Respond, React, Talk Back
Jeff K writes...
"Re: Southwest's policy regarding "large" passengers: doesn't it bother you that the airline's decision about whether to charge a person twice is subject to an agent's judgement call? This seems arbitrary to me. What's to stop a stressed out agent from double-charging some guy who's slightly overweight because he was impatient with her, while letting some 450-lb gorilla buy a single seat because he's that agent's uncle or something? At least if there were some written rules about who gets charged twice (much like there are preset height restrictions on roller coasters), the subjectivity would be taken out of the process. People would know beforehand how many tickets they would have to buy, and could choose their airline accordingly. If I was overweight, I wouldn't fly Southwest as long as this policy is in place. I think the policy is a dubious business decision; fat people will probably avoid Southwest, thereby decreasing ticket sales, and thin people won't change their ticket-buying habits--your average Joe doesn't put much thought into who he'll be sitting next to when he makes his flight reservations. He's thinking about price, and which airport he'll be flying into. Your thoughts?"
I view this as a decision similar to letting people into your club. Granted a bouncer has total power to let someone in or deny them. Does the bouncer discriminate, perhaps, yet his judgment is the final word on if you get in or not. (Actually to go off on a mini tangent, why can clubs discriminate so openly, can you imagine if someone at the door of 7-11 would decide if you can enter the store or not just by looking at you? I wonder if this will ever lead to a lawsuit?) If southwest has had numerous complaints about obese passengers, which I may naively assume played a factor in this decision, then it is in fact a prudent business decision. I am sure if an agent allows someone who obviously is too fat to sit in just one seat because it’s a relative, complaints will be filed and the issue is resolved. Sometimes allowing people to make decisions based on their "expertise" and this beats regulations any day. Time will tell how this will play out, but it should be interesting.
Jeff K writes...
"Re: Southwest's policy regarding "large" passengers: doesn't it bother you that the airline's decision about whether to charge a person twice is subject to an agent's judgement call? This seems arbitrary to me. What's to stop a stressed out agent from double-charging some guy who's slightly overweight because he was impatient with her, while letting some 450-lb gorilla buy a single seat because he's that agent's uncle or something? At least if there were some written rules about who gets charged twice (much like there are preset height restrictions on roller coasters), the subjectivity would be taken out of the process. People would know beforehand how many tickets they would have to buy, and could choose their airline accordingly. If I was overweight, I wouldn't fly Southwest as long as this policy is in place. I think the policy is a dubious business decision; fat people will probably avoid Southwest, thereby decreasing ticket sales, and thin people won't change their ticket-buying habits--your average Joe doesn't put much thought into who he'll be sitting next to when he makes his flight reservations. He's thinking about price, and which airport he'll be flying into. Your thoughts?"
I view this as a decision similar to letting people into your club. Granted a bouncer has total power to let someone in or deny them. Does the bouncer discriminate, perhaps, yet his judgment is the final word on if you get in or not. (Actually to go off on a mini tangent, why can clubs discriminate so openly, can you imagine if someone at the door of 7-11 would decide if you can enter the store or not just by looking at you? I wonder if this will ever lead to a lawsuit?) If southwest has had numerous complaints about obese passengers, which I may naively assume played a factor in this decision, then it is in fact a prudent business decision. I am sure if an agent allows someone who obviously is too fat to sit in just one seat because it’s a relative, complaints will be filed and the issue is resolved. Sometimes allowing people to make decisions based on their "expertise" and this beats regulations any day. Time will tell how this will play out, but it should be interesting.
posted by Champion at 11:03 PM
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