Me with a Giant Pillow on Southwest Airlines

A Very Friendly Airline

I am someone with a number of disabilities, including but not limited to autism, obsessive-compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder, and sensory perception disorder. The latter tends to be a huge problem on airlines. Cramped quarters and loud or sudden sounds are extremely difficult for me to tolerate. I do a great deal of disability advocacy work with my firm, Autistic Reality. In the course of that work, I have become quite familiar with Southwest Airlines, their leadership, and their corporate policies. All other airlines seem to only pretend to care about you. Southwest has a remarkably good record with the disabled community compared to all other airlines. When you tell somebody at Southwest that you have a disability, they will ask if you need special seating. If you say yes, then you are entitled by them to sit anywhere you please in their plane. I prefer to sit in the front row, because of all the extra legroom. This is especially beneficial as I am 6’5″. It also helps me with my sometimes severe sensory issues. The cabin crew is always the epitome of polite, and they also have an extremely wonderful sense of humor! They let you move around the plane, and get into darn near any position that makes you feel most comfortable!

Like all airlines, Southwest is not perfect, but they are much closer than any other airline on which I have traveled.

I hope this story helps broaden some horizons! Safe travels, and enjoy your flight!