Southwest Airlines must have seen the recent outrage over United Airlines kicking off cheap ticketholders and thought, "We can top that!" Apparently a petite woman had just settled into her seat on a flight from Las Vegas to Sacramento when she was told to deplane in order to accommodate an overweight 14-year old who had just shown up to the gate.
 

Southwest: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire

The woman, who is 5'4" and weighs 110 lbs, alleges that she was berated by Southwest Airlines staff for having the nerve to protest and not want to be forced to catch a later flight. An airline rep later admitted that the situation should have been handled better, but that "flight attendants may have been rushing to make room for the kid in order to save him from embarrassment." Um, I don't care how embarrassing it is for the kid, if he only paid for one seat and can't fit into what he paid for, you can't kick someone else off the flight and give him an extra seat for free. In order to spare a fat kid some embarrassment, Southwest ended up embarrassing another passenger instead (and they probably still embarrassed the kid, anyway -- if my massive girth forced someone else to completely alter their plans, I'd feel pretty bad).

Keep in mind that this is the same airline who got flak for kicking director Kevin Smith off a flight for being too chunky (and he's not even "two seats" fat). Geez, Southwest, you really need to stop Goldilocksing your fat customers and find a Baby Bear solution. Stick with a consistent protocol already.

How would you have handled the situation? Would you have accommodated the overweight minor at the expense of another passenger, or would you have made him either pay for another seat or wait for a less full flight?

What would you have done with the fat Southwest Airlines kid?