinct boundary, myself. I defy you to find a normal-sized individual who doesn't agree with me.

&quot;Normal-sized&quot; huh? Have you checked the average for the US just now?

Are you the guy whose shoulders are too broad and whose arms are just too long and thick to stay inside &quot;your&quot; space -- i.e., 1/2 the width of the armrest? I've been grossed out by having thunderthighs shoving me to one side of my seat, but I really dislike broadshouldered cusses who consider the &quot;air space&quot; over the armrests theirs, simply because they &quot;work out&quot; or whatever . . .

The real problem here is that people like you seem to think that people should be carved out to fit the seats, wherease I think the seats should accommodate the passengers. I <i>know</i> that's a fantasy, but I think having an Attitude about other passengers is misplaced.

why is everyone jumping on rick_c? I am personally very uncomfortable when the armrest is up no matter the size of the person sitting next to me. A skinny little thing or a mammoth - that armrest is down.

Unless it is a <i>close</i> friend ;) - that arm rest is staying down except when it needs to be up to help folks get out to the aisle.

That isn't a size issue -

But that isn't a problem w/ the OP anyway. Who thinks a size 18 woman is big enough to trigger southwest's 2-seat rule? They do that - but one has to be huge. The 2nd seat is sold at a discount fare, and if the flight is not full they will refund the extra $$.

Think armrests should stay down.

<i>I am personally very uncomfortable when the armrest is up no matter the size of the person sitting next to me...that armrest is down.

Unless it is a close friend ;) - that arm rest is staying down except when it needs to be up to help folks get out to the aisle.

That isn't a size issue - </i>

Correct. It's a control issue. You think your comfort takes precedence over your neighbor's, no matter what.

janis----Didn't know that WN discounts the second seat.I know a guy who ALWAYS buys a second seat, pays the going rate X 2, and 99 out of 100 times gets the refund. What discount is it??

Here's one way to solve the OP's problem: one of you other posters, who think that it's perfectly fine to let somebody else slither into your seat, should travel with her. You don't mind the armrest being up, and she gets the space she needs. Problem solved.

Once again - the suggestion about raising the arm rest was in reference to the AISLE arm rest - thus not intruding into anyone personal space. There are many seats on most airplanes where this is possible.

So now I'm slithering?? Glad you and everyone you know is perfect.

I thought of something silly. If I buy a second seat and since Southwest doesn't have assigned seating and am late checking in and end up in Group C, what happens if I get on the plan and all seats left are single, will they move someone so I can get my two seats together?

If Southwest requires the traveler buy a 2nd seat after s/he is at the airport:

If the original ticket was discounted - then the 2nd ticket will be the same fare even though last minute fares are much higher.

If the original ticket was full fare - then the 2nd is charged at the child's rate.

If the flight is not oversold and there are seats empty - the 2nd ticket will be refunded afterwards.

(Robes: We know why you want the arm rest up - the only way you can get &quot;up close an personal&quot; w/ the cutie sitting next to you)

I thought of something silly. If I buy a second seat and since Southwest doesn't have assigned seating and am late checking in and end up in Group C, what happens if I get on the plan and all seats left are single, will they move someone so I can get my two seats together?

They reserve a double-seat for overweight passengers by putting a note on a double-seat, and let them board before disabled - I am a witness! :)

rick-c, you seem to think a size 18 is some kind of behemoth. Next time you're in Macy's, please go try on a size 18 and tell me how it fits. Send us a photo to verify.

HKP,
BTW, what happened to the lost Lufthansa luggage?

I have no idea how big size 18 is. All I know is, the armrest stays up. Is that really asking too much?

I mean, stays down.

And to be frank, I don't think I've ever been on a plane that had the ability to raise the armrest on the outside of an aisle seat. I'll have to look more closely from now on.

rick_c
Those seats are indicated on the seating plan as such (I know - we look for them).
Admittedly, I usually fly AA and this applies to them - I am not sure of all airlines - maybe somebody knows about Southwest in particular?

Re: Luggage - it took 3 days but eventually it caught up with him. Meanwhile, he went to the nearest &quot;mall&quot; in Berlin to buy a change of underwear and was blown away by the prices, even with the 50% promise from Lufthansa (I suspect he didn't actually keep the receipts anyway, knowing Mr. HKP). The cheapest he could find was Tommy Hilfiger.

He loves Lufthansa, though (his first experience -- has mostly been AA and partners before this).

HKP-- Too bad he couldnt find a W/M..Thats where I but my tighty whities.The ones thats sold at W/M are made by Jockey.That Hilfiger stuff is spensive somethin like $15 each woohooo too much for me.

He's not the greatest shopper, and he was sticking pretty close to his hotel near Potzdammerplatz (sp.???). There may have been a W/M (whatever that is) near him, but he might not have recognized which stores sell what. And, just for my info (haven't been to Germany), are many stores closed on Sundays?

HKP....W/M = WalMart I thought they was everywhere....No??

Didn't know the abbreviation for WalMart. Mini-duh.

And even if he'd known where in either side of Berlin to find a WalMart, good chance it wouldn't have been open on Sunday morning.

jellybeana, there are any number of things that the United FA could have done with your neighbor's bag besides putting it under the seat in front of you. There is really no excuse for it, unless there was no way that you could use that space (e.g. too short to even reach your feet under the seat). It would have been wrong even if they had asked you if it was ok.