By now I’m sure all of you have heard of/are following the Kevin Smith Southwest Airlines debacle. I’ve been following it here and there, but stumbled across a post of Christy’s that led me to Kevin’s blog. And I love it! I’ll be following it more in the future. She also linked to this blog post at Salon.com that I adored. So thank you, Christy!
Flying has always been an anxiety-ridden experience for me. The only couple of times that I remember not worrying about fitting in the seat were when I was in 1st grade and flying to Florida (I was a skinny kid and that was before I knew about body image problems) and last year when I flew to California.
When I was in college, I flew at least once or twice a year, and usually on Southwest. On most (all) of those trips, I weighed quite a bit. Supposedly this policy of theirs has been in effect for 25 years, but I never had a problem. I was lucky, as most people would have considered me HUGE. Unfortunately, I’m fairly close to the weight I was then now. I could always lower the arm rests and buckle my seatbelt, but sometimes even I’ll admit it was a tight fit.
Every time I flew, I always remember crossing my arms over my chest and squeezing myself to try to take up as little room as possible. I remember specifically one time in which the man sitting next to me (I was in the window seat) told me that it was okay, that I could relax. I was embarrassed that he noticed, but was thankful for his kindness.
The common thread that I’ve seen throughout a lot of the blog posts about this incident is that nowhere is there an outcry (other than in those blogs) over the fact that the seats themselves (not to mention the leg room) have gotten smaller and smaller over the years in their effort to make human beings into sardines (as Kate Harding in the Salon article above mentioned). It’s always about the bottom line. You think, sure, yeah, well it’s a company, of course it’s about the bottom line. But you see this trend in so many other areas – look at the food processing plants, etc. Quality has continually been bumped to make room (ha) for quantity.
So what about you? Do you worry about flying? Have you had any bad experiences with Southwest or another airline? By the way, I remember flying American Airlines coach to New York in 2003 (at about my current size - maybe a little more) and thinking the seats were huge! Anyone fly American lately? Are they still spacious?
I blogged on this very topic about an hour ago. I used to hate flying because I needed a seatbelt extension and I was too large to accommodate the tray table. That was 71 pounds ago. Now I fly in much more comfort (well, as comfortable as one can be on a plane). But had I been required to buy an extra seat because of my size, I would have done so. Even then I recognized that my size was a direct result of my choices.
I agree with you 100% (in regards to if I needed to buy a 2nd seat based on today’s planes I would do so (if I could afford it), and the fact that my weight is my responsibility), but I think that Southwest needs to be a bit more upfront and consistent with their policies. Especially when you can *fit* according to their stated policies and still be booted, as in Kevin’s case. They could handle it a lot better than they do.
I enjoy his blog a lot–I’ve been a Kevin Smith fan for ages and it’s a good way of getting a dose of KS with a bit less of the vulgarity that you see in his Twitter stream.
What really upsets me about all the articles I have read on the subject is the comments that people have been leaving. Apparently fat-bashing is the cool thing to do these days.
*sigh*
.-= Christy´s last blog ..Spinning =-.
I know what you mean, Christy! It’s sad and horrifying. Whatever happened to tolerance and compassion?
You know I work for an airline, right?
You’re absolutely right. The seats are smaller than they were even a few years ago. All the airlines are struggling big time these days trying to make even a tiny profit. I’m not excusing this, but I understand. Since I’d like to keep my job, I appreciate they doing whatever they have to do to make a profit.
My airline has gone to slightly smaller seats too, and added an entire row of seats to the aircraft (six more seats they can sell on a flight). However, I flew on American Airlines a few months ago, in coach. I weighed 156 pounds. I’m 5′ 6″. My knees were pressed tight against the seat in front of me. I felt like my butt (which is always big) was wedged into the seat. I’m sorry to say, but they have succumbed too.
The next time you fly, check out this website – http://www.seatguru.com/. It’ll help a little bit.
Can’t wait to check out Christy and Kevin’s blog…and call Nestles.
.-= Diana´s last blog ..Great morning workout on Thursday =-.
Thanks for sharing the point of view from the other side, Diana! What if they created a third airline class between first class and business that had the old “regular-sized” seats, but not necessarily the comfort of the first class? I’d pay more for that. I understand their need to make a profit, though, too, and I want you to keep your job!
Thanks for the update on American! And I always keep forgetting that seatguru website!