Kevin Smith Southwest Airlines

Writer/director Kevin Smith was allegedly removed from a Southwest Airlines flight on February 13, 2010, after being informed by a flight attendant that the pilot felt he was too heavy, and thus presented a "safety risk."http://twitter.com/ThatKevinSmith Smith immediately took to his Twitter account to inform the world about what had occurred, and to criticize Southwest's handling of the incident.http://defamer.gawker.com/5471463/the-kevin-smith-southwest-airlines-fat+flight-tweakout-of-epic-proportions?skyline=true&s=i

Smith eventually did get another Southwest flight to Burbank, on which he was able to remain in his seat without a problem. He has stated that he will dedicate an upcoming edition of his popular podcast, the Smodcast, to the Southwest incident.http://twitter.com/ThatKevinSmith The Southwest Airlines Twitter account apologized to Smith and promised he would get a phone call from the customer service department. According to Smith, no voicemail or phone call has been received.http://defamer.gawker.com/5471463/the-kevin-smith-southwest-airlines-fat+flight-tweakout-of-epic-proportions?skyline=true&s=i

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?http://twitter.com/ThatKevinSmith/status/9079110598

bag is up, and I'm seated WITH ARM RESTS DOWN. In front of a packed plane with a bunch of folks who'd already I.d.ed me as "Silent Bob."http://twitter.com/ThatKevinSmith/status/9079312329

Hey @SouthwestAir! I've landed in Burbank. Don't worry: wall of the plane was opened & I was airlifted out while Richard Simmons supervised.http://twitter.com/ThatKevinSmith/status/9084395211

Hey @SouthwestAir! I've just recorded a Very Special Episode of SModcast - all for you. It goes live tomorrow night. http://www.smodcast.comhttp://twitter.com/ThatKevinSmith/status/9088969528

The debate about overweight and obese airline passengers has been raging for several years. This is not even the first incident with an overweight customer being controversially removed from a flight by Southwest Airlines. In September of 2009, a man attempting to fly to Chicago was not allowed to board a Southwest flight after being informed he would not fit in the seat. The man argued that he could fit in the seats on the plane, and had done so recently, but was not given an opportunity to try it out.http://consumerist.com/2009/09/southwest-suddenly-decides-man-is-too-fat-to-fly-again.html

Later that year, a photo was published online depicting a very obese individual on an American Airlines flight, begging the question of whether it was safe and fair to other passengers to allow someone of that size on to a plane designed for more slender individuals.http://www.nydailynews.com/travel/2009/12/03/2009-12-03_too_fat_to_fly_photo_showing_overweight_passenger_raises_questions_of_airline_sa.html

A solution suggested by Air France has been to charge passengers they believe are too large for one seat a double-fare, allowing them to fill up a second seat.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/7038141/Air-France-to-charge-obese-passengers-for-two-seats.html