A Southwest Airlines passenger has sparked a discussion after claiming she was discriminated against because of her size.
In a TikTok video that garnered over 758,200 views, Erika (@erikwithK) describes a frustrating and confusing experience while checking in her bag for a flight to Las Vegas.
She explains that she and her best friend were traveling to see the Backstreet Boys, but she decided to check a bag since she was heading to Burbank afterward to visit her sister.
According to her, something was off from the start, as she recalls the agent asking about “extra room.” Erika says she initially thought the employee was offering an upgrade.
“I was like, oh no, I’m okay,” she says, noting that she had already purchased an upgraded window seat. “It makes me sick if I can’t look out,” she says.
However, Erika quickly realized the worker was referring to an extra seat because of her size.
“Are you saying I need an extra seat because I’m bigger?” Erika recalls asking.
The worker allegedly responded, “It’s for the safety and comfort of other passengers.”
Erika was taken aback. “What is the process for you deciding that?” she asks. “Just looking at me, you have no clue if I can fit in the seat or not.”
She says she politely declined, but the worker “doubled down” and allegedly told her she would need to purchase an extra seat in order to board the flight.
“I was so caught off guard, so confused,” Erika says.
She then asked to speak with a supervisor, but that interaction was similar.
“She’s just as bad, if not worse,” Erika recalls. “She came in guns blazing… she goes, ‘can you put the armrest down and not have it pop up?’”
Erika says she told her she could, but that didn’t change the outcome.
The supervisor allegedly reiterated that the request was “for the safety and the comfort of other customers.”
However, Erika pointed out that she was sitting next to her best friend, in a window seat she had already paid extra for. “My best friend doesn’t care about my thigh heat, okay?” she says in the video. “She’s fine. We’re fine.”
Still, she says they demanded she pay an additional $176.
“We almost missed our flight,” she adds, explaining that the agent was on the phone for a long time trying to rearrange seating on a flight that was “not close to full.”
Once seated, she says she documented everything. “I sit down, put the armrest down, put my seatbelt on, I sit in the seat,” she says. “I took pictures. I’ve sent my complaint to Southwest. I have requested a refund for the $176.”
She also recalls a flight attendant being “appalled” when Erika explained what happened.
Erika says her main issue is what she views as an inconsistent and subjective process.
“If I had gotten in the seat and someone had complained… I get that,” she says. “The problem is, what is your process?”
She questions what specific criteria the worker evaluated her against. “You can’t just look at someone and determine that they can’t fit in a seat,” she says. “Because guess what? My fat a** did fit in the seat.”
She described the experience as “discriminatory” and “predatory,” arguing that the policy targets vulnerable people who are “already probably nervous to fly.”
“I will not be quiet, because I am furious,” she says. “I’m not humiliated. I’m p***** off because there’s no process.”
When she purchased her ticket, she says there was no mention of a passenger’s weight policy. “As a bigger person, I understand that policy,” she says. “But this policy of just having someone look at me and decide I can’t fit in the seat is not okay.”
Adding to her frustration, Erika says that on her return flight, no Southwest employee mentioned anything about her size or seating.
“So your inconsistent policy is absolute trash,” she says. “I will never be flying with you guys again.”
She concludes the video with a warning to other plus-size travelers.
“You are a customer of size,” she says. “Be warned and be prepared to have just someone look you up and down and decide that you can’t fit in a seat.”
The airline defines customers of size as passengers who “encroach upon the neighboring seat(s),” and directs them to purchase additional seats when booking their flight.
The determination of whether one qualifies as a customer of size is not clearly defined. There are no specific weight or size requirements. Instead, the airline advises passengers to review the width of seats in the specific aircraft they’re booking to determine if they need additional space.
An important component of the policy is that a customer of size may qualify for a refund for their extra seat after the flight is completed. However, the refund is contingent on at least one empty seat being available on the flight at departure.
Southwest Airlines updated its extra seat policy last year. Previously, it was up to plus-sized passengers to decide whether to purchase an extra seat, and the cost was refunded after the flight regardless of seat availability.
Under the airlines’ previous policy, some passengers have shared online that a Southwest Airlines worker told them they don’t qualify as customer of size, even though they feel uncomfortable occupying only one seat.
Under the current policy, plus-sized passengers are required to buy the extra seat ahead of time, and a refund is no longer guaranteed.
In the comments, viewers shared differing opinions. Some pointed out issues with airplane seating.
“Sounds like Southwest is profiling and discriminating against customers just to make more money,” one user wrote.
“Without a clearly defined policy that is easily accessible for customers, this practice is extremely discriminatory and embarrassing,” stated another.
A third commenter shared a different perspective. “I’m sorry, dear, but having been on the other end of that situation and having to share my seat with someone who was much larger than their seats was incredibly stressful,” they wrote. “I had a full panic attack because that person was literally on me.”
Erika responded, “I get that. That’s stressful for sure—but I can fit in my seat…”
“Capitalism has brainwashed us into thinking a fat person is the problem when it’s the corporations squeezing ALL of us into spaces we don’t fit,” a fourth commenter wrote. “Airplanes are horrible for tall people, disabled people, etc., not just fat people. More space is better for EVERYONE!”
Boarding Area has reached out to Southwest Airlines via email, and Erika via TikTok messages and comments.
@erikawithak27 @Southwest Airlines #southwest #southwestairlines #flying #omaha ♬ original sound – erikawithaK
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I”m glad Southwest has a policy to handle passengers who take up more space than the seat they purchased. Whether this passenger did or not I don’t know.
She is absolutely right that there is inconsistent and arbitrary enforcement of Southwest’s policy. I have no problem with airlines requiring obese passengers to purchase an additional seat SO LONG AS THEY GET TWO SEATS. It’s when they make you pay for two seats but then it’s still a full flight. Then the safety and comfort of other passengers logic goes out the window because the so called dangerous condition of an obese passenger squishing the person in the adjacent seat still exists, but the airline got more money. So long as the seats are at least 17” wide, airlines should be able to enforce a policy like this if it’s consistent and objective.