B737-700
Flight Attendant Current
Confusion
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
General None Reported / Taken
Human Factors; Manuals
During boarding; our 'C' stood in the OWWE [Overwing Window Exit] the whole time. She pre briefed each passenger as they sat down. Before the close of the doors; she briefed the whole OWWE in which they all agreed to assist. During my walk through before takeoff; I noticed a 'Seat Reserved' sign which is for our COS [Customer of Size.] I went and spoke with the 'B' Flight Attendant just to double check that COS were not allowed to sit there. At this point; I did the rest of my walk through and spoke to Flight Attendant 'C' about it. She stated that it was never there during the boarding process. She said no one needed a seatbelt extension; and she was even confused on the passenger I was speaking about. The man that the sign was next to did not need an extension and could put the arm rests down. He is not what we normally would consider a COS. After takeoff; we referenced our manual to see if COS could sit there if no seatbelt extensions were needed. We could not find the answer. At this point; we were confused as to if he could or could not sit there. I approached the gentleman and asked if the sign was his. He responded that yes it was his; and it meant that no one could sit there. I explained that once you are designated as a COS; you are no longer eligible to sit in the OWWE. He was later connecting to SAT. Since we were not 100% sure if he was allowed to sit there; and he was not using an extension; and we couldn't find it in the manual; we allowed him to land there. I later called to verify proper procedure. She agreed that once they designated them as COS; they are no longer allowed to sit in the OWWE. On the print out that is given COS include the 'NOT ALLOWED TO SIT IN THE EMERGENCY EXIT ROW' on the paperwork.
The lead Flight Attendant reports discovering a passenger who has been designated a 'customer of size' sitting in the emergency exit row; although the passenger does not appear to fit the classification. The Flight Attendant manual is not clear on the subject and the passenger is allowed to remain. After the flight it is determined that the COS designation is the determining factor and the passenger should have been moved.