It pays to be obese on Southwest Airlines, with the carrier promising a second or third complimentary seat to “passengers of size” who need more room onboard.
Southwest Promises Second And Third Seat FREE For Obese Passengers Who Ask For It
Self-labelled fat advocates have praised Southwest Airlines for its generous policy concerning passengers of size:
The passenger claims:
“Southwest is the only airline that allows you a second seat at no extra cost even if the flight is fully booked… I’ve done this a dozen times and never had an issue or been denied.”
Let’s review the policy for Southwest (bolding mine):
Customers who encroach upon any part of the neighboring seat(s) may proactively purchase the needed number of seats prior to travel to ensure the additional seat(s) is available. The armrest is considered to be the definitive boundary between seats; the width of the narrowest and widest passenger seats (in inches)...
The purchase of additional seats serves as a notification of a special seating need and allows us to adequately plan for the number of occupied seats onboard. It also helps us ensure we can accommodate all Customers on the flight for which they purchased a ticket and avoid asking Customers to relinquish their seats for an unplanned accommodation. Most importantly, it ensures that all Customers onboard have access to safe and comfortable seating. You may contact us for a refund of the cost of additional seating after travel.
If you prefer not to purchase an additional seat in advance, you have the option of purchasing just one seat and then discussing your seating needs with the Customer Service Agent at the departure gate. If it’s determined that a second (or third) seat is needed, you’ll be accommodated with a complimentary additional seat.
The way I read this is that if you self-label as a passenger of size, you can pre-reserve an extra seat and get it refunded after the flight even if the flight is full. .
TikToker, Jae’lynn Chaney, who made headlines around the world for demanding taxpayer-funded extra seating when she flew, lauded Southwest in an interview with Fox Business:
“Super fat is how we identify. There’s a spectrum of fatness. And as a super fat individual, you start needing different accommodations… I just felt really happy that there was something like this for people.
“I hope to see more airlines implement customer-of-size policies. The Southwest customer size policy helps many travelers offset the disproportionate costs that we incur because of needing extra room. And so, it’s not just about physical accessibility. It’s also about financial accessibility.”
Maybe if being obese was seen as a problem rather than something to boast about, there would not be a need to even consider such a policy.
Maybe Southwest should craft policies that disincentivize destructive behavior instead of rewarding it…
> Read More: Passenger Of Size Demands Larger Seats On Taxpayer’s Dime
Tough love: being overweight should not be a protected class and in so many cases can be blamed on the excess consumption of calories due to a lack of self-control. There are exceptions. But this is an existential problem in the USA that is only getting worse and will indeed continue to grow as a taxpayer problem as the obese population ages.
Want to become healthy? It starts with exercise and healthy dieting. When both give way, obesity results. It’s not all that hard of a concept, really…
CONLCUSION
I’ll keep it simple: shame on Southwest for rewarding obesity. Passengers who take up less space are not given a refund and those who require more space due to their own poor choices should pay for it.
In the meantime, I encourage every passenger to request accommodation under this policy, accusing the gate agent of being a flabophobe if they dare question that you identify as a passenger of size…
image: Jae’lynn Chaney / Instagram
In fairness, it would not be good if two fit passengers were forced to share a row with a mammoth passenger with an ass the size of a barn door.
Wokeism is out of control and getting worse.
To be fair, Southwest has had this rule for 30 years. It’s just that no one knew about it.
I plan to take advantage of this: all 150 pounds of me.
And when I show up at the gate and they’re wondering, I’ll just say “I went on a crash diet and wow, did it ever work. Now where are my seats, as in plural?”
I came across this yesterday too, and apparently Southwest has been doing this for a while.
The big passengers also get preferential boarding.
I used to fly a LOT of southwest, but I’m really trending away from them now. Basically southwest is giving seats away to certain people but, I’m not eligible because I’m not fat. Also, they’re giving preferred boarding away to people, and I’m also not eligible because I’m not fat. What a weird world we live in.
Why is it just if you are fat (which one could do something about), some of us are just big (which one cannot do anything about), 6’4″ and 260 pounds, BMI of 18. The seats are too small for us as well, my shoulders stick both into the aisle (if seated there) and into the seat next to me. Next to the window is near impossible due to the curve of the airframe. Maybe just go back to larger seats for all! And raise the price if needed as on Southwest most are being sold too cheaply anyway.
Well, you are by definition a passenger of size and should claim your second and third free seat on Southwest. I’m serious.
And write to me if you are denied and I’ll do a story on it.
Flying on Southwest after Christmas, will report back, I average about 100,000 miles per year on Southwest (and about 60,000 more on other airlines, mostly American First Class) so this would be a nice change. But I still feel it is too cheap to fly and all the seats should have more room. In this same vein, I have contacted Southwest many times regarding their policy of allowing disabled passengers to fill the front rows of the aircraft, with the lack of space commensurate with the need to evacuate in an emergency, the difficulty of them getting out of their seats and actually then getting the front door open (assuming the flight attendant may be injured or other) there is no way the aircraft could be evacuated in the FAA required 90 seconds. As I am in the aviation sector and have significant contact with the FAA, I have brought this up many times both verbally and in writing, I have been told they are definitely trying to schedule an evacuation demonstration with a realistic mix of passengers to test this, and are having great resistance, I am not surprised as the airlines know they cannot comply.
It’s not just for fat people. It’s for anyone that’s body goes past the arm rests. This counts for you too, if your arms are so big they encroach on the other passengers next to you.
Poor form Matthew. You usually lash out when something stressful is going on. What’s pushing you to the brink?
Here’s what concerns me:
https://www.statnews.com/2023/03/02/obesity-costs-4-trillion-2035/
And yet you have idiots who are praising obesity and shaming folks for not drinking the KoolAid that it’s okay to be morbidly overweight.
I don’t know about you but when you put my wife right next to me I believe we do count as an ‘obese person’ since the words obese and even person mean jack and squat right now. So why can’t I get access to a free seat eh? Oh wait its just them picking winners
Let’s all head to the Chinese Buffet!
This policy was 100% the result of the Kevin Smith incident in 2010 when the captain of a Southwest flight kicked him off for being fat and it created backlash. It’s been around for a while. I’m surprised smaller people haven’t started buying a “free” extra seat just for comfort. Think about it – if you’re flying with your wife or a friend – they sit in the window seat, you sit in the aisle seat and you have a full row.
Wow, You’re an appalling POS. Next up, you discuss why Patton was right to slap those two malingering soldiers.
Lose weight before it’s too late you pathetic troll.
And in the category of confirming that he’s an appalling POS, it’s Matthew Klimt. Well done, Matthew, we will enjoy watching you age into an overweight dude and neve knows why people are laughing and pointing.
Thoughts and prayers!
Never know — apparently my proofreading skills are just as high as Matt’s empathy.
The very opposite of empathy is telling the morbidly obese they are just fine. That’s hateful dereliction.
Of all the travel bloggers I follow, I do have to commend you Matthew for going to the ground with the commenters and calling them out. Love it! I follow Ben’s blog too, but it’s noticeably (overly so) civil except when Tim Dunn is trolling. Haha.
That’s because Ben censors everyone who offends his fragile sensibilities.
Do us all a favor and push the plate away.
Being fat is a choice. It’s a moral failing
Thank you for posting this! I agree with this article 100% it’s sad and quite disgusting. What next, people will need to be accommodated with smoking sections on planes again? Similar voluntary destructive behavior that’s costs us all one way or another.
I’m fat myself and it’s ridiculous how society has fallen to normalizing an unhealthy and debilitating condition. Being fat is not cool. It’s mostly a controllable condition. I am fat because I love food, although, I’m only 60 pounds overweight and not morbidly obese which really takes a high level of gluttony. I’m working on it. I don’t pretend I look great or that fat people should be models. Didn’t the Bible say Good will be called evil and evil will be called good or something like that. Ugliness is now praised and real beauty is condemned.
Guess who pushes this craziness: the globalist zionists who own and control the magazines, the tv networks, the advertising firms, the consulting firms, the venture capital firms, the education system, and social media. Who is the ceo of Disney and Facebook? Who’s the ceo of Blackrock? Who’s the founder of Google? Who is the President of ABC, NBC, and CBS? Who are the tv and movie producers?
Should have posted under your real name NAZI.
Zionists? No, you are just eating Doritos as you type away here. Blame where blame is due.
If this trend continues it will be increasing more difficult to evacuate in an emergency. And I am uncomfortable having 300+ pounds behind me on a slide.
Careful Matthew, when you have a nuanced view on a marginalized group, a disingenuous provocateur might resort to calling you something like fatphobic or ant-Semitic.
No person really loses out on this policy, except maybe Southwest shareholders. Giving someone something for free, while I still receive exactly what I pay for is a net positive, right? It might even mean a more comfortable flight for all passengers.
I see how people taking advantage of it might not be “fair,” but it doesn’t really seem like an actual problem
Matthew your bias against obese people has been glaring for a while but this post really is a step too far. This policy is SW’s way of solving the issue of people being forced to sit next to people who cannot fit in their own seat. It is a generous policy that people who need it can use, but your encouragement of others to game this system with the ultimate goal of it ending is cruel and mean-spirited. I don’t disagree that a lot of this is caused by personal lifestyle, but how does that warrant the cruelty? Do you mock lung cancer patients because they are smokers? Would you deny a wheelchair to a person who was disabled due to a car injury where they chose not to wear a seatbelt? I might suggest instead of being so angry, offering a quick prayer up for the individual that they might find a way the strength to cope with the issue. If nothing else a quick reflection of Matthew 7: 3-5 might be in order for all of us.
That’s fine in a the situation where the flight isn’t full…but when this is used/abused in a full flight and a paying passenger is bumped then this is just…ridiculous. Who should be flown then? The obese pax or the grief stricken son to his mother’s deathbed? The specialist on his way to the hospital? The engineer to solve X problem? We all have our biases but as you can see from the numerous “miracle flight” articles (often citing Southwest)…people often abuse a system set up to assist. Not everyone is pure of heart…
I appreciate your comment Mike and know it is made with good intent.
Without outright disagreeing with what you wrote, I would distinguish your hypotheticals by saying that tough love is often much more genuine than the sort of fake love that causes someone to remain silent for fear of offending.
My wife, a nurse, sees so much unnecessary death and suffering triggered by unhealthy lifestyles and I think we are starting to see the tremendous societal cost of such poor lifestyle choices in a way that has never been more concerning.
I wish illness or discomfort on no one, but obesity is one of those things that can be reversed. Unlike certain cancers or COPD or the inability to walk (all potentially aggravated by obesity), controlling our diet and exercising is something that we can control.
But because it is the sort of problem that grows slowly over time (think how much four extra pounds per year adds up over two decades), it is ignored or deferred.
And on top of that there is now a movement to normalize and even venerate such body types. This cannot be. This is incredibly destructive to individuals and society.
Far from being a lack of empathy, my point in these posts is to wake people up. Too many are sleeping.
I understand your idea of tough love, but tough love can only really be given by people who are in the inner circle of a person’s life, not a stranger on the internet. Because it otherwise won’t be received in any positive way.
Which method do you find more effective in spreading the good word: a street preacher proselytizing and speaking of hell from a soap box in the middle of the Las Vegas strip or a trusted friend talking about what great things Jesus has done for them in their life? Now reread this article and ask yourself which mark this hit.
I generally don’t like the style of most street preachers and again, I get your point, but I am not talking to friends per se, I am talking to a much wider audience and my point is that sometimes we need a wake-up call (like Jesus turning over tables in the temple), especially when so many have become numb or resigned to a very serious problem that in so many cases is preventable.
Perhaps your wife, being a clinician, can guide you toward a more appropriate posture and engagement with others around this sensitive issue. Telling one of your commenters “lose weight before it’s too late” is an immature and disingenuously unhelpful response.
@Santos, I was responding to a troll who only comes here to attack. That response was very context-specific.
Being fat is a moral failing.
Thank God for diabetes and heart disease.
Not when taxpayers have to fund indigent healthcare.
Exactly why we need socialized healthcare like every first world country on the planet except the USA. Instead we have by far the highest costs and the biggest cause of bankruptcy in the country is medical bills.
People shouldn’t cope with being obese, nor should being obese be normalized or shamed. Its a serious health issue whose costs and consequences are socialized amongst us all.
Nobody should be happy being fat. That’s ridiculous.
Serious question. Is this going to be like the policy where they can’t ask about your disability and have to allow you pre-boarding no matter what? Like can I just decide to identify as a passenger of size and ask for the extra seat? I have a normal BMI, but I feel like I’m too big for a single seat. And who are they to make the judgement about who is too big for the seat or not? Haven’t flown WN in years, but this could be a game changer.
What about those woke college kids who identify as species-fluid? What if I identify as a dog? Can someone bring me on as a service animal as long as I wear a leash and sit on the floor?
Leave your fetishes out of the conversation.
FWIW I agree with Matt’s post 200% and suspect any one who doesn’t has a big (no pun intended) weight problem and is too lazy, ill disciplined or otherwise stupid enough to tackle it.
You nailed it dude. Well said. I’ll leave it at that.
I totally agree Matt – and I rarely agree with you. Obesity should not be encouraged by the airines (or any one for that matter). It’s simple. Eat less. Exercise more.
Seems you’re going kinda heavy on the judgement and cheap shots on this one. Glamorous? I almost spit out my coffee. Repeat after me: “I can’t stand intolerant people”.
Judgment, yes. But I don’t see any cheap shots. What do you think about the Bill Maher segment?
You’re punching down. Because you are willing and able to live a healthy fit living doesn’t mean the same for everyone else. For cheap shots, your choice of photo, saying people praise obesity and trying to call obesity glamorous are cheap shots. Have you ever – in person – heard someone praising obesity? I sure haven’t.
As to Maher, the guy is an odious swine and I just can’t stand the sight of him. So I didn’t watch the segment
The photo is of the woman who is praising this policy. Did you read her quote? She is proud of herself for being morbidly obese. Same with the TikTok girl.
I hope you don’t support “food neutrality” or other BS from the true purveyors of intolerance:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11213171/amp/LA-school-district-slammed-posting-woke-video-says-calling-junk-food-bad-wrong.html
What makes you hate Maher? I’m surprised at your strong words.
The woman herself is a fringe case IMO. I tend to disagree with the type even when they wildly over-endorse something I basically agree with. I take it that in real life you’ve never heard anyone praise being severely obese either? Somehow “Wow I really enjoy not being able to fit in a regular vehicle, walk normally for even short distances, and am incapable of dressing myself.” doesn’t seem much to brag about.
Maher is just smarmy. I find him insipid, pretentious, hyper-opinionated on everything and inflexible.
Concerning Maher, I think the segment I embedded makes a ton of sense. I’m curious of your thoughts on it, but understand if you won’t watch it.
Matthew, if you want to be taken seriously – and I’m sure you do – don’t quote from the Daily Mail! It has as much reliability as a source as your own National Inquirer.
I happen to love the Daily Mail but I was not interested in its reporting, just the screen grabs and videos, i.e. the primary evidence.
People need to stop lauding these cows
It is not honorable to be a candidate for my 600 pound life
This is fat shaming.
Someone call George Santos!
I’m sure given the chance Matt Santos would tell all of us about his emotional journey losing over 500 lbs in under 6 months.
Rotfl
Yes let’s! I suspect you follow similar onlyfans accounts.
I am going to come at this as a former fat person having lost 85kg or 188lb and probably could lose another 5-10kg but details. Flying as a fat person sucks it really does. You are not comfortable and the person next to you is not and you know they dislike you. Asking for an extender can be mortifying (also when you realise you don’t need one it is amazing) and it is not a great experience HOWEVER, when you purchase an economy class ticket you know what you are purchasing and if you can fit in the seat. It is not up to the airline to give you a free seat. Now, when I did travel, I did ask at check-in and where possible they would block the seat next time me.
Now is this fat shaming? No, if a tall person complained about not being able to fit in their seat, I would say pay for an exit row. If you cannot fit in a seat purchase another one or fly in a cabin that has wider seats. To be honest I also think all bigger people should sit by the window. Why, if that plane goes down and we all need to get off I am not going to die because a person is unbale to get out of their seat and to the exit quickly.
Yes, I will get hate from my thoughts however, I LOVE to fly and one of the reasons why I lost weight is so I could fit better in my economy class seat.
Congrats on your journey! Kudos to you.
I see no reason to hate anything you say. You did something fantastic with your life and made it better. As well you are rational to use your experiences to show how absurd the idea is that airlines would just give an extra seat away. I applaud you, Bennett.
Matthew, this is your own eating disorder speaking. This is how the voice that tells you not to eat carbs sounds, isn’t it?
Try again. But start with yourself.
Weight Watchers is having a promo, put the fork down and check it out.
Loretta, what is with you and carbs? My body feels better and reacts better when I avoid them, but read any trip report and you can see this is not a hard and fast rule.
Is it lonely up there on your pedestal? lol. Clearly you were bullied as a chubster in grade school.
Wow the whiners….I guess its clear Matthew its cutting closer to the bone than a fat chick chomping down at KFC…….
People hate fat people, end of story. I wonder if these words mirror the ones you hear from your church? If this is Christianity, then no thanks!
Well to be fair, Jesus wasn’t fat….
@BkAloha: You resort to a gross assumption followed by a specious claim, so I will not engage on this point.
My point being is that you usually have nice blog posts especially talk about your faith. This post is very counter to that. There are kinder ways to express dismay with obesity or the SW policy. Fat jokes/comments are very easy and cheap (look at any story about Chris Christie). I personally don’t get it but alas at the end of the day, we move on.
I stand beside all those who are working hard to deal with their obesity. I laud their progress, like Bennett, and know it is not easy. But what led to this article is a harrowing trend of “body positive” movements that dangerously mislead people into thinking that it is okay to be obese. People become obese for many reasons and sometimes it is not their fault – I acknowledged that in my story. But it is not a state to remain in – anyone who cares about their health or the health of those they love should agree.
Mathew, my experience has been, that Southwest will not allow the purchase of two seats if you can fit in a seat between the armrests. I have been willing to pay for a seat to have extra space to work on a flight and Southwest would not permit that. I don’t think the customer of size policy allows you to self identify, you must not fit between the armrests.
This is a major reason I don’t fly Southwest, as United and American both allow you to purchase an extra seat.
I’ve had the exact opposite experience that would indicate this is not true. Upon boarding, I saw in an aisle seat in a row with a woman in the window seat. However, she had two boarding passes – one for her and one for an empty seat next to her. This became even more awkward because, while she was large, she wasn’t a passenger of size such that she NEEDED an extra seat, but perhaps she simply wanted it. As boarding was nearing completion of a full flight, the FAs kept directing boarding pax to sit in our middle seat. I had to tell multiple FAs, discreetly, that my rowmate had purchased an additional seat so they’d stop telling people to sit there. Essentially saying, “Hey, she has two seats because she’s more comfortable in two. So shut the fuck up.”
Wear layers. Or don a flotation vest under a sweater for boarding.
Jesus would puke on you..
You aare the opposite of Christiaan.
What do you think Jesus would say concerning this issue?
Dunno what he Jesus would say. but 100% sure it’d be with compassion and not spite and cruelty.
We we know what Paul said.
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
I’m agnostic BTW but being healthy IS Biblical. This is nothing to question Matt’s faith over. My problem with this is that it will be abused just like all the wheelchair fakers. And, airlines sell seats. If you need two, pay for two.
The best lesson I ever learned was from Mr. Golden in 6th grade. “Life isn’t fair.”
I can only ponder and laugh how the feeding of the 5000 would have turned out if every one of them was a body positivity activist.
Matthew,
You really touched a nerve with this…to the point Lucky’s minions over at OMAAT are getting their torches and pitchforks. Too bad most of them won’t look at the data that actually backs up your assertions and talking points…they just think with their emotions. So obviously, because they disagree with you, they’ll throw every bad name label at you. I love the ones that call you a right-wing nutjob…if you truly were, why do you insist in living in CA? 😉
Could it have been addressed better? Sure. But sometimes, you need to throw a splash of cold water to highlight the issue…and glamorizing negative health issues is flat-out dangerous.
I hope you’ll take the time to delete the antisemetic comment ….as a man of faith I’m sure you find it appalling.
I leave such comments to expose the haters. The answer to speech is more speech.
Respectfully you are wrong. Time and time again research shows that it simply amplifies and promotes such comments instead of doing the opposite.
You seem like a smart person so please do some research and educate yourself to understand that you are helping spread hate instead of shining a light on it.
Seriously. Don’t provide a platform.
And to be clear, I’m all for a robust discussion about different point of views. I honestly don’t agree with much of what you wrote, but I respect that it was thoughtful and reasoned. Bring on a good discussion .. I’m all for reasoned views of different opinion. Thank you for your post.
But turning your thread into spreading a common antisemetic trope is VERY different.
The intolerance of some people (not including trolls) from an honest conversation is amazing.
“I’m a tolerant person”…who only tolerates those who agree with their opinions.
-People who are “tolerant” and need to espouse it like it’s a daily affirmation.
Perhaps I should have substituted thin skinned instead of intolerance. Actually I don’t mind sitting next to a fat person, they make a great flotation device !!
I see Ben has called you out by name Matthew. He says this is “judging” the obese and that Southwest is trying to make them feel comfortable in their own skin.
I feel this is completely backwards. Obesity is extremely unhealthy and society should not be in any way encourage people to be that way. One could argue that people can do what they like with their own bodies, which is true, but why does everyone else have to make accommodations just for these people, especially when weight is completely under their control? Coddling and giving extra perks to these people only encourages them to remain in their terribly unhealthy state that strains our healthcare system.
So no, we should not be encouraging people to “feel comfortable in their own skin”. The obese should be reminded every day that they are unhealthy and should make changes. People like that gargantuan model make money off being extremely fat, so she is never going to change and will likely not live to see her 40s, but if the social ostracism can encourage at least some people to try to live healthier, then its effective and should be practiced.
It’s amazing how many physicians won’t have a frank discussion with their patients about their weight and the implications to their health. I talked to one physician who won’t put “obesity” in any progress notes because it could offend the patient if they read the note through the patient portal. Total cowards. I don’t believe in fat shaming but condoning an unhealthy lifestyle, whether it’s obesity, drugs, alcohol, is detrimental to the person. I hit a BMI of 30 and was horrified to see obesity listed in my medical record but it was a wake up call to see it in black and white and prompted me to take action. Matthew thank you for taking a stand on the obesity epidemic; I totally agree with you.
Obesity due to medical conditions and obesity due to a ridiculous diet are very different things
Just chiming in to say in general, over the past year, Matt has seemed to lean into the “tough love,” harsh, judgmental schtick he has developed on this site. A lot of it may be his genuine views, but it is clear part of it is a kind of an act.
Southwest Airlines is so in-touch with its customers that they make sure their customers are involuntarily in-touch with their fellow passengers. It’s a win-win situation for everyone!
What an obnoxious, caustic attitude the author has,
I’m of average size, but I identify as a morbidly obese person – so gimme three seats !!!!