Recently, director Kevin Smith took to Twitter to complain about being kicked off of a Southwest flight for being, well, too fat to fly. And while no one likes to be cramped on a flight, is it right to call a person out for being "of size" after he's been seated? And isn't the real problem that the seats are really too small for everyone? And which group is going to be ousted next? People with children? Alice Bra

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Texan Mama
3 weeks ago
I think if a person is over a certain size, they KNOW they are as big as they are. They know it. If the airline asks them to leave the plane or purchase an additional ticket, they know why. THey may not LIKE IT, but they know why. And, as far as making accomodations, think about this: they don't make accomodations for very tall people, which is COMPLETELY beyond the control of the individual (unlike weight, which is controllable). Tall people just have to suck it up and squish their legs. So why should they have to make accomodations for heavy people? I know it's embarassing, but why doesn't that just motivate heavy people to lose weight?
 
xcgurl12
4 weeks ago
I read something the other day about a girl who got kicked off of a Southwest flight so that they could accommodate someone "of size." What do you all think of that?
 
andreas.biebl
4 weeks ago
I think fatter people should pay more.
 
5minutesformom
5 months ago
I saw one suggestion here that they make different size seats available. Some airlines have done that with leg room, but why not offer some wider seats that are not Business or First class, but just a bit more expensive? About flight attendants being able to kick passengers off flights whenever they please... I think it is out of control and I have a whole post brewing about it. ~Susan
 
beckyd
6 months ago
And here is Alice's fear becoming a reality: http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/03/16/babies.crying.planes/index.html?hpt=C1
 
SilverXeno
6 months ago
I hate the argument that people without kids should not be "subject" to the exposure of other people's children. Seriously?? Do these people NOT remember BEING CHILDREN? Unless you're related to the folks up on Mount Olympus...you were born an infant. You were a child. Would you have accepted being locked in your home 24/7?
 
AmberStrocel
6 months ago
Making someone leave a flight when they are already on the plane is unreasonable. It's like trying to return a dinner you've already eaten - there has to be some reasonable statute of limitations on this. And I am afraid to fly with my kids, too, I'll be honest. Even if I don't get removed from a flight, it's pretty stressful to consider flying with a small child. Not. Fun. Knowing that someone could kick me off because my child is being difficult just makes it that much more frightening.
 
MammaIan
6 months ago
I think it is absolutely overdramatic if somebody is now horrified of flying. I agree nobody should be kicked of a plain once seated. But .... I have been on too many business trips where I was seated between people that were...sorry...too big/fat/off size (whatever the pc term is)... and nobody gave a d... on how I felt. When sitting on a window seat and next to you a big person is blocking everything because (s)he needs an aisle seat... just hope there will not be an emergency! Airlines should provide seats that are of a reasonable size and if somebody does not fit the reasonable size... sorry buy 2 seats. What's the big deal. (A big person will also buy a bigger van and probably not a Fiat Punto.) Such an incident should not trigger a discussion on "how mean... how unfair..." it should make us rethink our eating habits and trigger the discussion if we- as a society (and I think it' s a problem of the entire society: health care, diabetes, overweight kids....) are too fat?
 
SilverXeno
6 months ago
Ugh, seriously?? You're gonna go THAT route? He DID buy two seats. Then he got kicked off the plane when they only had one available. AFTER he was seated. If there's an emergency, wouldn't the fatty on the aisle get up anyway?? Would you really be catapulting yourself over a person of ANY size just b/c they're between you & the aisle? I think the discussion about this being unfair has more to do with the fact that Mr. Smith was within their guidelines of fitting into a seat...he was SITTING in it, with the arm rests down. And if you'd like me to go into why *I* am fat (for I cannot speak for another) I can. I can even show you the surgical scars from where my stomach can never be flat again unless I have another surgery to fix it. Of all the people who know me, they would all say I am probably the healthiest eater of them all. I am also the most fanatical about going to the gym every morning. Doctors have checked my thyroids, hormones, sugar levels...EVERYTHING. They've checked it all. I'm not even a "good" candidate for any of the weight loss surgeries b/c I am not dying. The one single thing that is thought might be contributing to my inability to lose weight is psoriasis. It's not a skin condition, it's a problem of the auto-immune system. No one is really sure what the correlation is, but it's a genetic condition that I have no control over (unless by "control" I could have chosen parents with different genes). It's mostly anecdotal evidence...nothing really scientific, but of all the doctors who have seen me (there have been many!) they all know they have never had a thin patient who also has psoriasis. Yes, we as a people are getting fatter...but it shouldn't keep my fat ass off a plane.
 
Carita
6 months ago
I had no idea Kevin Smith, one of my favorite film writers, had been kicked off a Southwest plane, my favorite airline, because in their opinion he had taken up too much space. I am f-ing horrified! I am statistically a fat person; of size, overweight, a BBW- whatever we're calling it now, that's what I am. I have been fat for so long, that I am no longer ashamed, self loathing, or even remotely afraid of the word fat. I AM FAT. There are tons of us- literally, and even when I wasn't fat, I was bigger than average. I come from a family of big and tall people. I am into being healthy- not thin, and because I have nothing to hide I do not stop living. I dance, I date, I travel just as much, if not more than people half my size. Because of this, I am horrified that I may board my plane next week, and have someone treat me like a jerk because they don't accept me the way I do. For the first time last year, I had to ask for an extender, but the flight attendants I encountered were nice, as well as discreet about it. Asking wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be- and believe me I WAS DREADING IT. I don't fear being fat like the media wants me to, I fear being made to feel less valid because certain people, or industries for that matter, are hell bent on denying that there is more than one way to be, while being happy at the same time. Regardless of a person's size or weight, those seats are generally too small and way too close together. They totally know that. Loqi- your logic is brilliant, and you would think that with as many people "of size" that exist this day and age, they would have come up with an alternative to those f-ing kindergarten cushions by now. Sorry.
 

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