Southwest Airlines Applauded For Accommodating Plus-Size Passengers

Southwest Airlines says its plus-size customers whose bodies encroach on neighboring seats’ armrests are entitled to an extra seat. According to a report on Fox News Business, Southwest is drawing praise from “passengers of size” on social media for its policy of offering complimentary extra seats—sometimes two—for their larger passengers.

The policy involves passengers of size to purchase one seat, and then discuss their needs with a customer service agent at the gate. At the agent's discretion, a second or third seat will be complimentary. Presumably, availability of vacant seats will be a factor in the gate agent’s decision, but other passengers could be moved to accommodate the oversize passenger’s needs.

Alternatively, Southwest said, passengers can purchase an extra seat ahead of time, and request a refund if their needs can be met at the time of departure. According to the wording of the company policy, “Customers who encroach upon any part of the neighboring seat(s) may proactively purchase the needed number of seats prior to travel to ensure the additional seat(s) is available … The purchase of additional seats serves as a notification of a special seating need and allows us to adequately plan for the number of occupied seats onboard."

Plus-size travel expert Jae'lynn Chaney told Fox News Digital, "I hope to see more airlines implement customer-of-size policies. The Southwest customer size policy helps many travelers offset the disproportionate costs that we incur because of needing extra room. And so, it's not just about physical accessibility. It's also about financial accessibility."