Small-business owner’s suit against a major airliner could change travel guidelines for overweight travelers

By Glenn Townes

Entrepreneur Nadine Thompson was tired and wanted to relax and unwind on the flight from her home near Manchester, New Hampshire, to Chicago. It was a routine flight she had made many times in the past on Southwest Airlines. But on this June morning in 2003, Thompson suddenly found herself being escorted off the plane.

Her crime: a violation of the carrier’s policy that requires passengers to purchase two seats when they are too large to fit into one.

One Air Traveler, Two Airfares?, continued