function hide_user_promo_bubble_second_stage() { var bubble = $("user_promo_bubble"); bubble.style.display = "none"; } function hide_user_promo_bubble() { var bubble = $("user_promo_bubble"); var myAnim = new YAHOO.util.Anim(bubble, { opacity: { to: 0 } }, 1, YAHOO.util.Easing.easeOut); myAnim.animate(); setTimeout("hide_user_promo_bubble_second_stage()", 1100); } function handle_promo_username(params) { var bubble = $("user_promo_bubble"); var img = $("user_promo_bubble_image"); var anchor = $("user_promo_bubble_link"); if (params.has_photo == "true") { img.src = "http://images.huffingtonpost.com/profiles/" + params.user_id + "-tiny.png"; } else { img.style.display = "none"; Dom.addClass(anchor, "wide"); } anchor.innerHTML = "Shared by " + params.user_name; anchor.href = "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/" + params.user_name; bubble.style.display = "block"; var myAnim = new YAHOO.util.Anim(bubble, { opacity: { to: 1 } }, 2, YAHOO.util.Easing.easeOut); myAnim.animate(); } if (HuffPoUtil.getUrlVar("user_promo")) { YAHOO.util.Event.onDOMReady(function() { var parts = document.location.hash.split(","), shared_by = "", badge = "", i; if (parts.length < 2) return; for (i = 0; i < parts.length; i++) { if (parts[i].indexOf("sb=") !== -1) { shared_by = parts[i]; } if (parts[i].indexOf("b=") !== -1) { badge = parts[i]; } } if (shared_by == "" || badge == "") return; var bubble = $("user_promo_bubble"); if (!bubble) return; var entry_id = HuffPoUtil.GetEntryID(); if (!entry_id) return; var user_id = parseInt(shared_by.substr(shared_by.indexOf("sb=") + 3)); if (!user_id) return; var badge_type = badge.substr(badge.indexOf("b=") + 2); if (!badge_type) return; script = document.createElement("script"); script.setAttribute("type", "text/javascript"); bubble.appendChild(script); script.setAttribute("src", "/include/share_track.php?a=view&eid=" + entry_id + "&uid=" + user_id + "&b=" + badge_type + "&cb=handle_promo_username"); }); } Southwest Airlines Boots Thin Flier For Extra Seats

First Southwest Airlines got into trouble because they notoriously kicked Kevin Smith, a hefty director, off of a flight last year. Now a Sacramento woman claims she was asked off a flight so a hefty passenger could have two seats.

The 5"4', 110-pound unidentified woman was removed from an early-evening Southwest flight from Las Vegas to Sacramento so a larger passenger could have an extra seat, according to the Sacramento Bee, who spoke with the local woman.

The woman, who was flying standby, had already stowed her bags and sat down only to be told she would have to deplane immediately because a late-arriving passenger required two seats. Oh, and the kicker: the person requiring two seats was only 14 years old.

"It didn't seem right that I should have to leave to accommodate someone who had only paid for one seat," she told the Bee. She's even more annoyed because she says Southwest personnel berated her when she questioned the decision to boot her from the plane, though she ended up on the next flight out. "It's small potatoes, in the scheme of things," she says.

Airline spokeswoman Marilee McInnis agrees.

"We know this was awkward and we should have handled it better," Southwest spokeswoman Marilee McInnis told the Bee, adding that the airline intends to apologize to the local woman.

Comments

[Kristine Scharpe]

First of all everyone can agree the seating in an aircraft is none too comfortable as it is. Second is that the "thin" person was a stand by passenger and was not booked on that flight. Third the person connecting even if he need a whole row had the booking for that flight so it was his seat(s). It is not the minors fault that his inbound flight was running late and if it was on time than she would have never been able to walk on the flight. Would she have blamed everyone for showing up to the flight and took that issue to the news because she was a STAND-BY passenger and that was her issue. Who has the right to attach a persons weight. There are wars going on people can we not be a little kinder to our neighbor! The deal is stand by verses booked and if she wanted on that flight so bad she should have paid for a seat not add herself to the stand by list. Stand-by = if all booked passengers are seated and there is an available seat left!!!

[jaslyn]

It would not have been a good flight had she retained her seat. He would have spilled onto hers.

[sb250guy]

He should have had to wait for the next flight, not her.

[JavaSavant]

If SHE was flying standby, and HE was not, then no, he should not have had to wait. If you fly standby, then you KNOW that you may have to wait. She had to wait because she bought a cheep ticket, and he did not have to wait because he paid full price. The only thing the airline did wrong was to hassle her for complaining. They should have kept their tone of voice civil and explained what "standby" means.

[qaan]

I'm heavy and if I have to put up with people who have b.o., foul breath, outrageous perfume, loud snoring, crying babies, and hyperactive brats, then heavy people need to be given a break sometimes too. It's an airplane flight, for crying out loud. Quit your whining or get off the damn plane.

[roald]

And how many times did you get bumped through no fault of your own to accommodate someone else.

[JavaSavant]

She was flying "standby", he was not. End of story.

[Kristine Scharpe]

UM I have been bumped in the exact fasion as this "Thin" woman was. If you fly enough you would understand and if you dont fly often and do not understand the rules than ask and try to understand. it is common sense buy the ticket or expect to get bumped. Even if her flight was canceled she booked a different flight so should everyone that booked a flight that was not canceled also be told to wait until the thin lady got to where she was going? This would cause a huge issue for the poor flight agent that has to handle 100+ angry passengers.... would you want 100+ angry people in your face saying it is not fair... RULES people there are rules for a reason. Shoe needs to be put on the other foot here.

[Airsavings]

That is her version of the story. I bet you Southwest has something else to say about all this.

[Quaker Jewish]

It was in the story. The obese person was a 14 year old minor. They absolutely could not bump him or turn him away for being late, and they could not sit him in one seat. They had no choice.
"It's small potatoes, in the scheme of things"

[reasonshouldrule]

There aren't enough details in this story to form a valid judgment. Did the late arrival pay for two seats? If so, his reserved 2 seats trump a stand-by seat. If he only paid for one seat, then the stand-by has a legitimate beef. Airlines are struggling with the obesity issue, and so far, they haven't come up with very good ways to handle it.

[Kristine Scharpe]

So if you broke your leg 2 days before your flight and needed the room for said broken leg. You call the airlines and they say oh gosh no problem there is 50 open seats on that flight no worries. The next day 3 fully booked flights are canceled now all those people are set to stand-by so your family and you/broken leg can go on the flight you and your family booked. Now this thin lady is next on the stand by list but she needs 1 seat and has been waiting for one full day to get home. How would you feel if you were told to get off the plane because you did not pay for 2 seats and the airline needs that seat because of the situation and it is a safety issue for her to sit on top of your broken leg? Well she is on standby and so are 100 others so now 2 standby people go on your booked flight and you go at the end of the list of over 100+ other passengers that have already waited over a day. Now you are stand by for the next 2 days because you technically did not pay for the second seat. maybe everyone that purchases a ticket actually should read the rules and regulations of their contract with the airlines they might be totally surprised to find out that the airlines were right!

[SURFER DUDE]

She was a non-rev standby. Meaning she was an employee of Southwest or another airline that has reciprocal agreements. When a last minute revenue ie "paying" passenger checks in, the non paying "non-rev" gets bumped.....and you don't bee-itch about it. Going public about this incident could jeopardize this person employee travel privilages.

[markopolio]

Lesson: don't fly standby if you don't want to be the airline's bee-itch

[BobSF94117]

Uh... he had a regular ticket. She had a stand-by ticket.

Look up "stand-by" in the dictionary.

[Cory111]

True. When you buy a single ticket it's for one seat, not two. If weight is a problem for this passenger then they should be required to pay for two seats. I guess in time airlines will sell "space as required" seating. Or we will fly "By the Pound" same a freight.

[amdezurik]

where is that definatively stated that he did buy the extra seat?

[kintarius]

Did I miss something in the story about whether or not the kid had paid for both seats? If he did, it shouldn't matter how big he was. She was sitting in his seat. The woman seems to think that the kid had only paid for one seat, but how would she know?

If he only paid for the one seat, that would blow. I guess it's in the details.

[UniversalStop]

Uh-oh. Don't let Fox catch wind of this.

There'll be reverse-discrimination being screamed from the rooftops!

That said...this sounds odd. I'd need to hear the whole story, I think.

[StringOfLights]

Why is "the kicker" that the passenger was a minor? That really gives Southwest an even better reason to remove a passenger on stand-by to accommodate him, although one would think that at some point during the boarding process even a ticketed, full-fare passenger would forfeit his seat for being so late...

[amdezurik]

as long as the plane has not pushed back from the gate a full fare ticket should always take priority over stand-by

[wulidncr]

Well, perhaps the ubiquity of super-sized fries is leading to the necessity for super-sized seats.

[KIVPossum]

That's the chance you take when you fly stand-by

"It's small potatoes, in the scheme of things," she says.

I like her attitude.

[skymuffin]

Yup. STAND-BY vs. CONFIRMED SEAT. That's pretty straight-forward. Even if your bags are stowed, it's not a done deal until you're taking off!

[VeroucaSalt]

I'm sorry, but a person flying standby has no recourse over someone holding a full fare ticket. Add to that the fact that the other passenger was a minor - well, this woman is merely seeking publicity.

Pay full price like everyone else & *maybe* you have a legitimate claim.