Director Kevin Smith 'Too Fat' to Fly

[TheQueen]

Kevin Smith was delayed getting from Oakland to Burbank Saturday night because he was "too wide for the sky." According to the 'Clerks' and 'Jay & Silent Bob' director's Twitter, Southwest Airlines removed him from a flight after deeming him a safety risk.

"Dear @SouthwestAir - I know I'm fat, but was Captain Leysath really justified in throwing me off a flight for which I was already seated?" Smith tweeted.

"I'm way fat... But I'm not THERE just yet," he continued. "But if I am, why wait til my bag is up, and I'm seated WITH ARM RESTS DOWN. In front of a packed plane with a bunch of folks who'd already I.d.ed me as 'Silent Bob.'"

Smith was given a $100 voucher and put on a different Southwest flight, from which he continued to chronicle his mistreatment:

"Hey @SouthwestAir! Look how fat I am on your plane! Quick! Throw me off!" he tweeted along with the picture below.

"The @SouthwestAir Diet. How it works: you're publicly shamed into a slimmer figure. Crying the weight right off has never been easier!" he continued. "Hey @SouthwestAir! I've landed in Burbank. Don't worry: wall of the plane was opened & I was airlifted out while Richard Simmons supervised."

Southwest Airlines has a "customer of size" policy, requiring passengers to buy a second seat if they cannot fit between the arm rests. When extra seats are available these passengers are given refunds or relocated free of charge.

The company has not ignored Smith's Twitter rant.

"I've read the tweets all night from @thatkevinsmith - He'll be getting a call at home from our Customer Relations VP tonight," it tweeted. "Again, I'm very sorry for the experience you had tonight. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do."

PHOTO:

http://images.huffingtonpost.com/gen/140988/KEVIN-SMITH.jpg

[aliciakatherine]

I read about this on The Consumerist. He's a big guy...he's NOT the biggest guy I've ever seen on an airplane! According to The Consumerist, Southwest has a habit of randomly deciding someone is "too fat to fly". A frequent flyer who flies twice/week for his job was all of a sudden told that he would need to purchase a second ticket.

There HAS to be some boundaries. Maybe something the person can stand on, or next to, that helps the agent assess their weight...but not to the knowledge of the passenger? Would that even be legal?

http://consumerist.com/2009/06/southwest-suddenly-decides-frequent-flyer-is-too-big-to-fly.html

[aliciakatherine]

Oh apparently it is Southwest's policy that a passanger must be able to sit in the seat with the arm rests down comfortably. I propose a row of seats in a private area of the airport where the suspiciously fat person can show that hey look...the arm rests go down! :blink:shrug

[figmentmom]

You might recall that I got thrown off a Northwest flight once because they were having weight problems. :rotfl Now, granted, I was flying non-rev (for free, because Sara worked for NWA at the time), but STILL.

[Oscar Brito]

If he's such a "big" director, he should have flown private. So since he didn't, he must either be hard up, or really cheap.

That's what I don't understand. I think he did it on purpose, for publicity or because he wants to fight them over the regulation/practice...don't they have first class on Southwest? :dunno

The whole thing smells like a stunt.

[aliciakatherine]

Nope, Southwest is a first come, first serve airline. You check in, are given a 'group' and a number and you line up and sit anywhere you like. It's a mess..


I don't see why he "should" spend extra money on a flight just because he HAS extra money. Cheap is cheap. Money savy is Money savy. Any plane will get you there the same way. One is more comfortable and has leather seats, the other is stuffed and crammed with people. :shrug personal choice.

He and his wife are raising a little girl. Maybe they don't want to raise her "Suri" style...

[Oscar Brito]

Nope, Southwest is a first come, first serve airline. You check in, are given a 'group' and a number and you line up and sit anywhere you like. It's a mess..


I don't see why he "should" spend extra money on a flight just because he HAS extra money. Cheap is cheap. Money savy is Money savy. Any plane will get you there the same way. One is more comfortable and has leather seats, the other is stuffed and crammed with people. :shrug personal choice.

He and his wife are raising a little girl. Maybe they don't want to raise her "Suri" style...

He did buy two seats (so its not like was being too cheap)....but he then wanted to take an earlier flight I think, and that second seat wasn't available on that flight. :shrug

[BeeJay]

I don't see why he "should" spend extra money on a flight just because he HAS extra money. Cheap is cheap. Money savy is Money savy. Any plane will get you there the same way. One is more comfortable and has leather seats, the other is stuffed and crammed with people. :shrug personal choice.


Not to mention if a celebrity flies private, he gets called a hypocrite who's only interested in lecturing other people on the environment while ignoring his own carbon footprint.

Damned if you do... :lookaroun

[figmentmom]

Not to mention if a celebrity flies private, he gets called a hypocrite who's only interested in lecturing other people on the environment while ignoring his own carbon footprint.

Damned if you do... :lookaroun

So true. :rollseyes :lol

[Christy]

That's what I don't understand. I think he did it on purpose, for publicity or because he wants to fight them over the regulation/practice...don't they have first class on Southwest? :dunno

The whole thing smells like a stunt.

I'm sure the events all were what they were, it wasn't something he could set up, but the little girl piss and moan act is ridiculous.

[Doug11]

He did buy two seats (so its not like was being too cheap)....but he then wanted to take an earlier flight I think, and that second seat wasn't available on that flight. :shrug

In that situation, it is like he is traveling with a friend. If only one seat was available on the earlier flight, he should have stayed behind and waited for the flight with 2 seats.

The policy may be . . . awkward? . . . but he knew it going in. Did he need Southwest to tell him he didn't meet their size restrictions for the single seat on that flight? He knew this or he wouldn't have bought 2 seats for the flight he was already on.

:shrug

I think both parties are to blame and he's milking it for all he can get.

[figmentmom]

In that situation, it is like he is traveling with a friend. If only one seat was available on the earlier flight, he should have stayed behind and waited for the flight with 2 seats.

The policy may be . . . awkward? . . . but he knew it going in. Did he need Southwest to tell him he didn't meet their size restrictions for the single seat on that flight? He knew this or he wouldn't have bought 2 seats for the flight he was already on.

:shrug

I think both parties are to blame and he's milking it for all he can get.

I happened to be in Albany airport heading for Minneapolis once when a gentleman of size, who had purchased only one ticket, was told by the ticket agent as he was checking in that he would have to purchase another ticket - and not at the discounted rate he had bought the FIRST seat for, either. Words were exchanged, things got heated, and airport security was called. I don't know how the situation was resolved, but I did see him past the security checkpoint later, so I know he did get on a plane. :shrug

[Christy]

I happened to be in Albany airport heading for Minneapolis once when a gentleman of size, who had purchased only one ticket, was told by the ticket agent as he was checking in that he would have to purchase another ticket - and not at the discounted rate he had bought the FIRST seat for, either. Words were exchanged, things got heated, and airport security was called. I don't know how the situation was resolved, but I did see him past the security checkpoint later, so I know he did get on a plane. :shrug

Did you feel the urge to squeeze him? :lookaroun

Am I remembering correctly that people "of size" are wanting airlines to accomodate them with two seats for free if they can't fit into one?

[figmentmom]

Did you feel the urge to squeeze him? :lookaroun

Am I remembering correctly that people "of size" are wanting airlines to accomodate them with two seats for free if they can't fit into one?

I resisted the temptation to get anywhere near him, since he was attracting so much TSA attention. :rotfl I think his specific complaint that day was being forced to buy two seats (one of them the last-minute-extremely-expensive kind!) when there were empty seats on the flight.

[Christy]

In a situation like that I think it is fair that he pay for the 2nd seat what he paid for the first :dunno

I don't know though... if another person just walked up and needed that seat right then they wouldn't get any special considerations.

While we are on the subject of size, I saw a commercial for Rachel Ray today (which is about the only way I'll see Rachel Ray :lookaroun ) where she was going to have a segment about "real women" and their fashion or whatever... can we please stop saying that only women who are not skinny are "real women" :rollseyes So annoying.

[Oscar Brito]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/02/18/ladman.airplane.smith/index.html

:)

[figmentmom]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/02/18/ladman.airplane.smith/index.html

:)

:lol

[Garyhoov]

It seems like Kevin Smith is being a drama queen, but I think he's raising some points that need to be discussed.

The average airplane seat is 17 inches wide. I'm not huge and if I hold a yardstick up to my shoulders, I'm 22 inches across.

Overly fat people should have to get two seats, but the standard seat should be wide enough for regular people to sit in.

[Garyhoov]

And as long as I'm in bitch mode, I don't mind paying a little extra for a checked bag, but ever since they started charging, people have been bringing bigger and bigger bags as carry-ons and that, combined with the fact that there no longer seem to be any flights that aren't packed full anymore, make storing bags in the overhead compartments impossible.:mad

[figmentmom]

It seems like Kevin Smith is being a drama queen, but I think he's raising some points that need to be discussed.

The average airplane seat is 17 inches wide. I'm not huge and if I hold a yardstick up to my shoulders, I'm 22 inches across.

Overly fat people should have to get two seats, but the standard seat should be wide enough for regular people to sit in.

Seriously. I'm not terribly big, either, but if I'm wearing a jacket - and when I travel in the winter, I usually am, and you CAN'T PUT YOUR COAT IN THE OVERHEAD COMPARTMENTS! :mad - it's a tighter fit than you'd think.


And as long as I'm in bitch mode, I don't mind paying a little extra for a checked bag, but ever since they started charging, people have been bringing bigger and bigger bags as carry-ons and that, combined with the fact that there no longer seem to be any flights that aren't packed full anymore, make storing bags in the overhead compartments impossible.:mad

Airlines LOATHE carry-on baggage. What they were really hoping for when the TSA started restricting liquids and gels was a further ban on ALL carry-on (Sara was working for Northwest at the time).

[Doug11]

And as long as I'm in bitch mode, I don't mind paying a little extra for a checked bag, but ever since they started charging, people have been bringing bigger and bigger bags as carry-ons and that, combined with the fact that there no longer seem to be any flights that aren't packed full anymore, make storing bags in the overhead compartments impossible.:mad

Well, this fits hand in glove with the article Oz posted from the CNN website. If airlines are going to treat us like cattle and make air travel one step above bus travel, then as long as I can rebel against their bullshit extra charges by carrying on my bags, I'm going to do it.

Not on Southwest, of course. They don't charge anything extra for up to 2 bags per person!

Personally, I like Southwest best among the airlines that fly in and out of our local airports. :D

[figmentmom]

Personally, I like Southwest best among the airlines that fly in and out of our local airports. :D

If I'm flying for free, it's Delta/Northwest for me. Not that I LIKE them, you understand. :rotfl But if I'm a paying customer, I always fly Southwest. :thumbs

[Doug11]

If I'm flying for free, it's Delta/Northwest for me. Not that I LIKE them, you understand. :rotfl But if I'm a paying customer, I always fly Southwest. :thumbs

Understood. I want to have a fondness for Delta based on their Atlanta roots, but they have alienated me. I don't get to fly for free, so I will choose Airtran over Delta for flights into Atlanta. Lower price with better amenities and service, not to mention free bag check. Yes, Delta gets the better gate location, so I'll have a longer walk but I can live with that. :)

[pinkrose]

Well, this fits hand in glove with the article Oz posted from the CNN website. If airlines are going to treat us like cattle and make air travel one step above bus travel, then as long as I can rebel against their bullshit extra charges by carrying on my bags, I'm going to do it.

Not on Southwest, of course. They don't charge anything extra for up to 2 bags per person!

Personally, I like Southwest best among the airlines that fly in and out of our local airports. :D Same here

[photodave]

It seems like Kevin Smith is being a drama queen, but I think he's raising some points that need to be discussed.

The average airplane seat is 17 inches wide. I'm not huge and if I hold a yardstick up to my shoulders, I'm 22 inches across.

Overly fat people should have to get two seats, but the standard seat should be wide enough for regular people to sit in.

YOu've read all the misinformation thats out there. He complied with all of SWA's policies. He normally buys 2 seats because he doesnt like people.