Smith first alerted his fans at 5:52pm on February 13th with this Tweet: "Dear @SouthwestAir - I know I'm fat, but was Captain Leysath really justified in throwing me off a flight for which I was already seated?"
Smith (Cop Out) knows he's fat, readily admits that fact, but he has never had a problem on a plane prior to this incident. In his Smodcast #106, Smith spelled out the timeline and what really went down from his perspective. Smith explained he flies out of Burbank on Southwest whenever he flies to Vegas or San Francisco/Oakland, and purchased two tickets because he likes to have the seat next to him open - and he can afford it. But when he decided coming home earlier meant he could only have one seat because the flight was packed, Smith opted for the earlier flight knowing that meant he wouldn't have his customary extra seat.
Smith singles out two Southwest employees, not the flight attendants or the pilot, who caused him to be removed after he sat down between two women in the front of the plane. Neither woman complained about his girth or expressed any distress whatsoever over being seated next to Smith, yet a Southwest Airlines employee named 'Suzanne' who had been the employee at the gate who confirmed his stand-by status, came onto the plane and told him the pilot said he can't sit where he was sitting. The reason? Safety issues. Smith says Suzanne told him he needed to get off the plane, though Smith had no problem lowering his armrests and didn't need a seatbelt extender.
After Smith Tweeted the incident to his 1.6+ million followers, a Southwest representative tracked Smith down in the airport to apologize and get him on the next flight home. But Smith's Southwest versus overweight people story didn't stop there. On Smith's flight home, after being allowed to board early even though he didn't need early boarding, he sat next to a large woman who had to endure the same treatment. Although there wasn't an issue at the time - Smith says there was an empty seat in between them - a flight attendant pulled the female passenger aside and told her that in the future she needs to consider buying two tickets. That, says Smith, is the straw that broke the camel's back.
On their blog, Southwest had this to say, "First and foremost, to Mr. Smith; we would like to echo our Tweets and again offer our heartfelt apologies to you. We are sincerely sorry for your travel experience on Southwest Airlines."
"As soon as we saw the first Tweet from Mr. Smith, we contacted him personally to apologize for his experience and to address his concerns on both Twitter and with a personal phone call."
Southwest Airlines' official policy on what constitutes 'fat' is: "The armrest is the definitive gauge for a Customer of size. It serves as the boundary between seats and measures 17 inches in width. Customers who are unable to lower both armrests and/or who compromise any portion of adjacent seating should proactively book the number of seats needed prior to travel."
