Random Thoughts

The media has a new bad guy for this week. They have decided to focus our attention on the “demons” at Southwest Airlines. Sure, this new policy is controvercial, but is it really as bad as the journalists want us to believe? No. Basically, Southwest is requiring people who take up two seats to pay for the space they require if the flight is sold out. Why shouldn’t they? If I pay for a ticket and I get bumped because there is no room for me on the plane, and someone is taking up two seats (one of which I paid for); it is logical to me they be required to purchase that space. In fact, I would demand it! Even if I don’t get bumped, I don’t want to spend the entire flight squished against the window because there is someone taking up half of the seat I purchased.

The last time I flew Southwest, I was stuck next to a “chatty cathy” who had crusty feet which she continued to stick in my space; I even had to look at them when I was eating! Yes, she was a butterball, no she did not qualify for this new rule, but I wish she had of. She was plump and extremely annoying, and her nasty foot kept touching me. Luckily, my flight was only an hour long; I might have screamed if it was one second longer. I realize one day I might be subject to this policy myself, and I would purchase the other seat. While Southwest is at it, I hope they will require people travelling with small children to purchase a seat for them as well and maybe they could require people who carry on everything but the kitchen sink to pay for their extra space as well.

Southwest is the people’s airline. It is the only major airline that did not lose money following September 11th, but it has always been a different way to fly, from the cattle calls to the open seating, they are definitely unlike any other airline. They make the rules, and they make flying cheaper and in most cases friendlier, but I know people who won’t fly with them because they don’t want to put up with getting to the airport early and fighting for a general admission seat. That’s okay by me, it leaves me more room to stretch out. Southwest will weather this new storm because people love a bargain and they will keep flying Southwest. Bottom line, in most cases, it is cheaper to buy two tickets on Southwest than one ticket on other airlines especially when they run the “friends fly free” promotion. The plane’s might be older, but the seats are bigger, the staff is nicer, and the price is right!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 19th, 2002 at 8:22 pm and is filed under Main. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.