{"id":2125817,"date":"2023-12-15T08:11:01","date_gmt":"2023-12-15T13:11:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/under-the-weight-of-southwests-fatties-fly-free-policy-normal-people-will-pay-more\/"},"modified":"2023-12-15T08:19:55","modified_gmt":"2023-12-15T13:19:55","slug":"under-the-weight-of-southwests-fatties-fly-free-policy-normal-people-will-pay-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/under-the-weight-of-southwests-fatties-fly-free-policy-normal-people-will-pay-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Southwest’s ‘Fatties Fly Free’ policy burdens others with higher costs"},"content":{"rendered":"

20<\/div>SHARES<\/span><\/div>

<\/span>Facebook<\/span><\/a><\/span>Twitter<\/span><\/a>

The Golden Era of Air Travel<\/h2>\n
The 1990s should have been a golden \u200bera for \u2064air travel,\u200c what with in-flight smoking newly banned<\/a> and the Twin Towers still standing. Instead, times were tough.\u200c A recession\u200b meant flying was off the table for many Americans, and thus, airlines \u200cwere doing whatever they\u200d could to get bodies in seats.<\/p>\n
To that\u2063 end, Southwest kicked off a promotion in \u201991, offering two seats for the price of \u2062one. \u2064It was called \u201cFriends Fly Free,\u201d \u200dand it was such a hit\u200b that the airline company extended \u2063the gimmick for\u2064 the\u200d next five years.<\/p>\n
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Fatties\u2064 Fly Free<\/h2>\n
Now it\u2019s 2023, and times \u2063are tough \u200bagain. In the\u2064 economy, \u2064sure. \u200bBut also for anyone looking \u2062to fly Southwest anytime soon. That\u2019s\u2062 because the airline effectively just kicked off a new promotion courtesy of a bunch of plump\u2064 TikTokers:<\/p>\n
Fatties Fly Free.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\u201cLow-cost carrier \u2064Southwest Airlines is being\u2062 celebrated\u200b by \u2018passengers of size\u2019 on TikTok after they discovered they can request complimentary seats \u2014 one or two, \u2063depending on needs \u200d\u2014 to\u200c accommodate their girth,\u201d Fox\u2062 Business reported<\/a> this\u200d week. \u201cCustomers whose \u2062bodies \u2018encroach\u2019 past \u2064the armrest are entitled to an extra seat, according to Southwest\u2019s inclusion policy.\u201d<\/p>\n
One\u2062 or two<\/em>?<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nSo, \u2062let me get this straight. Non-obese customers will have to pay extra<\/em> \u200c so our sedentary\u2062 airborne friends\u200c can \u201cencroach\u201d into the\u200c second \u2014 \u200cor third \u2014 seat they\u2019re \u201centitled\u201d to? It doesn\u2019t take a fancy economist\u200b to grasp how basic supply and demand work. Any secondary \u200dseat reserved at no extra cost<\/a>\u2064 for\u200d one traveler is one less seat available for\u200c a\u200d paying customer. Supply goes down. Prices go up. You pay more.<\/p>\n
Listen, I\u2019m all for overweight passengers having a \u200clittle extra elbow room. And\u200d Southwest really seems \u2062to be \u2062onto something there, saying in its \u201c Customer of \u2064size<\/a>\u201d policy: \u201cThe armrest \u200bis the definitive gauge for a\u00a0Customer\u00a0of\u200d size. It \u2063serves as \u200cthe boundary between\u200d seats. If you\u2019re unable to lower both armrests and\/or \u2063encroach upon any portion of a \u200dseat next to you, you need a second seat.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amen. There\u2019s nothing I hate more than waking\u200c up from an uncomfortable, 40,000-foot nap to find \u200bmy seatmate\u2019s sprawling caboose taking \u2064up half the seat I paid for.<\/p>\n
But that\u2019s just it. I<\/em> paid for \u2062this seat. You<\/em> paid for that one. And if\u200d you can\u2019t contain yourself inside yours<\/em>,\u2062 you<\/em> \u2062should foot the bill for the extra space. You \u2063can have all the extra seat \u2063space you want \u2014 aaand you\u200c can find the market price for that extra space \u200d here<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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Unpacking the Policy<\/h3>\n
Maybe you think\u200d that\u2019s \u2063rude or unfair or \u201cFATPHOBIC<\/em>.\u201d After\u2063 all, airlines make allowances for people who have disabilities or are toting kids around, you might retort. But let\u2019s\u200c unpack that. What\u2019s unfair about a mother paying only one \u200dfare for herself\u200b and her infant? The only reason children \u2062under 2 years old fly free<\/a> is that they\u2019re not allowed to take up any\u2063 extra\u2062 seat space. They\u2019re lap-flyers only,\u200b confined\u200b to the space between the two armrests\u200c of the buyer. And airlines take the \u2063stipulations pretty\u2062 seriously. Here\u2019s American Airlines\u2019 rule<\/a>:<\/p>\n
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Only 1 infant \u2062may be seated\u200d in the lap of each ticketed accompanying adult and the infant must be\u2063 included in the \u2064reservation. \u2026 The infant\u2063 must\u200d be under 2 years of age for the duration of the trip. If they turn 2 during a trip, they will need\u2064 their own seat for the remainder of the\u200d trip. \u2026 If your infant\u2064 will travel in their own seat, you must buy a ticket.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Southwest is similarly strict, emphasizing<\/a> that a child\u200c younger than 2, \u201cnot \u200boccupying a seat, may be carried as a Lap Child.\u201d Oh, and make \u200csure you have the\u200d infant\u2019s\u2063 birth certificate or passport handy \u200cbecause the\u2064 only way to avoid \u200cpaying<\/a> a second fare is to prove your baby <\/p>\n
How has Southwest Airlines recently addressed the issue \u2062of “passengers of size”?<\/h2>\n
The \u2064Golden Era of Air\u200b Travel<\/p>\n
The 1990s should \u2063have been a\u200c golden era for\u200d air travel, with \u2063the newly banned in-flight \u2062smoking and\u200d the Twin Towers still\u2064 standing. However,\u200b times were tough. Due to\u2062 a \u2064recession, flying\u200d was \u2063off the \u2062table for many\u200b Americans, and airlines were doing whatever they could to fill seats.<\/p>\n
To attract more passengers, Southwest Airlines\u2062 launched a promotion in 1991 called\u200d “Friends Fly Free,” offering two \u2064seats for the price of\u200d one. The promotion was such a hit that it \u200cwas extended for the next five years.<\/p>\n
Fast \u2064forward to 2023, and times are tough once again, not only in the \u2063economy but also for \u200danyone\u200d looking to \u200dfly Southwest Airlines soon. The airline\u2064 has effectively\u2064 launched\u2062 a new promotion\u200b called “Fatties Fly\u200d Free,” thanks to a group of overweight TikTokers.<\/p>\n
According to a report by Fox Business, “passengers of \u200csize” on TikTok\u200d discovered that they can request complimentary seats to\u200c accommodate their\u2063 size. Customers whose \u2063bodies “encroach” past the armrest are entitled \u200cto an extra \u2062seat, as per Southwest’s inclusion policy.<\/p>\n
So, let’s get this straight.\u200d Non-obese customers will have to \u200dpay \u2063extra so overweight passengers can encroach into the second or \u200dthird \u200dseat they are entitled to?\u200c It doesn’t\u2062 take\u200d a fancy economist to understand how basic supply and demand work. Any secondary\u2063 seat reserved \u2063at\u200b no extra cost for one traveler means one less seat available for\u200b a paying customer. This will ultimately lead to a decrease\u2064 in supply and an\u200d increase in prices.<\/p>\n
Don’t get me wrong, \u2063I believe\u2063 overweight passengers should have some extra elbow room. \u200dSouthwest seems to be onto something by setting a clear \u200dboundary with their “Customer \u2062of size” policy. \u2064The\u2062 armrest serves as the definitive\u200b gauge, and\u2064 if a passenger is unable to lower both armrests or encroaches upon another seat,\u2064 they need a second seat.<\/p>\n
I understand the importance of \u200ccomfort during \u200dflights, as \u2062there is nothing worse than waking\u2062 up from an \u200buncomfortable nap to find that your seatmate’s sprawling \u200cbody is taking up half of the seat you paid for. However, it \u200bis essential to \u200dremember that each seat comes at a cost. If one \u2063passenger requires an extra\u2063 seat, it means another paying customer will have less availability or may have to pay a higher price.<\/p>\n
Finding a balance\u2062 between accommodating overweight passengers and ensuring fairness for \u200call customers is crucial for airlines. Perhaps there are alternative solutions that can be explored, such as\u2064 offering discounted\u2062 rates for extra seats\u200c or providing specialized seating arrangements.<\/p>\n
In conclusion, while it is important\u2063 to consider \u200bthe comfort of overweight\u2064 passengers, it is\u200b equally important to ensure\u200b fairness for all customers. Airlines need to find a way to strike a balance and avoid \u2064creating additional financial burdens for non-obese \u2063passengers. This will not only benefit\u200b the airlines themselves but also contribute\u200b to overall customer satisfaction in \u200bthe air travel \u2064industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The 1990s, despite the ban on in-flight smoking and the Twin Towers still intact, were not the expected golden era for air travel. The recession forced many Americans to forgo flying, leading airlines like Southwest to employ various strategies to fill seats and stay afloat<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":994,"featured_media":2125818,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2125817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2125817","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/994"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2125817"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2125817\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2125818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2125817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2125817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2125817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}