Passenger too sexy for Southwest Airlines

[Heracles 417]

That's the key sentence right there -- the airline did not post any such thing as a clothing policy. Because they did not, passengers cannot expect to be held to any such standards beyond what is reasonable in day-to-day fashion. By "day-to-day fashion," I mean clothing that covers up the "essentionals" and so long as the individual in question is wearing more than a swimsuit, their underwear or is just plain naked.

I think any airline that created a dress code would lose passengers. It's already a large expense, a great hassle, and (unless you're flying first-class) somewhat uncomfortable to sit there for however many hours your flight remains in the air. If people are then told to dress a certain way on top of all that, they may just stop using that particular airline. I'm sure other airlines would take advantage of the situation and advertise quite loudly that they do not have a dress code.

I did not realize the airline had to do so. It would be like saying Saks should post that they only serve the high end clients. It is a family friendly airline. Stuff like this is usually implied.

The shame is on her and not the airline. I would like to see her travel to other fashionable places like Europe and gauge the reaction she would get from people there. They would laugh in her face..

I would have had a lot more respect and understanding if they had not made such a big ordeal about it..

Edited September 17, 2007 by Boo-Yah!

[Caladan 19]

Oh, god, not the 'for the chldren' argument.

Your kid is not going to be scarred for life because some other woman is NOT flashing her underwear and NOT showing cleavage.

If Southwest Airlines wishes to have a dress code for its customers, they are welcome to post that publicly. Or they can pass out burqas at the door. But the woman's not violating standards of public decency even if you don't like her outfit.

---

Boo-Yah, are you seriously threatening me? Do you realize how ridiculous you look?

[Fandango 1,439]

Oh, god, not the 'for the chldren' argument.

Your kid is not going to be scarred for life because some other woman is NOT flashing her underwear and NOT showing cleavage.

If Southwest Airlines wishes to have a dress code for its customers, they are welcome to post that publicly. Or they can pass out burqas at the door. But the woman's not violating standards of public decency even if you don't like her outfit.

We don't often agree completely, but so far on this thread you're expressing many words outta my head, like above!

[Fandango 1,439]

At the end of the day the business reserves the right to cancel the persons ticket.

The other thing is that she also flew with them on the return segment. If an airline apparently treated you so bad then well why the hell would you fly them again.

She should have asked for her money and not flown with them again. That is, based on how traumatized she apparently was from the whole incident.

The airline doesn't have a right to cancel a ticket or refuse passage to a customer on a whim...esp with something that they don't have published as a req for passage.

This girl was relying on the airline to get her from a to b, and so long as she wasn't being 'disruptive' which seems to be the new excuse du jour for a blanket of issues to refuse passage, there is no reason why this airline should have caused such a stink.

If this girl doesn't have enough funds to just buy another ticket to cover her return, I CAN understand her using the return portion of the ticket. Sometimes needs must...yanno?

[DeadPoolX 9]

That's the key sentence right there -- the airline did not post any such thing as a clothing policy. Because they did not, passengers cannot expect to be held to any such standards beyond what is reasonable in day-to-day fashion. By "day-to-day fashion," I mean clothing that covers up the "essentionals" and so long as the individual in question is wearing more than a swimsuit, their underwear or is just plain naked.

I think any airline that created a dress code would lose passengers. It's already a large expense, a great hassle, and (unless you're flying first-class) somewhat uncomfortable to sit there for however many hours your flight remains in the air. If people are then told to dress a certain way on top of all that, they may just stop using that particular airline. I'm sure other airlines would take advantage of the situation and advertise quite loudly that they do not have a dress code.

I did not realize the airline had to do so. It would be like saying Saks should post that they only serve the high end clients. It is a family friendly airline. Stuff like this is usually implied.

The shame is on her and not the airline. I would like to see her travel to other fashionable places like Europe and gauge the reaction she would get from people there. They would laugh in her face..

I would have had a lot more respect and understanding if they had not made such a big ordeal about it..

Saks Fifth Avenue doesn't only serve high-end shoppers. Anyone is welcome into their store (provided they aren't breaking the law) and if they have the money, can purchase whatever they are selling. I'm sure the salespeople at Saks are more likely to attend to a shopper who is dressed nicely (the idea being, if someone is dressed well they can afford to spend money), but just because you're walking around in a T-shirt and jeans, it doesn't mean you don't have an extremely high limit on your credit card.

Anyway... the point of this thread isn't to talk about the policies of Saks (or any other clothing store), but to discuss Southwest Airlines and their policies. Very few things are implied and there is no such thing as a "family-friendly" airline versus an "adult-oriented" airline. Unless the in-flight movie is "Debbie Does Dallas" and passengers get the option of using Frequent Flyer miles to "sleep with the flight attendants," I don't see how or why there would be a major difference between Southwest and any other airline.

Let me ask you this: would you have known about the whole "fluids and gels" limitation in carry-on bags if airlines, the TSA and the media hadn't covered it? Probably not. Well, you should, right? After all, aren't the airlines "security-minded" and shouldn't they have the right to boot anyone off if they so please? So if you got yelled at, embarrassed, and possibly taken off your flight for something you were never told about (it was never marked anywhere either) and you were expected to just "know it" somehow, don't you think you'd find that a little unfair? Wouldn't you be a little annoyed?

I know I would. So would most people, I imagine.

[pedroh 21]

standard of decency? omg is this like victorian england or what?

she wasn't dressing in an indecent way.. the person that told her to get off the plane is an annoying prude, and the offended 'customers'.. well, they can mind their own business instead of just criticizing others...

[isleta521 5]

Have a cousin that works for Southwest. I called her up to give her sht about what southwest did in a joking way. She said that she actually talked to a passenger that was on this flight and what she dressed that day was much more revealing than what she portrayed. And this passenger (and others) was very offended according to what my cus said. She also said that they are a family airline and this is not the first or the last time they have done this. She pretty much defended her company. Of course I told my cus that I wish I were there to actually judge her .

Anyway, this is third, fourth hand information and remember that what actually happened and how it was reported / portrayed may be two different things.

[Lyuba 0]

Come on , people.

I worked in high school and this is exactly how girls dress there! Sometimes even worse. So it is ok to wear some terrible dirty T-shirt and shorts but it isn't ok to dress this way?

It is a free country, if you don't like it, don't look. We all disapprove of certain things but we don't impose our opinions on other people. My freedon ends where your freedom begins.

[Cassie 8]

The outfit in question, IMHO, is butt ugly.

Whether or not she should have been kicked off the flight -- well, unless the airlines have a well-known dress code policy, she shouldn't have been kicked off. And if what she was wearing that day twas really a problem to Southwest employees, she should have never gotten past the ticket counter.

[Marilyn. 340]

this woman is going to be on Dr. Phil tomorrow....

[almaty 19]

this woman is going to be on Dr. Phil tomorrow....

i hope he spanks her for all the bullsh!t she has caused

[Jasman0717 9]

I just don't get why there was a problem to begin with

[trailmix 77]

Gary Kelly, the Chief Executive Officer at Southwest Airlines, issued a statement to Kyla.

From a company who really loves PR, touché to you, Kyla! Some have said we've gone from wearing our famous hotpants to having hot flashes at Southwest. Nothing could be further from the truth. As we both know, this story has great legs, but the true issue here is that you are a valued customer, and you did not get an adequate apology. Kyla, we could have handled this better, and on behalf of Southwest Airlines, I am truly sorry.

We hope you continue to fly Southwest Airlines. Our company is based on freedom, even if our actions may not have appeared that way. It was never our intention to treat you unfairly, and again, we apologize."

link

Edited September 18, 2007 by trailmix

[Fandango 1,439]

Gary Kelly, the Chief Executive Officer at Southwest Airlines, issued a statement to Kyla.

From a company who really loves PR, touché to you, Kyla! Some have said we've gone from wearing our famous hotpants to having hot flashes at Southwest. Nothing could be further from the truth. As we both know, this story has great legs, but the true issue here is that you are a valued customer, and you did not get an adequate apology. Kyla, we could have handled this better, and on behalf of Southwest Airlines, I am truly sorry.

We hope you continue to fly Southwest Airlines. Our company is based on freedom, even if our actions may not have appeared that way. It was never our intention to treat you unfairly, and again, we apologize."

link

I hate when people continually pepper a statement with my name....

[Mags 112]

I actually caught this part of Dr Phil (don't normally watch it, honest) and he basically showed her up to be the money grabbing, publicity hungry woman that she is. It was crystal clear and she did not come off looking very good at all.