Southwest Airlines says it just wants to provide a comfortable trip for all its passengers.
But some say they're discriminating against overweight people.
The popular discount airliner is under fire today from advocates for the obese, because beginning next Wednesday it will enforce a policy that makes people buy two tickets if they're too big to fit in one seat on the plane.
A spokeswoman for the airline says it's in the business of selling seats -- and "if you consume more than one seat, you have to buy more than one seat."
But critics call the policy "discriminatory" and "mean-spirited."
Southwest says it doesn't weigh or measure passengers, but allows its ticket agents to "make a judgment call." The passenger can get a refund later if the flight isn't sold out.
Southwest says it's had such a policy since 1980, but its employees were reminded of it this week, as the airline switched to a different kind of boarding pass.
Several other airlines have similar rules, including United, Continental and Northwest.
June 19, 2002
