Overweight Passenger Sues SWA For "Humiliating" Her

Like more than a third of all Americans, 26-year old Trina Blake has a weight problem. But Trina says she was humiliated in May, 2003, when she was boarding a Southwest Airlines flight from Orlando (FL) to Seattle (WA). The reason? She says a gate agent grilled her about whether she could fit in the seat. She also says the gate agent told flight attendants to make sure she didn't need more than one seat.

"I was told that if I even lifted the armrest, I'd be charged for a second ticket at the next airport," Blake said in an interview with The Spokesman-Review newspaper.

It's an uncomfortable topic in a nation that's put on a few pounds in recent years. Southwest has a policy of charging a passenger more if he or she requires a second seat.

"I'm a bigger girl but I'm not that big," Trina, who lives near Spokane (WA) told The Associated Press on Saturday. At 5-foot-7, she wears size 22 pants. She considers herself overweight but not obese.

Ironically, Trina says, she wouldn't have been offended if the gate agent had just been a little more... well, discreet. Instead, she accuses the agent of humiliating and abusing her.

"Even if they offered me free tickets for the rest of my life, it would do me no good," she said. "I'm not able to fly any more. The idea of flying again gives me too much anxiety."

SWA spokeswoman Linda Rutherford says the airline is trying to familiarize its employees about issues relating to obesity. "This is a very sensitive issue and we handle it with the utmost discretion," she said. If the aircraft departs with empty seats, she says, the second fare is refunded to the obese customer.

But SWA and other airlines with similar policies may be on pretty solid ground. Four years ago, a California court ruled Southwest didn't discriminate by asking overweight passengers to purchase a second ticket.

FMI: www.southwest.com