STAR BACKS NEW PLAN TO MAKE PLUS-SIZE PLANE PASSENGERS PAY FOR AN EXTRA SEAT
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Starting early next year, Southwest Airlines will begin charging plus-size passengers for additional seats, which has sparked outcry from some and support from others, including the host of a high-profile radio show.
On a recent episode of The Breakfast Club, co-host Lenard McKelvey, professionally known as Charlamagne tha God, said he does 'not have a problem at all' with the policy change.
'Why don't they just make them fly cargo,' Charlamagne joked. 'If you are too big for one seat, then you just gotta buy two seats.'
At the moment, Southwest has a uniquely inclusive policy that allows plus-size passengers to purchase a second seat while booking their flight with the promise of a later refund, or those passengers can request a second seat at the airport for free.
But starting on January 27, 2026, that will no longer be the case. The airline announced that passengers 'should proactively purchase the needed number of seats prior to travel.'
If they arrive at the airport and have not done so, they will be required to buy another seat there. If there are none available, they will be rebooked on the next flight that has adjacent seats available.
Southwest specified that 'The armrest is considered to be the definitive boundary between seats.' The airline recommended that customers review the width of their planes' seats in order to make informed purchases.
The widest available seats on the airline's planes are 17 inches or 17.8 inches, depending on the model of the jet. Boeing 737-700s have the narrower seats, while Boeing 737-800s and Boeing 737-MAX 8s have the slightly wider ones.
Plus-size customers who purchase an extra seat may still receive a refund if the plane departed with at least one open seat and the refund request is made within 90 days of the trip. Both seats must also have been purchased in the same fare class.
On The Breakfast Club episode, a guest questioned the policy change, noting that many overweight people currently choose to fly Southwest because of the inclusive policy.
After Charlamagne responded that he had no problem with the change, he said: 'Don't act like the plane is doing something to you. You know how big you are.'
'But what if you don't got the bread to buy another seat?' the guest asked.
'Well, you shouldn't have been eating so much bread,' Charlamagne added before chuckling.
The co-host then pointed out that tall people often have to spend more on plane tickets as well, because they have to purchase seats with extra leg room.
'So it ain't just fat people that gotta deal with this,' Charlamagne continued.
'That's my problem with situations like this. Nobody thinks about the other people who are inconvenienced.'
'You a big person, and you squeezing into one seat, now I gotta sit next to you uncomfortably. You understand what I'm saying?'
The change for plus-size passengers comes alongside a series of other policy changes the airline has recently made or has planned, such as the controversial cancellation of its free baggage policy in May.
The new rule for plus-size passengers will be implemented on the same day that the airline switches from open seating to assigned seating.
The change for larger folks is meant to ensure that all passengers receive the seat they selected when booking.
All of these changes bring Southwest's policies in line with other major airlines, most of which charge for checked bags, use assigned seating and charge larger passengers for adjacent seats.
A spokesperson for Southwest Airlines told the Daily Mail: 'We are moving from open seating to assigned seating on January 27, 2026, and are updating many policies as we prepare our operation, Employees, and Customers.'
'To ensure space, we have communicated to Customers who have previously used the extra seat policy they should purchase it at booking,' the statement concluded.
Southwest's inclusive seating policy originally came into effect soon after Kevin Smith, the filmmaker and actor, was kicked off one of the airline's flights for being 'too fat to fly' in 2010.
He publicly complained about the experience, which sparked controversy and led the airline to issue an apology and soften its stance.
Smith has since lost a great deal of weight, but in 2010, he told CNN: 'I'm never going on Southwest again.'
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