LOS ANGELES, CA – Southwest Airlines gave one of its passengers the boot because of some “extra” baggage.
Kevin Smith, known for his role as Silent Bob, was asked to leave from a recent flight because he didn’t fit properly in a single seat. According to Smith, he fit perfectly as both arm rests could be put down and his seatbelt buckled without an extender, which is Southwest’s standard.
Throughout the whole ordeal, Smith took to his Twitter account to voice his displeasure. At one point he uploaded a picture of himself while sitting on the plane, with his cheeks puffed out, turning his anger into sarcasm. He also tweeted, “I’m way fat, but I’m not there just yet,” and “If you look like me, you may be ejected from Southwest Air.”
Smith’s fan rose up and immediately supported their actor and director. Due to the storm of angry online comments from Smith and his fans, the airline issued an apology first over its Twitter account and later in a statement on its Web site. “We would like to echo our tweets and again offer our heartfelt apologies to you,” the statement said.
The airline also accommodated Smith on a later flight, gave him a $100 voucher, and apologized by phone.
Kevin Smith is the director of the upcoming movie, Cop Out, starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan.
I hope this fosters a change in how people are treated by SW airlines. Had it not been someone with celebrity status, would they have gotten an apology and a voucher? I doubt it.
if you ever sat next to a really large person on an airpplane you know how very uncomfortable it is.
The complete combination of epic, humor, and bikinis ¡ª perfect win! I love these type of scenes in shows i watch; gets it all that more such meta.