Heavy passenger: Airlines have no right to 'humiliate'

Video: She claims airline called her ‘too fat to fly’

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   >>> back now at 7:42 with one woman's public humiliation at the airport. she claims she was told she was too fat to fly unless she bought an extra ticket. we'll talk to her in a moment. first, natalie has the story.

   >> reporter: good morning. kenly said she flies all the time and is aware of certain policies when it comes to her weight but she was surprised by what happened when she tried to board a southwest flight with her mother. kenly said for years she's been slowly winning the battle to lose weight .

   >> over the last two years i have lost over 120 pounds. i still have a lot to lose obviously, but i'm doing it.

   >> reporter: a political strategist and blogger used to weigh over 400 pounds. because of her size she would often buy two airline seats when she flew.

   >> i fly pretty regularly. at this point i do fit into the 17 inches between the armrests.

   >> reporter: but she said a ticket agent at southwest airlines saw things differently when she and her mother tried to board a return flight home on easter sunday.

   >> they wanted to know how much i weighed. i asked what the weight limit was. one gentleman said he wasn't aware of it, but we were too fat to fly without an additional ticket.

   >> reporter: according to the customer of size policy if a passenger requiring two seats has purchased onlile one ticket he or she will be discreetly taken aside where southwest personnel will deal with the situation in private. she said it didn't happen.

   >> my mother was upset and said, why aren't we doing this down the hall as opposed to right in front of a gate full of people?

   >> it was the worst time i have ever had in my life. i was embarrassed, humiliated.

   >> reporter: southwest offered to let them board without buying extra tickets if they agreed to sit in the same row with another large woman.

   >> at that point i took out my cell phone told them, i'm going to record you and put you on my blog. so you may want to go about this differently. the tone changed and they became a little bit apologetic.

   >> i'm very sorry.

   >> for what?

   >> i'm very sorry for the manner in which i traced it.

   >> reporter: southwest issued a statement apologizing in part for not applying the policy consistently on all legs of the trip. in the end she even got a free flight coupon for another trip.

   >> i used my voucher to fly to l.a. to work out with richard simmons . turned something horrible into something good.

   >> she said it wasn't just the way she was talked to but the fact that 100 people at the gate could hear the entire conversation. ann?

   >> natalie , thank you so much. kenly joins us now exclusively. good morning.

   >> good morning.

   >> did the southwest airlines person say the words "too fat to fly"?

   >> yes.

   >> and your mother, her reaction, as you were watching the tape you got emotional.

   >> yeah. she was very upset. it's not okay to humiliate people in front of a gate full of passengers. they should have used discretion.

   >> the airline's policy said if a passenger requires two seats he or she will be discreetly taken aside. we have a sense of what happened from natalie . how indiscreet was it in your view? what caused your mom to feel so terrible?

   >> we walked up. there was already an argument with another passenger in progress and that was happening in front of everyone . she called us in and at that point we were just drug into a situation already in progress. it was in front of the gate full of people which was almost entirely booked. i mean, the flight was leaving in five minutes. we turned out to be delayed.

   >> was it loud? could everyone hear around you?

   >> there were people snickering. there were people who were desperately trying not to make eye contact with me, i think hoping they wouldn't get drug into the situation as well.

   >> southwest said we spent time at the airport and later on the phone explaining the reasons for the policy in place and offering our heartfelt apologies and monetary compensation for the inconsistent delivery. do you forgive southwest?

   >> the problem with the statement is they didn't know the policy at the time.

   >> the people at the counter?

   >> the people at the counter didn't know. i have to say quickly that i'm not sitting here asserting that i have the right to encroach on someone else 's space. but i do expect to be treated with the same level of respect as every other passenger. there was a hallway. there were many other opportunities to do this differently.

   >> meantime, you say a lot of people who are overweight do not fly because they don't want to face this kind of circumstance. some people -- i can hear the airlines arguing, look, space matters. we made the seats small because we want to make money on the seats. if you're going to be too big for the seat we'll make you buy two. this is a consistent policy. do you have a problem with the policile? .

   >> i do. as a free market capitalist, i understand the need, the desire to make money. but what happens is there has to be equal rights to equal access . if these airlines -- if they will change out a few rows of seats, everyone will be happier. people of average size won't be worried that someone is encroaching on their seat. and they will make more money. i have gotten hundreds of e-mails from people who are driving 20-plus hours or staying home. if they are staying home or driving 20 hours with these fuel prices they can afford to fly. so the airlines are losing sales. over 30% of the nation is obese. it's time to face the fact that, we're changing. we have to adapt.

   >> this is an economic argument as well.

   >> they could make a lot of money. and also treat people with respect at the same time.

   >> thank you so much for joining us. our best to your mom.

   >> thank you.

   >> i know everyone listening is sorry this was such a bad experience for you.

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