SOUTHWEST BOSSES APOLOGISE TO SMITH
Bosses at U.S. airline Southwest have apologised to moviemaker and actor = KEVIN SMITH for kicking him off a plane bound for Burbank, California on = Saturday (13Feb10) - because of his size.
The heavyweight director had boarded the full plane in Oakland, Califor= nia when he was asked to return to the terminal.
Smith ‘tweeted’ about the humiliating incident and revealed he was able= to board a later Southwest flight.
And now Southwest Airline officials have publicly apologised to the Gig= li filmmaker.
In a post on Twitter.com directed at Smith, a company spokesman writes,= "We are sincerely sorry for your travel experience on Southwest Airlines= .." Southwest bosses insist the weight restriction on flights is not new - = the company is one of many airlines that require overweight customers to = purchase two seats if they cannot comfortably fit into one seat. The weig= ht policy has been in place for 25 years.
A statement from Southwest reads: "The policy requires passengers that = cannot fit safely and comfortably in one seat to purchase an additional s= eat while travelling. This policy is not unique to Southwest Airlines and= it is not a revenue generator." Smith maintains he was told by airline employees to leave the plane eve= n though he insisted that he fit in his seat.
The angry moviemaker tweeted, "I know I’m fat, but was (the airline) re= ally justified in throwing me off a flight for which I was already seated= ? I broke no regulation, offered no ’safety risk.’"
Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)
