Woman Removed From Plane to Make Room for Overweight Teen

NewsCore ^ | 7/26/10 | Staff

[super7man]

Oh, I think SW is great.

As long as I can fly from three SF area airports to 3 LA or San Diego airports for less than $50 I am a fan.

SW was also incredibly accomodating to my wife who was traveling back and forth from San Jose to Phoenix for over a year while her dad was sick. They let slide many of their rules for her in terms of booking and re-booking.

Love Ding Fares.

[DollyCali]

bttt

[Azzurri]

Clearly the obese kid did not pay for 2 tickets, otherwise there would not be a seat to release to the standby skinny lady. What probably happened here is that the overweight kids' parents tried to pull a fast one and only bought one seat. When the late-arriving plump teenager approached the gate entrance, the boarding staff determined that she would require two seats due to her size. They then checked and saw that the seat next to said "child" was already sold via standby, and asked the woman to give up her seat.

Whether or not the fat family will be required to ultimately pay for the second seat is to be determined, but I'm guessing Southwest will not ask for payment due to the publicity of the case. The skinny woman will be offered a $300 voucher, probably put up more of a stink, and end up getting a couple of free trips out of it. The blame for ALL OF THIS lies with the fat kid's parents...assuming this kid is not sick in any way, other than having an addiction to Doritos.

[ichabod1]

I’ve never seen a standby get bumped. Don’t forget she paid for her ticket too - standby doesn’t mean free. I’m guessing the gate agent let the standby on when she/he shouldn’t have, then tried to correct his/her mistake by bumping the standby. I wouldn’t want to be that person.

[sionnsar]

I’d say it’s a about 500,000 calories too late for that sentiment.

Not all large sizes are due to McDonald's. A relative discovered that some medications pack it on too. And fast.

She's decided it's better to live with the pain.

[deport]

You betcha, always got to be diplomatic.

[Do Be]

A relative discovered that some medications pack it on too. And fast.

Yeah, that happened to me once. Thirty pounds in three weeks. Doctor claimed ignorance. Turns out he was right.

[editor-surveyor]

This is one of those stories that give me the nagging feeling that less than 2% of the story is being told.
.

[sionnsar]

Thirty pounds in three weeks.

Ouch!! I hope you are better (and trimmer) now.

It doesn't always come off easy, and it kills me to see her suffer in both regards.

[sionnsar]

This is one of those stories that give me the nagging feeling that less than 2% of the story is being told.

If it's from the MSM, you can be pretty sure of it.

[editor-surveyor]

You B bad person! :o)

[Do Be]

Ouch!! I hope you are better (and trimmer) now.

Yes, when I quit taking the mediction that caused it, it fell off pretty fast.

[Do Be]

Ouch!! I hope you are better (and trimmer) now.

Yes, when I quit taking the medication that caused it, it fell off pretty fast.

[Shimmer1]

Hmm. yes, plus early check in is required. Well, i was trying to find something that made sense. Perhaps they just didn’t want this young person missing their flight for some reason. I don’t think they should have done it.

[Gene Eric]

>> I’m guessing the gate agent let the standby on when she/he shouldn’t have

Standbys get bumped off jets regularly.

Skinny pissed at fatty for no legitimate reason.

[BenKenobi]

wise man says, fattie who pays for two seats flies jumbo.

[mstar]

This is one of those stories that give me the nagging feeling that less than 2% of the story is being told.

Yeah, the first Fox report states the bounced passenger said she paid full price for her ticket, but was on standby. This article linked to Fox-DFW, where it says she is a frequent flier on standby, only. Why did it bother to mention frequent flier? I don't know about SW's frequent flier program, but tickets purchased by miles can at times have restrictions. Hubby flies about every week. I try to go whenever poss. often using his One Pass Miles. He is elite which helps. Oldest daughter was a flight attendant for Continental for a time. The whole employee "comp standby" thingy is another set of issues. Was the bounced girl on a "comp" standby? Doesn't really say.

[BenKenobi]

‘Clearly the obese kid did not pay for 2 tickets, otherwise there would not be a seat to release to the standby skinny lady’

That’s all that needs to be said. If you can’t fit in one seat, buy two. I think airlines should have weighscales too, if you are over x pounds you pay extra.

[untrained skeptic]

Thanks for the link to the other article. I wonder what they meant by late. I’ve had a flight delayed and barely made my connecting flight right after they told someone flying standby they could have my seat. I got my seat and the person flying standby got bumped.

Considering how large the girl is, she probably had a harder time making her connecting flight. However, if she’s there before they close the doors, the seat is hers.

[untrained skeptic]

I’ve seen them stop a person that was by the ticket agent and about to head down the ramp because I showed up at the last minute because my incoming flight was late and they had already tried giving away my seat.

I’ve also seen them pull a passenger off when they had two passengers with the same assigned seat. I’m not sure how that one happened, but they offered increasingly good deals until a different passenger on the plane took the deal. That probably would have been the best way to handle this situation as well since she had already boarded.