"Plus-Size" Fliers OUTRAGED After Southwest Airlines Changes Seating Policy

Southwest Airlines just announced a big seating policy change…literally.

Supersized passengers who do not fit in one seat will now be required to purchase two seats.

This new policy is set to go into effect in January.

Here are the details:

🚨 GREAT NEWS: Southwest Airlines will soon begin requiring oversized passengers to purchase TWO seats

LONG overdue! Nobody should be forced to sit for hours with someone else’s jelly rolls spilling over on top of them.

Southwest describes oversized passengers as those who… pic.twitter.com/fSjJ8bJRfi

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) August 23, 2025

GREAT NEWS: Southwest Airlines will soon begin requiring oversized passengers to purchase TWO seats

LONG overdue! Nobody should be forced to sit for hours with someone else’s jelly rolls spilling over on top of them.

Southwest describes oversized passengers as those who “encroach upon the neighboring seat,” and will go into effect on January 27, 2026, per NYT

All airlines should follow suit!

Southwest Airlines is rolling out a new seating policy targeting obese passengers who take up more than one seat.

Under the change, they’ll now be required to purchase an extra ticket—and refunds may no longer be guaranteed.

Plus-size activists have long pushed back, arguing… pic.twitter.com/8qhmv4ss13

— Shadow of Ezra (@ShadowofEzra) August 23, 2025

Southwest Airlines is rolling out a new seating policy targeting obese passengers who take up more than one seat.

Under the change, they’ll now be required to purchase an extra ticket—and refunds may no longer be guaranteed.

Plus-size activists have long pushed back, arguing their bodies aren’t the issue at all, but rather that the airline’s seats are simply too small.

Up until now, Southwest Airlines has recommended that morbidly obese passengers purchase two seats, but they did not requirement.

That’s all changing soon.

Times Now via MSN explained the seating policy change:

For more than 20 years, Southwest encouraged passengers who needed extra space to buy two seats in advance. After the trip, they could apply for a refund of the second seat’s cost. But under the new rules, passengers will only get their money back if three conditions are met:

The flight must take off with at least one empty seat or with passengers traveling on space-available passes.

Both tickets must be purchased in the same fare class, such as Choice, Choice Preferred, Choice Extra, or Basic.

The refund request has to be made within 90 days of travel.

The airline also says that passengers who cannot fit between two lowered armrests will now be required to buy a second ticket in advance. This change replaces the old policy, which only recommended, but did not require, the purchase of an extra seat.

This all sounds fair and good.

However, many plus-size fliers are outraged that Southwest Airlines would dare charge them for an extra seat.

The New York Times reported on the response from several so-called “fat advocates”:

Tigress Osborn, the executive director of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, an advocacy group, called the changes “devastating” for plus-size passengers, since they raise costs and create a distressing experience.

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“Southwest was the only beacon of hope for many fat people who otherwise wouldn’t have been flying,” said Ms. Osborn, who emphasized that many plus-size travelers don’t fly because of the threat of harassment. “And now that beacon has gone out.”

Southwest Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Kaycee Bivens, 34, a travel agent based in South Carolina, works extensively with plus-size clients under her brand called the Plus Size Passport. “I have been exclusively flying Southwest because of their customer size policy,” said Ms. Bivens, who was disappointed by the changes. She also acknowledged that the cost could be prohibitive for her clients. “If you’re already budgeting and now you’ve got to add $300 to $400 to your budget, that may mean less travelers,” she said.

USA Today added:

Plus-size travelers worry that the new policy is going to make their travel more complicated, without really providing any benefit to Southwest in the long-run.

“It seems like a sneaky add on from a policy that had been around for 20+ years without much hitting the bottom line. I just hope that consumers are aware of this change and I wonder if plus size people will skip out on flying with them at all because of them not knowing if the flight is sold out or not.” Jeff Jenkins, founder of Chubby Diaries, told USA TODAY in a written statement. He said it now falls to travelers to know whether or not their flight is sold out to know if they’ll be eligible for a refund.

“It’s just more anxiety to an already high anxiety experience,” he said.

Newsflash: this policy is not discriminatory.

It’s just basic common sense.

As a counterargument, why should other passengers be forced to cram into a seat next to someone who is spilling out of theirs?

Not to mention…if you’re so fat that you can’t fit into a single seat on an airplane, then maybe instead of crying about it, you should think about losing some weight?

Many other people are happy about the policy change:

If your flesh billows over into MY seat, then you need 2 seats. 💺 💺.
I hear the argument from overweight people how it isn’t fair to be required to pay for 2 seats. Think of how I feel when I only get 1/2 of a seat when I paid for a full one because someone’s flesh is…

— Aerofine (@Aerofine36) August 23, 2025

It was odd that you had to pay extra for weight of your luggage…

…but someone 600 lbs didn’t have to pay extra and you had to squeeze in beside them as if that wasn’t a problem

— Matt Van Swol (@matt_vanswol) August 23, 2025