Healthcare Concern: Too Fat To Fly Becomes Cyber War On The Internet

By Cathy Wilson Posted in Health Insurance News



The idea of being too fat to fly is a hot issue right now, due in large part (no pun intended) to actor and filmmaker Kevin Smith. Last weekend Smith was ejected from his Southwest Airlines flight for being too large to fly. Angered by what happened, Smith began “tweeting” on his Twitter account with negative posts about Southwest Airlines. Since that time, Southwest has issued apologies and even offered him a $100 voucher, but he is still apparently not pleased.

Are Regulations For Size Necessary

Southwest Airlines states that its policy for determining whether a person is too large for a flight is based on whether or not he or she can lower both armrests on each side. If the passenger cannot complete the task, they may be asked to purchase an additional ticket for another seat, or removed until there is room aboard another flight.

As for Kevin Smith, he had purchased two seats for his original flight, but ended up flying stand-by on an earlier flight. He claims he could put both armrests down, and there were people larger than him that were not asked to get off the plane. Some of his Twitter postings reflect that he knows he is overweight, but not so large as to be kicked off a plane.

Did Southwest Pick The Wrong Person To Upset

While there have probably been numerous people that have been asked to de-board planes based on size, it’s possible Southwest regrets choosing to pick Kevin Smith as one of those people. He happens to have a rather large Twitter and fan following, and almost immediately after the incident he was bad-mouthing the airlines through his account. Southwest has also followed suit, and used Twitter as a way to apologize, but it may just be too late.

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