In Response To Southwest Airlines' Corporate Greed and Subsequent Systematic Failure, I Reflected On My Own Character Development Since That Time They Labeled Me "Too Fat To Fly"

Sometimes things don’t go the way we planned, and over the last several days of travel cancellations and inconveniences, I’ve been faced with an onslaught of first-world opportunities to “count it all joy.” I’ve been reminded once again that while I have no control over most things that happen, I always have a choice in how I respond to them. My attitude has been mostly good, and even in intense moments, I’ve been able to circle back to a healthy perspective quickly.

If you’ve known me long, you know that I have an arduous history with Southwest Airlines, but like many others, Michael has had the opposite experience. It’s a cheap way to take a nonstop flight to Denver, and the things I went through with the airline over a decade ago led to significant improvements for people of size who choose to travel with them.

Over the years, I’ve learned that while their actions that led to my story going viral over a decade were not okay, I’d offer grace in that situation if it happened today. I wish I had offered grace back then, but it wouldn’t be until months later that I would learn that I could never offer more grace than I received from Christ.  

Now my perspective on life is completely different, and I no longer live with a spirit of offense. For the record, in case you’re familiar with that old story, I buy an extra seat when I travel in coach, and while Southwest no longer requires that, it’s still non-negotiable for me.

Last week our initial Southwest flight to Denver was canceled before Christmas due to the winter storm that swept across parts of the nation. Two days later we almost missed our flight after arriving at the airport at 3 am because the airline couldn’t find my rebooked tickets.

Thankfully, Michael and I made it to the plane just before they closed the door and arrived in Denver, but the suitcase holding my clothes did not. We waited for hours because they announced that baggage claim was delayed only to learn the bag had found its way onto a flight to Denver via Houston that hadn’t arrived yet. They said they’d deliver it later that day, but they did not.

On Christmas Eve I went shopping for new clothes and found my snow boots in one of the bags that did arrive. I was relieved to find clothes and thankful that it was all on sale.

I’ve had some great experiences at Lane Bryant over the years, but that was the best one ever. Whew! Adrianna at the store in Colorado Springs went out of her way to help me find outfits that I could mix and match. Michael was incredible too, and Caroline was so encouraging in the short time I spent in the store. Seriously, Lane Bryant! Give these ladies a raise!

While I didn’t have my cozy Bombas Gripper Slippers that I hoped to live in this week, I was grateful to have clothes. We attempted to get updates about my baggage delivery from Southwest to no avail, and at 6:40 am on Christmas morning, they called to say that my bag would not be delivered. It was frustrating, and now they want me to pay the fee for them to FedEx the bag to my house (since they won’t deliver it here). That’s going to be a hard no, Southwest. You’ll need to work that out.

Our return flight, which was scheduled earlier this week, was also canceled, and after 24 hours of attempting to call Southwest to rebook (because the website wasn’t working), we booked a return flight for Sunday – almost a week later than we anticipated. We considered renting a car and driving home, but there were no cars available that we could drive to New Orleans. Trains were also a no-go because tickets were sold out, so we stayed. I bought more clothes, this time at Arula, and Eva helped me find more mix-and-match items.

I saved my new Athleta Pranayama Wrap for this trip in addition to my new Bombas, cozy sweaters, reading socks from Barnes & Noble, dresses that I planned to wear for Christmas Eve, the matching pajamas I planned to wear for the first time ever in my life, and, you know, everything else I packed to wear. It’s still frustrating. I hope to get my clothes back from Southwest eventually, but I’m covered until then.

Thankfully, we were able to extend our local rental car, but this trip has cost over a thousand dollars more than we anticipated due to the rental car extensions, hotel cost at the end of our trip, etc., yet I’m thankful we could do it.

Southwest has made a serious mess, and it has taken incredible willpower for me not to jump on the “I hate Southwest” social media bandwagon. People have been stranded at the airport for days amidst long lines to file reports, thousands of unaccounted bags, and few options. Even so, I’ve learned that adding fuel to the fire isn’t helpful.

Instead, I journaled about it, saying things in the privacy of my journal that I needed to get off my chest. I also kept my thoughts to myself until I was calm enough to share them without getting angry, and I’ve done my best not to speak in absolutes about the situation. For example, “I’ll never fly with this airline again.”  The reality is I prefer first-class travel and probably always will, but if I want to fly direct from New Orleans, I’ll have to lower my expectations.

I cannot stand Southwest Airlines for a myriad of well-documented reasons, but this time, my issue was not with gate agents. Yes, some of them were clearly overworked and rude, but who could blame them? This must have been one of the most challenging weeks they’ve had all year, maybe longer! I empathize with them. It’s also important to note that I’ve experienced great customer service during some of my recent travels on Southwest, and I haven’t had an issue with them in a long time.

I think it’s important to be clear about what’s happening now though. The recent mess that Southwest Airlines created is not about Winter Storm Elliot; it’s about corporate greed. It’s about high-level executives who signed off on understaffed airports during the busiest season of the year and their lack of attention to the imminent systematic failure they were warned about for years before everything finally went to “that place that finally froze over” for them and thousands of their passengers.

There have been some silver linings despite these severe travel inconveniences that forced us to alter our plans. I got to enjoy some extra time with my family, and they haven’t once acted like our extended stay is a bother. We went sledding today because it snowed last night, and I am enjoying colder temperatures than I would be at home. We’re able to work from anywhere, and even though work is light this week, we were both able to do it here. We’ll stay at a hotel on New Year’s Eve, then we’re hopeful that we’ll be able to fly home on New Year’s Day.