Flemington, NJ – A new media study among 303 viewers of a news clip featuring Southwest Airlines’ decision to deny film director Kevin Smith a seat on a  flight due to his size revealed that favorability for the airline decreased among viewers.    
The study was conducted during Feb. 2-4 by HCD Research using its MediaCurves.com® website, to obtain viewers’ perceptions a news clip about Southwest Airlines’ decision to deny Kevin Smith a seat on a flight because he was larger than their size requirements. To view detailed results go to www.mediacurves.com .
While average favorability ratings for the airline decreased from 5.4 to 4.3 for individuals with a healthy weight, average favorability decreased more drastically, from 5.7 to 3.9 among overweight respondents. Nearly one-third of viewers (32 percent) indicated that they were less likely to fly on Southwest Airlines due to this incident. In addition, viewers reported that “disturbing” (42 percent) was the emotion they felt most while viewing the video.

Among the findings:

Please indicate how favorable you are of Southwest Airlines using a scale of 1-7 where one represents, “Not at all favorable” and seven represents, “Extremely favorable.”

How has this incident affected the likelihood that you would fly on Southwest Airlines for your next plane flight?

Which of the following emotions did you feel while viewing the video? Please check all that apply.