A Nashville woman says Southwest Airlines canceled her ticket after she refused to purchase a second seat under the carrier’s new “customer of size” policy.
Woman Says Southwest Canceled Her Ticket Over New Size Policy
Ruby Cosby says the incident occurred on February 28, 2026 as she attempted to board a flight from Nashville (BNA) to Los Angeles (LAX). According to Cosby, a check-in agent told her she could not board unless she purchased an additional seat due to her size.
Cosby pushed back, insisting she could fit in a single seat as she had on prior Southwest flights.
“I can fit in the seat like I have fit in the seat with no problem for many years.”
She says she asked to demonstrate that at the airport, but was denied:
“Is there any way I can go test to see if I can fit the seat?”
Instead, Cosby says she was told she needed to pay roughly $450 for a second seat. When she declined (claiming she did not have the money), her ticket was canceled.
In a TikTok video reflecting on the incident, she also raised concerns about how the policy is enforced:
“My main worry is that there’s nothing put into place to stop discrimination…it’s just based off of perception.”
@thebabyru Outside of the fact that this was handled absolutely unprofessionally with no type of organization or true guidelines .. my main worry is that this policy can be used and abused towards black women as a whole. #southwestairlines#plussize#fyp
She further claimed she was treated poorly because she was a black woman who was not dressed well.
Her family eventually sent her some money so she could buy as a second ticket and she was ironically told (by a different Southwest Airlines employee) that she only needed one seat, but then the original employee returned to the counter and again demanded that she purchase a second seat. While she now had enough money to purchase the second seat, the first ticket had been refunded but not hit her bank (there’s always a multi-day delay), so she was once again unable to buy her original seat back.
Southwest’s New “Customer Of Size” Policy
The dispute centers on a revised policy that took effect January 27, 2026, as Southwest transitioned to assigned seating.
Under the updated rules:
- Passengers who cannot fit within a single seat, defined by the space between armrests, are required to purchase an additional seat
- Airline employees can require a second seat at the airport based on their assessment
- Refunds for the extra seat are no longer guaranteed and depend on flight availability
Previously, Southwest had a more flexible approach, often allowing larger passengers to obtain an additional seat (or even two extras) at no cost or receive a refund after travel if the flight was not full.
Discretion At The Gate
One key change is how the policy is enforced is that Southwest Airlines employees now have more discretion to “size up” a passenger and determine whether they will be compelled to buy a second ticket.
Cosby says that discretion worked against her. She maintains she fit in a single seat and had flown Southwest many times before without issue, but says the agent’s determination overruled her objection and resulted in her ticket being canceled when she declined to pay.
CONCLUSION
Southwest’s revised size policy now requires some passengers to purchase an additional seat in advance or at the airport, with gate agents empowered to enforce that rule. In Cosby’s case, she says that decision led to her ticket being canceled when she initially declined to pay for a second seat. It does appear that like Southwest’s dress code, enforcement of its new passenger of size policy will be somewhat arbitrary.
She ultimately flew Delta Air Lines to Los Angeles and claims her refund from Southwest still has not hit.
image: @thebabyru / Instagram
Although there is not a ruler or tape measure, the passenger’s width seems to significantly exceed the seat width. Some lateral fat might be displaced forward but, even with that, I suspect her width would still be too much for the seat.
The armrest can only hold back so much fat (or muscle, haha)
I have sat in between to very fat (or husky) people. I felt crushed and could not sit all the way back to the backrest. Since it was only a San Antonio to Houston flight, I suffered in silence and did not complain.
Mo’ cushin’ fo’ da’ pushin’ dawg
The photograph is all you need. Every gate should have an airplane seat that was removed from a retired aircraft (like a bag sizer) to end the debate.
Not a bad idea!
YES. This could have solved the whole issue.
1. She is very fat and possibly could not have fit.
2. “Discretion of the gate” opens up a big can of worms.
3. As a person squarely in the middle fitness wise, shoot man, I dunno. Surprising people right as they are about to get on the plane sure is lame.
People hope/assume/expect the passenger seated next to them will stay quiet and take the encroachment of space. That’s that bullshit.
Another fact never mentioned is that the seats have an allowable weight rating, as the owner of an aircraft charter service for over 50 years, I have had to deny someone boarding as most charter aircraft are not set up in rows where one can spread over 2 seats. Yes the airline seats have higher ratings but there is a per seat limit. We had to actually weigh each passenger fully clothed prior to their boarding (FAA requirement) a process that in under consideration in the FAA for commercial air traffic, if it happened, what do you think the uproar created would be? The problem is standards established over 40 years ago and never updated are still in effect and passengers have on average, significantly increased in weight, nearly reaching certain aircraft design limits.
Are these allowable weight ratings published somewhere?
Let’s recall that there are no universal weight limits for passengers on airplanes or with airlines; instead, the focus is on safety and comfort in terms of the fit in the seat. The dimensions of the seat and the length of the seat belts are more important than the weight of the passenger… On the other hand, some overweight passengers may wonder whether they need to reserve two seats for their flight. Actually, this depends on the airline. It’s best for them to find out from the airline in advance whether reserving two seats is necessary for their safety and comfort.
In 1981 I flew Arrow Air from Gatwick to NYC and each passenger was weighed! I must admit I was surprised.
It must have been a flight carried out with either a DC-8 or a DC-10.
Sure she could fit with a little help from some greese
But of COURSE it was actually down to racism, and the fact that you’re squeezed into an athletic outfit that makes you look like 10 pounds of ground beef in a condom. Seriously, girl, you just too fat. My advice, Chunkquita Haagen-Dazs, is to get some professional help before your morbid obesity kills you thirty years before your time.
It is worth noting that, obesity is recognized by major health organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a complex, chronic disease rather than a cosmetic issue. It involves excessive fat accumulation caused by genetic, environmental, and behavioral factors, significantly increasing the risk of serious, long-term health problems such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers…. Fortunately, it can be treated.
Whenever I read an explanation of obesity like this, I point to pictures of the emaciated people who suffered at the WWll concentration camps. They weren’t fed, they lost weight.
Pretty simple
As a Flight Attendant who flew for two major commercial Airlines, I can tell you first of all that the company makes the rules and what they say goes. I understand that this is a really sensitive issue, but I can assure you that it has nothing to do with race. Airlines do not have special seats for customers of size, and many have opted to require the purchase of an additional seat for those customers. Airline seating has continued to shrink through the years, and while you might think that you can fit within the parameters of one seat, those seats are pretty small. For the safety and comfort of every passenger – the customer of size as well as those seated next to them – customers of size are now being asked more often than not to purchase an additional seat. Every Airline has the right to impose and enforce that rule at their discretion. Airline travel is a privilege, not a right. As a passenger, you do have the right to refuse the request and travel on another carrier. But you cannot insist that any Airline allow you to fly with them – in fact, you cannot insist be banned for life if you become a problem. You don’t have to agree with the rules, you just have to follow them or find another method of travel. You don’t have to agree, but that’s the reality of it.
The average American woman in 2025 weighs more than the average man did in 1960. The average man has increased in similar manner. That increase has nothing to do with genetics. That’s lifestyle.
So I wonder if every employee she interacted with would have been black, what would she have to say about racism ? So basically she wants only people of color to work for Southwest and probably all airlines ? Also, if she had any knowledge of this happening, she could read plenty of experiences (on all or most airlines) that plenty of white or non-black people have been singled out as well. Get educated before you spout off about being black as part or all of the problem.
I do agree with her though that it’s basically a crap shoot if someone is going to single you out on one flight but someone else won’t do it or even notice on another.
I am all about body positivity, and she seems pleased with her size. But the person forced to sit next to her would be punished and extremely uncomfortable for over 4 hours! I am glad SW has instituted this policy.
You shouldn’t be in favor of “body positivity” if it means telling morbidly obese people they are just fine the way they are.
Wait, I can’t be “addiction positive” and suggest it’s ok to regularly use heroin so long as you’re happy about it?
Very very clear she couldn’t fit in 1 seat, end of story. Don’t pull the race card because of your own health problems.
Of course she thinks the only reason could be because she’s black, not because she’s the size of a house. At what point will it dawn on her that perhaps eating less and losing weight is the only solution to this problem?