LibsOfTikTok founder Chaya Raychik describes the “huge fat man” who took up half of her seat while devouring a cheeseburger and fries on a Southwest flight, leaving her “squeezed in the corner.”

• Raychek criticized the man for not even taking advantage of Southwest's controversial policy allowing overweight people to purchase extra seats
• “I'm sitting on a plane crammed into the corner because this big fat man is taking up half my seat,” she wrote on X Sunday.
• She was offered a $150 voucher for her troubles, but refused to travel to Southwest again due to her “horrific” experience.

LibsOfTikTok founder Chaya Raichik criticized Southwest Airlines for allowing a man she described as a “huge fat man” to violate its rules and take up half of her seat on a Sunday afternoon flight.

Southwest has been criticized in the past for what critics called a “ridiculous” policy that gives overweight passengers free seats to fit their size.

However, Raichek, who caused a stir on social media, especially among conservatives, pointed out that the assailant had only purchased one seat and was violating the company's rules by encroaching on her space.

“I'm sitting on a plane crammed into the corner because this huge fat man is taking up half my seat,” she wrote on X Sunday.

I paid for a full seat, not a half seat. “It violates @SouthwestAir's own policies,” Raichek continued.

She posted several photos showing a man's leg heading toward Raychek's seat on the plane.

“This is not normal or fair. If your place doesn't fit one seat, you need to buy two,” she continued, before asking the company's X account what they could do about it.

She continued with more photos and claimed that the problems with her seatmate were not only limited to his weight, but also to his eating and neglecting to take up what little space she already had.

“Dude was also stuffing a cheeseburger and fries down his throat and throwing trash on the floor,” Raychek wrote. “Disgusting fat slob.”

She posted again after the company's account reached out to her via direct message, in an attempt to make peace.

“While we can't press rewind and go back to fix what happened, we hope we have the opportunity to welcome you back for a more convenient experience,” they wrote, before offering a $150 voucher toward a future trip.

Reichek was not impressed by the offer and said she had an overall bad experience with the airline.

“Worthless because I will never fly SouthwestAir again.” And even if I would, it's not enough compensation for this. I have only flown Southwest three times in my life as a last resort. 'It will never happen again.'

She concluded by adding more thoughts about her difficult time flying with Southwest.

“The reason I hope I never travel to Southwest again is not specifically because of this incident,” Raichek said. “That's because I think it's a bad airline.”

“Like I said, I've only flown them a handful of times, all under extreme conditions. In this case, the choice was a regular airline with a long layover or direct with Southwest. I'm starting to lean toward flying on a Normal even if it has a layover over Southwest Airlines if a scenario like this arises again.

DailyMail.com has reached out to a Southwest Airlines spokesperson for comment.

The airline has established a “customer by size” policy, which allows overweight passengers whose body occupies more than one seat on the plane to get the “required number of seats” for free.

The policy states that customers who “violate any portion of the adjacent seat(s)” may purchase as many additional seats as they need, which will then be refunded at check-in.

This change has sparked mixed reactions among customers.

While some plus-sized customers have praised the policy because it allows obese people to travel more easily, critics say it “panders” to very overweight people – and gives them an unfair advantage.

On social media, many have pointed out that free space is not available for very tall customers who need extra legroom, those traveling with medical equipment or wheelchair users.

These groups have to pay — often hundreds of dollars — for additional space.

Some also noted that the new rule would likely worsen the airline's already hectic boarding process.

Passengers are unable to reserve seats ahead of time, which often leads to a scramble for window and aisle seats when customers board the plane.

Southwest's policy is that customers are eligible for the free ticket if any part of their body extends beyond the seat's armrest. “The armrest is the final boundary between the seats,” the letter said. “If you are unable to lower the armrests and/or encroach on any part of the seat next to you, you need a second seat.”

“Our policy is not weight-focused.”

The airline does not ask about customers' weight or body mass index (BMI), which determines whether you are overweight or obese, according to medical guidelines.

Kimmy Garris, a TikToker from Nashville who calls herself a “fat solo traveler,” posted a video of herself asking about the airline's policy toward obese passengers in October.

In the clip, which has received more than 900,000 views, a customer service employee gives her an extra ticket for the seat next to her.

She was then seen boarding the plane and placing her extra ticket on the seat next to her so that no one could sit there.

In the accompanying commentary, Ms. Garris states that this policy “should be the norm in the industry.”

Jae'lynn Chaney, a 6XL travel influencer with about 135,000 followers on TikTok, has often called for free or larger seats on planes.

In a video broadcast in October, which has reached nearly 73,000 views, the on-screen text read: “Great shot: Every airline should have a customer volume policy like Southwest Airlines.”

“If more airlines adopted policies like Southwest Airlines' Customer Size Policy, which offers free or compensated extra seats for plus-sized passengers who need more space, air travel would be more accessible and accommodating to people with disabilities,” the commentary said. big size”. .

Ms. Chaney also called out the FAA earlier this year through a petition calling on airlines to scrap their “discriminatory” policies and give obese passengers free seats.