'Person Of Size' Angry About Need For Spill-Over Ticket

As a professional services executive for a software company, Steve McAllister travels a lot. The resident of the California foothills figures he's accumulated a couple million frequent flier miles and flown on Southwest Airlines at least 100 times.

But he never before experienced what happened a week ago. And he was hopping mad.

While buying a ticket for a Southwest flight from Sacramento to Burbank, Calif., he was told he'd need to buy an extra ticket.

The reason? He's what the airline calls "a person of size" - the PC term, evidently, for someone so large he may need more than one seat.

McAllister is, in fact, a big man - 6 feet 2 inches, 350 pounds. But the former college football player says he's never been accused of taking up more than a single seat on a flight.

"To be honest, I was really outraged," McAllister says of the request for double payment. Eventually, after some heated words, he was allowed to get a single ticket but only because the Southwest people were a little premature in enforcing a new policy.

As of June 26, large customers will have to pay the extra fare - but can seek reimbursement if it turns out the flight has unoccupied seats. In the past, ticket agents had the option of charging big people for an extra seat when a flight was fully booked. But they apparently didn't do it very often.

So how do the agents determine if a customer is likely to exceed his allotted space? It's a judgment call, says airlines spokeswoman Whitney Eichinger.

I did that, once, on a Northworst Flight; I scoped it out, called the FA before she closed the door, and said, "No." This is not what I paid for."

Got a 1st class-upgrade on the next flight, and 2 free flight coupons.

BRAVO SIR!

You have set a pattern that I intend to follow.

What are they gonna do? Sit on the crack between two seats?

It would be easy to design the seats so that they could be converted into becoming a one seater or two. Then the person of size, or anyone for that matter could have a large one seater but pay more for it. I'm suprised some enterprising businessman hasn't already thought of that, unless the airlines intentionally want to squeeze as many people on a plane as possible. But then why make a large person pay double? Doesn't make sense.

What I'm about to say is not making fun, it is just an honest life observation; Why do enormously overweight people buy tiny cars? I cannot count the number of times I have seen some 400-500 pound person driving something the size of a Yugo, with the steering wheel digging into his/her gut. On the same note, why do tiny blue-hairs buy cars the size of an ocean liner. I get behind them and it looks as if the car is driving itself.

When I was working as a groundskeeper during college, we had a supervisor on the construction crew who was al least 6'8" and probably tipped the scales over 300 lbs. He drove a little Ford Ranger around. It was quite a sight to see that huge neanderthal get out of that small cab.

Yes, i agree. even though i'm not 'large' at all, i have very long legs...even i am very cramped sitting on an airliner. But, that article was not addressing 'tall' people or 'long' people ;-) Never had a TALL person crush me out of my seat; yes, we might have played a few rounds of 'footsie', but no harm done to one another ;-)

Actually, all that aside, i don't intend to fly again until the airlines starts treating us (you know, Americans) like Americans again (free, safe from unreasonable search, right to eat like civilized human beings with a fork and a knife, etc., etc.). They haven't made me feel 'safe', but, rather 'violated'. This utter absurdity of frisking and strip-searching American citizens (don't care what your age or ethnicity) is outrageous because it will do absolutely nothing to ensure our safety on a flight.

Btw, I wonder if possibly the real rationale for the flack that commuter got was because the airlines are hurting so much now for cash flow (i know full well i am not the only person who has chosen to drive--it's actually rather enjoyable if you have the time--and, with all the extra ~~security~~ b.s. they put us through at the airports, it probably takes no longer to drive (unless you have to do a coast-to-coast trip). Until the airlines divest themselves of the U.S. gubmint interest (or would that be the other way around? oh well), and while they *still* are publicly traded companies (yea, commercial enterprises they tell us) i'm not going to patronize them as a private industry. Bad enough we're paying for their stockholders' interests now every April 15th...they got the cheap labor they needed to turn over a profit...compliments of the U.S. gubmint interference, so let them figure out a way to make a real profit for themselves (with far less patrons.) That's *my* "real" issue, anyhow ;-)

On the same note, why do tiny blue-hairs buy cars the size of an ocean liner. I get behind them and it looks as if the car is driving itself.

Well... My mother, who is almost a blue hair, has a Yukon because she feels safe in it. As anecdotal evidence, she was T-boned by a kid in a sports car who didn't look before pulling out of a gas station and suffered no injury (the sports car suffered much more damage, luckily he and his passenger were unhurt also). I suppose, as long as blue hairs are still safe drivers who cares what they drive?

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