Woman blames new policy on nearly-missed flight Ruby Cosby

L: A Southwest Airlines plane; R: Customer Ruby Cosby.Credit : Getty ; WSMV 4 Nashville/Youtube

A Nashville woman is speaking out after an experience with Southwest Airlines reportedly left her with a canceled ticket and nearly caused her to miss her connection to Los Angeles.

Ruby Cosby tells local outlet WSMV she was attempting to board a flight to LAX on Feb. 28 when a Southwest agent refused to let her on the plane without an additional ticket. According to the passenger, she was denied boarding due to her size.

“I can fit in the seat like I have fit in the seat with no problem for many years,” Crosby, who says she’s flown Southwest in the past without any issues, explains. Despite her claims, Cosby says the agent required her to pay an additional $450 to get on her flight due to a new policy that went into effect on Jan. 27.

Southwest Boeing 737-8

A Southwest Airlines plane.Getty

The Dallas-based budget carrier officially implemented a new policy regarding its “customers of size” earlier this year. According to the policy, “customers who encroach upon the neighboring seats must purchase the number of seats needed.”

However, Cosby claims she purchased the ticket prior to the new seating policy and wasn’t aware of the changes. “I also asked him is there any way I can go test to see if I can fit the seat. Like you’re telling me I can’t get in the seat before I got in the seat,” Cosby says. “He informed me that there was no way for him to do that. That if he took me all the way past the TSA gates and I couldn’t fit in the seats that would cause a bigger problem.”

Travellers wait in line at the Southwest Airlines ticketing counter at Nashville International Airport

Southwest Airlines’ ticketing counter at Nashville International Airport.SETH HERALD/AFP via Getty

Since Cosby didn’t have enough money for another purchase in the moment, she says the gate agent canceled her ticket. The traveler then called her family from the airport to tell them what happened. Luckily, they sent her enough money to buy another ticket so could make her Mexican cruise.

But when she went back to the counter to rebook, another agent issued her a ticket without requiring her to buy two seats, she claims. It wasn’t until she mentioned a bag transfer that the prior agent allegedly came out and once again explained she couldn’t rebook without buying two seats.

Cosby goes on to claim that the agents wouldn’t apply the credit from her previous flight, instead they said she would have to wait for a refund on basic economy tickets.

“I understand having a policy put into place to make sure others are comfortable,” she says. “My main worry is that there’s nothing put into place to stop discrimination or anything from happening. It’s just based off of perception that’s my worry. I feel like this policy can be used unfairly because there’s not guidelines,” Cosby said.

The airline’s policy states the company, “may determine, in its sole discretion, that an additional seat is necessary for safety purposes.”

In a statement shared with PEOPLE, an airline spokesperson said, “We began communicating changes to our policy — which is in line with industry standards — almost a year ago and continued reiterating those changes directly to customers throughout the summer. Our extra seat policy — along with other policies — went into effect on Jan. 27 as we now must account for each individual seat in the cabin ahead of boarding.”

They add: “Our goal is always to provide a comfortable experience for everyone on board; however, with assigned seating, adjacent seats may sometimes already be occupied. In this case, we have reached out directly to the customers involved to better understand their experience and ensure we address any concerns with the appropriate discretion. “

Cosby says she was able to make her cruise after purchasing one ticket through Delta Airlines for $350. Though, she says she hasn’t heard back from Southwest yet regarding the experience.

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She adds that she was given a credit for the initial ticket, but Cosby has only until July to use it.