Too Fat to Fly?

I read an interesting article today/watched an interesting video.

The article was about two women who were about to get on a Southwest flight but were told they were, “Too fat to fly.” Apparently the Southwest employee was very rude to them and not discrete.

One thing I learned from this article that I never realized was that Southwest actually has a policy that if you can’t fit in the seat (more than 17” wide) you have to buy two seats. I found this pretty interesting because I always thought that was a sensitive subject but never knew a policy addressing it actually existed. Here are some questions I have:

-What if someone buys one seat, gets to the airport, is wider than 17” and there are no extra seats left for them to buy? Can they not get on the flight?

-Which part of the body are they measuring for 17” wide? I know there are some people with some pretty broad backs’ and shoulders out there….

-If they buy two seats could they buy the aisle and the window…so the person in the middle is still next to them anyways?

-How do they represent the second seat is reserved?

-Where is this policy on the Southwest website? I couldn’t find it. I even tried to book a flight and read the “rules” before purchasing my ticket.

I’m definitely interested in learning more about Southwest’s policy and how it works operationally, as well as learning about other airlines with policies addressing this issue.

What are your thoughts on this subject?