Southwest Airlines' new policy requiring passengers who may not fit within a single seat to purchase an additional seat went into effect on January 27, 2026. Since then, customers like Erika DeBoer and Grace Simpson have taken to social media and PEOPLE magazine to detail experiences they found humiliating and inconsistent. DeBoer, flying from Omaha to Las Vegas on February 6, was told by an employee she needed an extra seat for safety and comfort, despite having a window seat and her friend beside her.

She paid for the upgrade but was later refunded and received a $150 voucher. Simpson, traveling from Norfolk to San Diego on February 10, was pulled aside at her connecting flight's gate and told she needed a second seat, despite having flown the same route successfully days earlier. She was relocated to an empty back seat at no cost.

Both women, frequent Southwest travelers, emphasize their core complaint isn't the policy itself but the lack of clear guidelines or measurements, leaving enforcement entirely to employee discretion.