February 15, 2010
“Silent Bob kicked off plane for being too fat” incident summary
Kevin Smith (director of Zach and Miri Make a Porno and the new movie Cop Out with Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan — more commonly known to me as Silent Bob, so that’s what I’m going to call him) went ballistic today on Twitter then on his own podcast and blog over an incident that happened on a flight. Silent Bob got asked to leave a Southwest Airline flight because he was too fat (not in those words, of course). Silent Bob usually purchases two seats on flights because, according to him, “its just more comfortable” and he “can afford it” so he doesn’t usually run into this problem. However, this time he got bumped to a different flight and only got one seat. After he was already seated the flight attendant asked him to deplane because, to her judgement, the armrests could not easily go down all the way, a no-no for Southwest Airlines.
Silent Bob was, of course, enraged. He admitted to the flight attendant that yes, he is fat, but that he isn’t so fat that he couldn’t fit comfortably in his seat. After his social media outcries Southwest apologized twice (once as a Twitter response to Silent Bob). Additionally, Silent Bob was able to get on a later Southwest flight, where he Twitpic-ed himself seated with both armrests down, so clearly the flight attendant judged incorrectly.
This is getting a lot of media buzz because Canada just passed a law (of course) that says if a passenger must get a second seat because they are overweight then the second seat is free. Oh liberal Canada, that doesn’t even make sense. Its another seat and it costs money. If you bring a kid on a plane and they take up an extra seat it costs extra. If you bring your large self on the plane it should cost extra, too.
Passenger advocacy groups (which I had no idea existed and who must not be doing that great of a job because we all have to pay that new extra fee for checked luggage… I’m just saying) are saying that this just goes to show that the airlines need more concrete guidelines so that flight attendants are not making subjective judgments on the fatness at which you can’t ride a plane. They also say that with the rise of obesity in the U.S., the airlines should install special “obese” rows reserved for passengers that might need that extra room. My thoughts… 1.) Its interesting that Silent Bob is not even so overweight that he really couldn’t get down the armrests, but he’s about to be the face for every obese advocacy cause. 2.) Tweeting something off the wall and making yourself the wronged victim right when you have a movie coming out is great PR. Silent Bob got tons of Twitter followers off of this. 3.) Don’t fly Southwest if you’re fat, those seats are tight even if you can get the armrests down. 4.) Only fly first class if you’re fat because its more comfortable, you get better food anyways and its probably cheaper than buying the two seats you know you need to purchase so that your thigh won’t be touching me for the next 6 hours.
I should avoid saying the obvious about the U.S. really having a problem when people get to talking about obese rows on planes… but it really needs to be said.
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