A man refused to pay extra for his wife and children's seats and expressed his grievance on the internet when one of the kids could not sit with the mother.
Cory Watilo took to X on February 12 to say he did not want to spend any additional money on selected seats for his family on a Southwest Airlines flight.
The seats were auto-assigned, leaving his two-year-old toddler in a separate row all by himself. Watilo slammed the airline, pointing out that they should factor in infant passengers' ages when allocating free seats.
Highlights
- A father of two took to social media to complain after Southwest seated his 2-year-old in a different row from its mother.
- Southwest’s seating policy required him to pay extra to ensure his family was seated together.
- Many netizens criticized the man for refusing to pay.
His complaint drew mixed reactions, with many criticizing his stance and some even mocking him. “So you refused to pay and it’s Southwest’s problem?” one X user said.
The father of two openly questioned Southwest Airlines’ seat allotment policy
Image credits: Forsaken Films / Unspalsh
Watilo shared two screenshots initially. One showed the five different brackets that Southwest offers as age options while buying the tickets: Adults (18+), Teens (12-17), Children (5-11), Children (0-4, excluding lap children), and Lap Children (0-2).
Image credits: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
The second photo showed the assigned seats of his wife and two children, aged five and two. While his wife, Tara, and his five-year-old were seated together at 3C and 3B, respectively, his two-year-old was allotted a 4C aisle seat.
“My wife and two kids (5 and 2) are flying @SouthwestAir today. and because I refuse to pay for seats, their seats were auto-assigned,” he wrote. “My 2 year old is in his own row without his mom or sister.”
Image credits: watilo
He argued that since the booking portal breaks up the 0-4 age group, he assumed the airline would factor that in and ensure younger children sit with the adult.
Watilo provided an update after his wife spoke with a fellow traveler and resolved the matter.
Image credits: NY_LBSS
“Turns out there still are good humans in the world,” Watilo said, sharing a screenshot of a DM exchange. “I’m glad Twitter isn’t real life.”
The screenshot showed a message, presumably from his wife, who said that all it took was one request to have the seat swapped with another passenger.
Image credits: Hanson Lu / Unspalsh (Not an actual photo)
“He was already sitting in the wrong spot so it was super easy and now that whole row is chatting very happily,” she said. She added that the man who swapped with her “couldn’t have been nicer about it.”
Image credits: zimm3rmann
“2 million people stressed over nothing,” Watilo responded.
Southwest Airlines' family seating policy allows children to sit with accompanying passengers
Image credits: Jeremy Kwok / Unspalsh (Not an actual photo)
It is clearly stated on Southwest’s website that if someone purchases a “Basic” ticket, seats will be assigned at check-in.
However, they will “endeavour to assign a child (age 12 and under) a seat adjacent to one accompanying passenger (13 and older) to the extent practicable and at no additional cost,” the support center page says.
Image credits: KAB_NFT
It further states that if a child aged 12 or under is not allotted a seat with an accompanying passenger aged 13 or above, a Southwest gate agent or flight attendant would assist regarding the matter.
In case adjacent seats are not available, Southwest would offer the option to take the next available flight with adjacent seating.
Image credits: alper99
Bored Panda previously reported Southwest facing backlash over yet another seating controversy. On January 27, they implemented their new ‘customers of size’ policy where people who required more than one seat to travel would now need to purchase the extra seat, a benefit that was previously free of charge.
Cory Watilo’s complaint divided the internet, with many taking Southwest’s side in the debate
Image credits: Hanson Lu / Unspalsh (Not an actual photo)
Cory Watilo’s public criticism of Southwest soon turned into a verbal slugfest for X users. The post has more than 2.5 million views and nearly 1,700 comments at the moment, many of which call him out for being “cheap.”
“Your cheapness did this buddy,” one commenter said. Another wrote, “Sometimes it doesn't pay to be so cheap.”
Image credits: watilo
“I sorta figure Child Protection Services should be having a word with you,” one said in an ugly jab at Watilo.
“The entitlement is strong with this one,” another said, using the iconic Star Wars quote to make fun of the tweet.
However, many commenters took Watilo’s side in the matter as well.
One called the paid seat assignment policy of airlines a “racket,” and another compared it with having to pay extra for specific seats at the movie theater. Some simply labeled assigning a toddler a separate seat to be “ridiculous.”
“That’s messed up. All minors should be assigned next to an adult (no extra charge),” one user wrote.
"They make more money by gouging you." Internet users weighed in on Cory Watilo's complaint about Southwest Airlines.
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