Defends Policy That Cost Him A Standby Seat

Southwest Airlines has responded to Hollywood director Kevin Smith, who was removed from a flight from Oakland to Burbank, CA, after he had boarded and been seated. The airline told Smith he was too large for the single middle seat on the airplane.

Smith launched a scathing campaign against Southwest through his Twitter account and blog. He had purchased two seats another flight, but had wanted to take an earlier flight on standby. Smith said he was told the Captain of the flight had deemed him a "safety risk." His barrage against Southwest came in a series of Tweets, as well as an 88 minute podcast.

In its blog "Nuts about Southwest", the day of the incident, the airline defended it's long-standing policy regarding "Customer Size."

"The policy requires passengers that can not fit safely and comfortably in one seat to purchase an additional seat while traveling. This policy is not unique to Southwest Airlines and it is not a revenue generator. Most, if not all, carriers have similar policies, but unique to Southwest is the refunding of the second seat purchased (if the flight does not oversell) which is greater than any revenue made."

In a second blog post Monday, Linda Rutherford, Southwest's vice president, communications and strategic outreach, said she had spoken with Smith to apologize for his inconvenience, but not for the airline's policy. "I told him we made a mistake in trying to board him as a standby passenger and then remove him," Rutherford wrote. "(O)ur Employees were doing their best to get his flight out safely and on time, including finding seats for everyone and trying to accommodate standby passengers. The Captain did not single Kevin out to be removed, but he did ask that the boarding be completed quickly. At that time, our Employees made the decision to remove Kevin after a quick judgment call that he might have needed more than one seat for his comfort and those seated next to him."

Rutherford said that communication among the gate and aircraft crews was "not as sharp as it should have been," and that the airline could have handled the situation differently. She concluded by saying that the airline would be reviewing how and when the 25-year-old policy is enforced.

FMI: www.blogsouthwest.com