'We're sorry for any disappointment': Dude's Twitter thread sparks online debate around popular Southwest Airlines "wheelchair scam"

Who wants to be sitting on an airline for longer than they have to? Well—due to Southwest's unique seating arrangement, where no seats are assigned, and all seats are first-come-first-serve, the less honest among us are hugely incentivized to vie for priority boarding without having to fork out extra for it. The way people do this is by asking for a wheelchair before they arrive at their gate, which qualifies them for priority boarding from the airline.

This frustrated passenger hit out against the scam posting a photo of the scene that could be seen at his boarding gate. An entire row of apparently wheelchair-bound passengers can be seen in the photo, some of whom the passenger suspected weren't in one out of necessity—rather, to get first pick of seats. This thought largely owing to the fact that of the 20 wheelchair users who boarded the plane… only three needed a wheelchair to disembark.

While this is frustrating, as readers have discussed (and as the airline themself responded), the situation is more difficult than one would first assume—and there may be more than meets the eye. Not all wheelchair users are paraplegics or quadriplegics who will never be able to walk again, there are far more wheelchair users who are able to walk short to moderate distances but use a wheelchair due to pain, weakness, or illness. With this in mind, it is important to never lash out at someone standing up out of a wheelchair—are there entitled people who take advantage of this for their own gain? Yes. But is it better to leave them be to avoid mistakenly accusing someone who appears to be completely healthy? Also yes.

Regardless, the Tweet has spawned an internet-wide debate around the frustrations, problems, and ethics of this scam sandwich. Read on to see selected responses from the original Twitter thread and other areas around the web where screenshots of the original Tweet were posted.

Next, see these flight attendants who shared the most entitled behaviors they ever witnessed.

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Posted by Brad Dickson