Southwest Airlines is facing backlash from travelers who say they were required to pay for extra seating at the airport under changes to the carrier’s “customer of size” policy. Kari McCaw said she encountered the issue firsthand while traveling with colleagues to a conference in Las Vegas last month. At the ticket counter, Southwest employees told her she would need to either purchase a second seat or be unable to board the flight, according to the San Francisco Gate.
Since January, when Southwest updated its long-standing policy, a number of passengers have shared complaints online. Some travelers claim airline staff singled them out based on their appearance and required them to buy an additional seat—something they say they had never previously been asked to do. SFGATE reported finding nearly a dozen widely circulated videos and spoke with multiple customers who described similar encounters. Several said the experience has made them reluctant to fly with the airline again.
McCaw posted a viral video on March 10 describing her experience at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut. She said she felt she had been judged based on her body size, despite never before needing to purchase more than one seat.
“I guess I was a bit embarrassed. I was upset more than anything,” McCaw told SFGATE. “You just made this arbitrary look at my body. … I don’t have any hips, so I sit in seats just fine all the time. I’m all front and back, so I do use a seatbelt extender, but if you took my hip circumference, I fit in the normal airplane, 16-, 17-inch seat or whatever, just fine.”
The policy shift comes as Southwest undergoes broader changes, influenced in part by pressure from a new investor. Over the past year, the airline has moved away from several practices that once distinguished it from competitors. In May, it eliminated free checked bags for passengers without status. Then in January, it ended its decades-long open seating system in favor of assigned seating.
That transition also removed previous accommodations for plus-size travelers. Under the former policy, customers could purchase an extra seat in advance and later receive a refund, or request an additional seat at no cost at the airport if a flight was not full. The approach had often been praised as a leading standard for inclusivity in the airline industry.
“For many years, Southwest Airlines had the most respectful and equitable policy in the travel industry,” Tigress Osborn, executive director of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, told SFGATE in an email. “In January, they undid most of that policy despite over a year of organizations like NAAFA and passengers from all over the US telling them how those changes would create difficult and unfair situations for their larger-bodied customers.”
Passengers and advocates say confusion over the updated rules—and how they are applied—has only added to frustration. Critics argue the policy gives airline staff broad discretion, which can lead to inconsistent enforcement at the airport.
“Customers who encroach upon the neighboring seat(s) must purchase the number of seats needed. The armrest is considered to be the definitive boundary between seats; you may review information about the width of Passenger seats,” Southwest’s Policy states. “… In addition, Southwest may determine, in its sole discretion, that an additional seat is necessary for safety purposes.”