Kevin Smith on board the Southwest jet

Cult US filmmaker and actor Kevin Smith has launched a vitriolic attack on Southwest Airlines after the carrier booted him off one of its flights for being too fat.

The director, best known for his cameo roles as Silent Bob in the Clerks movies, issued an expletive-laden series of messages to his 1.6 million followers on Twitter.

“I broke no regulation, offered no ’safety risk’ (what, was I gonna roll on a fellow passenger?),” he tweeted.

The overweight celebrity went on to name the Southwest pilot who claimed that his weight posed a “safety concern” on the Oakland to Burbank flight.  “I know I’m fat, but was Captain Leysath really justified in throwing me off a flight for which I was already seated?” Mr Smith opined.

Clearly angry and embarrassed by the situation, he continued: “Again: I’m way fat… But I’m not THERE just yet. But if I am, why wait til my bag is up, and I’m seated WITH ARM RESTS DOWN. In front of a packed plane with a bunch of folks who’d already I.d.ed me as ‘Silent Bob.’”

Southwest offered the celebrity a $100 voucher by way of compensation, but he refused the gesture and was later allowed to board one of the carrier’s subsequent services.

The airline has since defended itself in a blog posting entitled Not So Silent Bob, noting that Mr Smith usually purchases two seats on its flights. It said passenger comfort is a top priority and insisted that standard industry practice is to allow pilots to make the final call on such matters.

“Southwest instituted our Customer of Size policy more than 25 years ago,” the airline said. “The policy requires passengers that can not fit safely and comfortably in one seat to purchase an additional seat while travelling. This policy is not unique to Southwest Airlines and it is not a revenue generator.”

It continued: “Most, if not all, carriers have similar policies, but unique to Southwest is the refunding of the second seat purchased (if the flight does not oversell).”

The incident is certain to reignite the debate over airline attitudes towards obese passengers, which hit the headlines last month when Air France revised its policy.

© Cheapflights Ltd

This entry was posted on Monday, February 15th, 2010 at 2:45 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.