Chaya Raichik, the founder of the popular conservative social media account “Libs of TikTok,” recently criticized Southwest Airlines for allowing an obese man to encroach on her seat during a flight. Raichik, who has over half a million followers on X account, posted about her experience of being squished into the corner of her seat due to her seatmate’s size, mentioning that she had paid for a full seat, not half. She also shared a photo of the man’s leg invading her personal space, stating that he was violating Southwest Airline’s “customers of size” policy.
Raichik’s post went viral, garnering 2.8 million views by Monday. She tagged Southwest Airlines in her post, asking what could be done about the situation. Raichik vented further about the man consuming fast food and throwing trash on the floor, calling him a “disgusting fat slob.” In response to her online complaints, the airline offered her a $150 voucher towards a future flight, which Raichik deemed as worthless. She declared that she would never fly Southwest again and criticized the airline’s overall quality.
Raichik elaborated on her decision not to fly Southwest in the future, stating that it was not just because of the recent incident but because she considers it a terrible airline overall. She mentioned that she had only flown Southwest a few times under extreme circumstances, opting for it when faced with limited choices. However, she now prefers flying with other airlines, even if it means making a stopover, instead of choosing Southwest for direct flights. Raichik’s discontent with the airline seems to stem from a combination of her recent unpleasant experience and past unsatisfactory encounters with the company.
Despite Southwest Airlines’ “customers of size” policy allowing overweight passengers to request additional seats free of charge if needed, Raichik felt that the obese man should have purchased two seats to avoid encroaching on her space. Her frustration with the situation highlights the ongoing debate around passengers’ rights and seat allocations on flights. While Southwest attempted to compensate Raichik with a voucher, she remained unsatisfied and vowed not to use the airline in the future. The incident serves as a reminder of the challenges and conflicts that can arise when dealing with issues of comfort and fairness on flights.
