Southwest tells woman, mother they are 'too fat to fly' (MSNBC)

[#98QBKiller]

I actually don't mind the policy but they should be careful with how they tell people IMO. You can see how fat they are in the video within the link:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42996971/ns/travel-news/

Southwest tells woman, mother they are 'too fat to fly'

Airline apologizes to passengers after incident

GALLIANO, La. — Kenlie Tiggeman is impressive, to say the least. She's a budding gardener at her mother's home in Galliano, a political strategist working in New York City, a blogger, and in the last two years — she's lost 120 pounds.

But unfortunately, some people only look skin deep.

"It doesn't matter how far I have come. I have a long way to go, but no one sees that. All they see is my exterior — someone who is fat," explained Tiggeman.

She said that's what happened during a layover in Dallas on Easter Sunday, when she and her mother were singled out by a Southwest employee for their weight.

"I asked him what the weight restrictions were and he said that he didn't know, just that we were too heavy to fly. Too fat to fly," said Tiggeman.

Southwest's "Customers of Size" policy states passengers are required to buy a second seat if they cannot fit between the armrests, which measure 17 inches across.

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"I know that I have a lot of weight to lose but I am definitely not too fat to fly. I do it all the time, domestically and internationally, and I have never had anyone approach me and particularly in the way that they did," said Tiggeman.

Issues with Southwest's "Customers of Size" policy are not new. A spokeswoman said employees are told to speak with customers in a private area and if necessary, check if they fit in the seats prior to boarding and always use the utmost discretion. However, Tiggeman and her mom, Joan Charpentier, said the 45 minute conversation, which included questions about their weight and what size clothing they wear, in front of more than 100 people, was anything but discreet.

"It was the worst time I've ever had in my whole life. I was embarrassed, humiliated," said Charpentier.

The worker then tried to strike a deal. Tiggeman, Charpentier and a third overweight woman could fly, if they would sit together.

"Of course my daughter was okay with that. But I wasn't because the deal I made with Southwest when I left, I bought a ticket and it's open seating, and you can sit wherever you want," said Charpentier.

After a supervisor's intervention, the women were allowed on the flight without buying additional seats. They were even given flight vouchers and an apology, which was recorded on Tiggeman's phone.

Tiggeman shared what happened in her blog. It caught the attention of a Southwest executive, who contacted her to apologize and offered additional vouchers. But Tiggeman isn't looking for compensation.

"Their sensitivity level needs to change, period. It needs to be different," said Tiggeman.

"But I really want them to do more training with their employees, from the top to the bottom. Because if it happened to us, it's going to happen again," said Charpentier.

But there has been some good to come out of all of this. On her blog, Tiggeman wrote an open letter to fitness guru and New Orleans native Richard Simmons, since his videos played such a large role in her weight loss. She said she wanted to use her free voucher to visit his studio in Beverly Hills, and somehow Simmons saw the letter and wrote to her personally and asked her to work out with him.

[Madison Redskin]

The delivery might have been poor, but the message was essentially right. If you can't fit in one seat, the airlines should have the right to ask you to buy 2 seats.

[Thiebear]

Southwest..tssk. tssk... The AB belt as seen on Tv as your seatbelt is a MUCH better idea .

(tickets are pretty expensive, buying another 2seats on the spot is probably tough for any person, but if your over 275 you should plan accordingly).

Again: being 5'9 and avg. has its advantages, people WANT you to sit next to them. They neeed you to sit next to them.

[Burgold]

Yeah, I have a bigger problem with the how then the what. Mind you, when I was on a flight last Month I comfortably fit in a seat, but I'm not big at all. The seats are tiny. There was guy who was a 6'5 rail in front of me and when they guy in front of him tried to lean his seat back he was almost crushed he was so compressed. The problem is not only the people, but the way they're designing the airplanes to maximize occupancy. It was one of the few times being short was a real advantage.

[rdsknbill]

Have any of you had the pleasure of sitting next to someone that can barely fit on the plane, much less a seat? They SHOULD have to pay for another seat.

Oh and now she's going to work out with Richard Simmons. Oh goody!

[S.T.real,lights,out]

The delivery might have been poor, but the message was essentially right. If you can't fit in one seat, the airlines should have the right to ask you to buy 2 seats.

Yea i totally agree. I have never been on a plane before but i sure as hell wouldn't want to spend all that money for a seat and have the person next to me taking up half of it.

[KDawg]

Good. They could have done it in a nicer way, but the political correctness in our world has gone too far. I think some of these overweight people need motivation to shed some weight. This is a good motivator if they ever want to go on vacation again.

Telling people to be more healthy is never a bad thing. (Unless you deliver the message like a dbag.)

[DRSmith]

Start making people pay for flights by weight including luggage.

[Madison Redskin]

Start making people pay for flights by weight including luggage.

That would be fair, just like charging people based on the number of seats they occupy.

[Thiebear]

Pay by weight: passengers hitting the 7layer silver sweat suits and the sauna right before takeoff.

Water and food now costs 30$ a bottle/item

[#98QBKiller]

Have any of you had the pleasure of sitting next to someone that can barely fit on the plane, much less a seat? They SHOULD have to pay for another seat.

I'm pretty sure everyone in the thread so far agrees with the decision.

Good. They could have done it in a nicer way, but the political correctness in our world has gone too far. I think some of these overweight people need motivation to shed some weight. This is a good motivator if they ever want to go on vacation again.

Telling people to be more healthy is never a bad thing. (Unless you deliver the message like a dbag.)

I agree with this 100 percent. Good point.

[NavyDave]

@buba666able His mamma is so fat,that when she was floating in the ocean,Spain claimed her for the new world
west49alredy 8 months ago

---------- Post added May-16th-2011 at 09:01 AM ----------

Fat people err people in the Andy Reid demographic, on planes can be heroes when you least expect it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5U_BH8aupXs

[redskinss]

does anybody know who that guy was. from behind he is the spitting image of my uncle but he usually drives instead of flying cause he is too big. but damn let me tell ya that picture is eery for me to look at cause i would swear it was him.

[SKOALSKIN]

Thats the problem with our society. We are blaming everything else for the weight problem. i.e. the seats are too small, they market the food towards me......

I once sat in an airport where three women broke out the seatbelt extenders and had the nerve to complain that the seatbelts were too small these days.

[Boss_Hogg]

Well, it's also a safety issue.

God forbid if anything were to happen, there's no way the cabin attendant could drag these two from the burning wreckage.

[Kosher Ham]

That is why the seats are bigger on busses.

[#98QBKiller]

Too often it seems like fat people get rewarded for their lazy behavior. Or at least they get encouraged and coddled by society. People sympathize with them and tell them "Oh I know it's so hard to find time to exercise" or "It just costs too much to buy healthy food" when in reality neither of those things are true for most people. It feeds the fat person's laziness and attitude to keep doing nothing to change their situation. This does the opposite. Good for Southwest.

[Mooka]

Well, it's also a safety issue.

God forbid if anything were to happen, there's no way the cabin attendant could drag these two from the burning wreckage.

Drag you from burning wreckage?

Damn.... I can't even get any peanuts.

[mardi gras skin]

Too often it seems like fat people get rewarded for their lazy behavior. Or at least they get encouraged and coddled by society. People sympathize with them and tell them "Oh I know it's so hard to find time to exercise" or "It just costs too much to buy healthy food" when in reality neither of those things are true for most people. It feeds the fat person's laziness and attitude to keep doing nothing to change their situation. This does the opposite. Good for Southwest.

You sound just like my father in law...except when he says it, he's talking about black people.

[SnyderShrugged]

They sure could have used more tact, but the spirit of the decision is sound. No matter how you slice it, SWA is a private business and can determine how to best serve their entire customer base. Sometimes that means individuals have to lose out and that sucks.

It makes me wonder though, if anti-discrimination laws could override the private airline's decision in something like this. I think there is plenty of precedent already set where private property rights of a business are undermined by Federal laws.

With the average weight of Americans these days, someone should start "Obese Air" with doublewide seating and a full buffet. They would make a killing, but who has to clean up the crab-leg shells?

[KDawg]

You sound just like my father in law...except when he says it, he's talking about black people.

This is inappropriate.

There's no comparison between the two. Overweight folks CAN lose weight. For some it may be harder than others. But that's called hard work and dedication and will power. You have to have it.

[mardi gras skin]

This is inappropriate.

There's no comparison between the two. Overweight folks CAN lose weight. For some it may be harder than others. But that's called hard work and dedication and will power. You have to have it.

Yes, you're right. It is inappropriate. It is inappropriate when my father in law says it and it is inappropriate when 98QBKiller says it. They both believe they can identify a group of people as lazy by the look of them.

You are wrong to ignore the similarities.

[KDawg]

Yes, you're right. It is inappropriate. It is inappropriate when my father in law says it and it is inappropriate when 98QBKiller says it. They both believe they can identify a group of people as lazy by the look of them.

You are wrong to ignore the similarities.

No I'm not. Racism is an entirely different thing.

I don't hate fat people. I want fat people to understand that they aren't healthy. Some of my best friends are obese. If telling them they can't fly with how much they weigh motivates them to live a longer life, then good. I want my friends to live. I don't want to see people die due to being overweight.

So let's cut the racial undertone horsecrap. Race has nothing to do with the topic. So leave it out.

[Burgold]

No I'm not. Racism is an entirely different thing.

I don't hate fat people... Some of my best friends are obese.

You didn't just say that, did you?

[mardi gras skin]

I don't hate fat people. Some of my best friends are obese.

You couldn't make this easier if you tried.