Airline policies change all the time.
Most adjustments are minor and barely noticed outside of aviation circles.
This one was different.
When Southwest altered its longtime passenger of size policy earlier this year, travelers immediately noticed—and many weren’t happy about it.
There was a time when Southwest’s policy for passengers of size was arguably the fairest of all U.S. airlines. Essentially, a plus-sized passenger had a choice:
- They could buy two seats, the airline would hold the second seat for them (since they bought two), and then, upon request, give a refund of the second seat after travel.
- They could purchase one seat and then talk to a gate agent about seating arrangements when they go to the airport.
Here’s a snapshot of the earlier rules (bolding is ours, for emphasis):
“Customers who encroach upon any part of the neighboring seat(s) may proactively purchase the needed number of seats prior to travel in order to ensure the additional seat(s) is available…The purchase of additional seats serves as a notification to Southwest of a special seating need, and allows us to adequately plan for the number of seats that will be occupied on the aircraft. In turn, this helps to ensure we can accommodate all Customers on the flight/aircraft for which they purchased a ticket and avoid asking Customers to relinquish their seats for an unplanned accommodation. Most importantly, it ensures that all Customers onboard have access to safe and comfortable seating. You may contact us for a refund of the cost of additional seating after travel. Customers of size who prefer not to purchase an additional seat in advance have the option of purchasing just one seat and then discussing their seating needs with the Customer Service Agent at their departure gate. If it is determined that a second (or third) seat is needed, they will be accommodated with a complimentary additional seat.”
At the time, flights were typically not 100% full, so as long as there was one empty seat, the plus-sized passengers would be able to fly that day, sitting in two seats but only paying for one (since they were only one person, regardless of size).
When Southwest switched from open seating to assigned seating earlier this year, the kindness to passengers of size was quietly eliminated. If someone didn’t fit in one seat, they had to purchase two, pay for it in advance and then request a refund for the extra seat by submitting a request to Southwest within 90 days of travel.
The new policy caused significant backlash from plus-sized passengers who typically require more than one seat. The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA), an advocacy group, criticized the policy as “more restrictive,” and passengers’ posts pushing back against the new policy were all over social media.
Apparently it worked. Late last week, the airline once again quietly updated its policy regarding passengers of size.
Under the revised rules, Southwest gate agents will once again arrange a free second seat for passengers who need the extra space on flights where two adjoining seats are available.
To avoid problems on the day of their flight, Southwest continues to encourage passengers who need more space to book an additional seat in advance, just like they did when their flights had open seating, and request a refund after the flight.
To qualify for the refund, the flight must have departed with at least one open seat, and both seats must have been booked in the same fare class.
It’s Better … But Not Great
At the end of the day, Southwest appears to be trying to thread a very difficult needle.
The airline wants to preserve a policy that many passengers of size viewed as one of the most accommodating in the industry, while also dealing with the realities of assigned seating and increasingly full flights.
Whether this latest revision satisfies critics remains to be seen.
But one thing is clear: the backlash got Southwest’s attention.
And in an era when airlines rarely reverse course once a policy is announced, the fact that Southwest changed the rules again just a few months later suggests the airline realized it may have gone too far the first time.
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