This is a followup to Frequent Traveler is Too Fat to Fly on Southwest Airlines.

Southwest finally sent me the official response I was waiting for.  They basically addressed all my concerns.  The apparent sender/approver was Jim Ruppel, one of the executives I initially emailed last Monday.  The email is posted below.

Dear Chip,

Thank you for your e-mail and for taking the time to share your feedback.  We realize that feedback from our Customers (particularly from Customers who are as loyal as you) is critical to our success, and we appreciate the time you took to contact us.  Your loyalty to our Company is evident in the many flights you’ve taken with us so far this year, and you’re certainly in a position to describe good (and less than good) Customer Service.  I’m so sorry that your airport experience on June 15 was so surprising and disappointing, and I appreciate this opportunity to respond and, of course, apologize.

Apology accepted.

As you’re now aware, the defining factor that determines whether a Customer must purchase an additional seat to accommodate his/her girth is whether or not the individual can comfortably occupy one seat without the need to raise the armrest(s) to do so.  Our Employees want to ensure that no one has to “force” the armrests down in order to occupy one seat (the likelihood of a Customer seated very tightly between the armrests and traveling in that position for the duration of the flight is doubtful).  Moreover, we don’t want to create an unsafe situation whereby aircraft evacuation is hampered when Customers are in a tight seating arrangement.

It’s debatable whether anyone, no matter their relative size, can “comfortably” sit in an airplane seat for up to 6 hours at a time, let alone someone tall or wide.  However, I think everyone agrees that people should be given the chance to demonstrate that they do actually fit, before they are forced to buy a 2nd ticket or thrown off the flight.

We provide and charge for seats based on need, whether the space is needed to accommodate a personal item (such as a musical instrument), an infant carrier, a person’s girth, a person’s unique physical characteristics (e.g., Customers who are unable to sit upright and must lay across several seats), etc.  Our policy is without discrimination since every person pays for the space that he/she occupies, regardless of the reason for needing the space.

I don’t disagree here.

Certainly, your history as our Customer would suggest that our Employees haven’t identified you as a Customer of size in the past, and we regret the inconsistency you experienced in Las Vegas.  As a very frequent Customer who notes he is a “huge fan,” you’re no doubt aware that the primary key to our success over the past 38 years is our workforce.  And, of course, our workforce is made up of humans who are, unfortunately, fallible.  As you describe yourself as “barely” fitting into our seats, it isn’t unreasonable (as you acknowledge) for our Employee to approach you about your seating needs.

Agreed.

However, once your situation escalated to a Supervisor and you explained again that you’ve traveled many, many times without being approached, our Employees should have reevaluated the situation.

Thank you for hitting the nail on the head.

I assure you that the appropriate Leaders have been made aware of your concerns.  Although we will be unable to share any specifics with you, we are confident our Leaders will address the situation appropriately.

Fine with me.

Additionally, as a tangible expression of our apologies, I have issued you [redacted] in travel credit, the value of which equals that of your roundtrip fare.  The travel credit will arrive via e-mail within a few days.

As you’re aware, Southwest Airlines is a very good airline with an excellent performance record; friendly, capable Employees; and a strong commitment to Customer Service.  We regret making you feel otherwise on June 15, and I hope that your faith in our Company continues and that we can look forward to future opportunities to have you on our flights.

Also, fine with me.  Although this wasn’t about money, I accept your offer.

It is probably worth mentioning that I have already flown on Southwest four(4) times since last Monday.  Many many people have suggested that I switch airlines, but that would be foolish.  I already fly the best airline in the US, so there’s no need to change.  I know that the two employees that hampered my travel plans last Monday are the exception to Southwest’s fine customer service, not the rule.  Hopefully they are being dealt with accordingly.

Sincerely,

Jim Ruppel
Vice President
Customer Relations and Rapid Rewards

I would personally like to thank Consumerist (50 comments!) and Reddit (wow, 300 comments!) for helping spread the word.

A few people have asked/speculated why I fly Southwest, and why I will continue to fly Southwest.  Here’s why:

1. I’m based in Las Vegas and travel weekly for business.  Las Vegas is the closest thing Southwest has to a HUB, along with Phoenix and Chicago Midway, so that means Southwest flies pretty much everywhere I want to go and from Vegas I can go non-stop.  In fact, the only two places I have been in the last year that Southwest didn’t go were Minneapolis and Des Moines.  They have since started flights to Minneapolis!
2. No change fees.  When I’m traveling on business and finish my job early, I can change the flight without incurring the $150 fee that most airlines charge.  And assuming I have the full fare ticket, I can just show up to the airport early and get on standby for the first available flight.
3. Their fares make sense.  I never understood why some airlines charge $100 if you book 3 weeks in advance, and $1200 if you book the day before.  That seems wrong to me.  I once flew from Oakland to Columbus Ohio connecting through Houston (Airline: Continental) for $400.  I decided to stopover in Houston for a day to visit with friends.  When I tried to book the same flight from Houston to Columbus (in fact, the exact same plane I would have been on had I connected) the cost was $1200 – even if I booked 3 weeks in advance.  What?
4. They don’t hassle me about when I can/can’t use my frequent flyer tickets.  I’ve even used them 24 hours before a flight and it wasn’t a problem.  I’ve even had a friend MISS their free flight and Southwest rebooked them without argument or fee.  That’s customer service!
5. They really do have the consistently best customer service in the industry.  Now, let me preface that by saying I have never flown JetBlue, but I hear they are stellar.  I also have flown Virgin America once, and received better customer service than Southwest, but that was only the one flight and they were brand new at the time.
6. They don’t have stupid rules/fees designed to milk you for every last dime.  I once missed my AA flight by 30 minutes and had to BUY A WHOLE NEW TICKET.  That was the last time I flew with AA.  Southwest has no fees for checked bags.  No fees for in-flight sodas/snacks.
7. And one more thing not too many people know.  They REALLY try to get you there on time.  A friend of mine who is an air traffic controller once told me that Southwest pilots are the only ones who will accept a shortcut if offered one.

This is the story of how I was prevented from boarding a flight on Southwest Airlines in Las Vegas (where I live) because a gate agent and her supervisor thought I was too large to fit in an airplane seat and needed to buy a second ticket.  Despite the fact that I flew weekly on Southwest with no problems, and that I do actually fit in the seat with the arm rests down, I missed my flight and had to rebook the following day.  Southwest eventually issued an apology, gave me a travel credit for that trip, and I have flown Southwest several times since this incident and have not been prevented from flying again.  However, since my story, I have been contacted by other passengers who were prevented from boarding their flights, in one case by the same supervisor and usually in the Las Vegas airport, so this appears to be an ongoing problem.

http://consumerist.com/2009/06/southwest-suddenly-decides-frequent-flyer-is-too-big-to-fly.html

http://www.the33tv.com/news/kdaf-too-big-to-fly-story,0,6553696.story

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/south_bay&id=7133776

Monday June 15, 2009

I fly twice a week for business, and only on Southwest Airlines.  In the last year I have probably flown 50-60 times on Southwest.  I live in Las Vegas, and McCarran airport is a major hub for Southwest, so if you travel often for business and live in Las Vegas, Southwest is the airline to fly.  The fact that they have cheap tickets and some of the best customer service in the industry is a bonus.

So imagine my surprise today when I went to board my 12:40pm flight 1855 from Las Vegas to Omaha and was stopped at the jetway by the gate agent so she could ask me:

“Are you alright?”

“Sure, I’m fine” with a puzzled look on my face.

“Sir, do you have 2 seats?”

Still, a puzzled look on my face.  Oh … Maybe this is a suggestion that I’m too big for one seat, and that I should buy two?  I’m a big guy – about 6′1, overweight and I am wearing baggy clothes which make me look a little bigger than I am, so it didn’t bother me that she might think I would need need 2 seats.  On the other hand, I have never been stopped, asked, suggested, or otherwise looked-at-funny that I should buy 2 seats, by Southwest or any other airline.  But like I said, I am a big guy so I thought it was an honest mistake.

“Oh I see.  No I’m fine, I fly Southwest twice a week, it’s not a problem.”

Apparently it is a problem.  This agent, named Kaohlani, won’t let me get on the flight.  Kaohlani starts making phone calls.  She tells me to stay there as she walks down the jetway – I assume to discuss the situation with the flight attendants.  Meanwhile, I’m standing there for about 4 minutes holding everyone up.

Now I am starting to get annoyed.  My boarding number is A-16.  I was supposed to be the 2nd passenger onboard, so literally every passenger is standing behind me wondering what the hell is going on.

She finally comes back and asks me to stand to the side while the plane boards.  What?  I refuse.  I insist she look up my travel history to see that I fly every week, so she can see she is making a big deal out of nothing.  She refuses.  I again insist that I fly with Southwest twice a week and this has never been a problem.  She says “I don’t know that…” with a look on her face that implies “you are lying to me”.

When I again, insist she pull up my flight history, she states “This conversation is over” and orders me to the ticket counter.  I would imagine the look on my face at this point is combination of rage, shock, and embarrassment.

I approach the ticket counter.  Thankfully, I don’t have to wait in line.  I am optimistic that these people are actually going to help me because, you know, this is Southwest, the airline that cares about happy customers.  The looks on their faces suggest otherwise.

The first woman to help me was very helpful, very friendly, but definitely had a deer in the headlights look.  She apparently unsuccessfully tried to get me a free seat on the now overbooked plane and was soliciting the help of what I assume was a gate supervisor.  This supervisor points at the screen and mumbles under her breath “well then .. he will just have to buy a 2nd seat” which I refuse to do out of principle, plus this is a business trip and any changes or charges must be arranged through my company’s travel department.

So in my best Dale Carnegie voice I tell them “this is just a misunderstanding, if you pull up my flight history you’ll see I fly with you guys often, In fact I fly on Southwest exclusively because you guys have the best customer service.”

They won’t budge.  Nor will they pull up my travel history.  Ticket supervisor sees that I am quickly getting irate and proclaims “I can’t deal with this!” throws her hands in the air, and uses her handheld radio to call another supervisor over.  About 5 minutes later, a man named Razzy shows up.  He won’t help me either, nor will he pull up my travel history.  I ask for his supervisor.  He states he doesn’t have one and hands me a phone number to call for complaints.  After a few minutes of his stonewalling, he offers me a non-apology in the form of “he is sorry that I was never stopped before” and that’s when I snapped and turned into that guy at the airport who yells at airline employees.

So I left, called the reservations number and rebooked my flight.  The only other flight today to Omaha is totally full, so I’m booked for tomorrow morning.  And no I didn’t buy 2 seats.

Here is my problem with the situation.  There is a fine line between providing good customer service to the guy who might have to sit next to me, and discrimination.  Now, if you’re going to discriminate, you need to have some clear guidelines on what are, and are not appropriate reasons to kick someone off a flight.  In this case there are no clear guidelines, and if this gate agent had simply tried to verify my claim that in the past my weight hasn’t been an issue to the other 50-60 gate agents that let me board my previous flights, this whole situation could be avoided.  I think the real reason I’m upset here is because I was unnecessarily treated with disrespect and humiliation by a company that I respect. The gate agents didn’t even seem to care that I exercise brand loyalty for their airline, and standing there at the ticket counter made me reminiscent of the days where I had to deal with the the constant shenanigans of Northwest, United, and American Airlines – companies that literally don’t care about customer service so I rewarded their apathy by taking my business elsewhere.

This would be a good time to state the obvious.  Yes I do fit in one seat, as most larger people do, barely.  I check in 24 hours in advance so I am always first on the plane, this guarantees me an aisle seat at the front of the plane.  The seat belt always fits WITHOUT the need for an extension belt that I have seen plenty of people larger than me request from the flight attendants.  I live in Las Vegas, and chose to live here because I travel weekly and this airport is one of the best in the country.  This was a work trip, so a refund is mostly useless to me.

I am curious what Southwest’s CEO would think about all this.

BTW, I’m about 6′1.  Am I too fat to fly?  You decide.

UPDATE: Called the general customer service line to tell my story.  Customer service rep John was appalled.  Gave me the same “complaints” number that Razzy gave me.  This number,  214-792-4223 is constantly busy.  John suggested I try calling at 7am.  Pondering if I should send this to Consumerist or not.

UPDATE2: A friend was kind enough to point out that Southwest’s policy (link here) regarding whom to eject from a plane due to body size is less ambiguous than I thought.

What is the definitive gauge for a Customer of size?
The armrest is the definitive gauge, as it serves as the boundary between seats. Customers who are unable to lower the armrests (the definitive boundary between seats) and/or who compromise any portion of adjacent seating should proactively book the number of seats needed during initial reservations.

Are all overweight people subject to the policy?
Many Americans are “overweight” or “clinically obese.” A number of overweight or obese people occupy only one seat. In fact, many Customers may use a seatbelt extension but occupy only one seat, and these Customers would not be asked to reserve a second seat. If a Customer cannot lower the armrest (and is unable to comfortably travel with it in the down position), he/she is required to pay for the additional seat occupied. Again, we will offer a refund if the flight does not oversell.

Also, Southwest customer service got back to me via the complaint form I filed on their website.  I’m not thrilled with their “expect a response within 7 to 30 business days” but at least it’s a start.  I’m still going to call them at 6am.  Message follows.

After reviewing your e-mail correspondence, we have determined that your situation requires additional investigation. As a result, we have escalated your correspondence to our Customer Relations Team for review and handling. We are dedicated to providing you with a thorough and personal response. You should expect to hear from our Customer Relations Representative within seven to 30 days depending on the nature of your correspondence. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your patience.

UPDATE3: Got a response to the email I sent to a couple of Southwest executives telling me to expect a response.

UPDATE4: Got through to the customer service line that’s always busy.  No help.  No apology.  No admittance of wrong doing.  No guarantee it won’t happen again.  I asked to file a formal complaint.  I’m supposed to receive a callback from “a manager”.

UPDATE5: Received my callback from customer service.  I finally got the impression someone understood my position that I wasn’t mad about being called out, but mad that my travel history wasn’t taken into context.  She sincerely apologized (she is paid to constantly apologize to people like me – I do not consider this an official response) and told me she would pass a message to the Las Vegas airport manager regarding the actions of their staff there but said she couldn’t guarantee this would not happen again.

Now that I have had 24 hours to think about what happened, I know what I want:

1. An official written apology/letter from Southwest management that I can carry with me so as to prevent this from happening again.
2. An acknowledgment that the gate agent and supervisor acted in the wrong.
3. That gate agent Kaohlani and supervisor Razzy are reprimanded or otherwise informed that they acted in the wrong, directed to the actual guidelines for “customers of size” so they will not arbitrarily yank someone off a flight again.

That’s all, no money, no free stuff, no lawsuit, no 6 o’clock news.  Just an apology and some effort put into making sure this is not a repeat occurrence.

Oh and by the way, I’m writing this from Des Moines, Iowa.  My flight to Omaha this morning was without incident.

UPDATE6 (Monday June 22): It’s been one week and I haven’t heard anything from Southwest.  Submitting to Consumerist.

UPDATE7 (Wednesday June 24): Southwest got back to me.  Will post details in a bit and will forward to Consumerist.