United Airlines defends decision regarding Barring Girls for Leggings

[47of74]

United Airlines just stepped in it big time...

nytimes.com/2017/03/26/us/united-airlines-leggings.html

Quote

United Airlines barred two teenage girls from boarding a flight on Sunday morning and required a child to change into a dress after a gate agent decided the leggings they were wearing were inappropriate. That set off waves of anger on social media, with users criticizing what they called an intrusive, sexist policy, but the airline maintained its support for the gate agent’s decision.

The girls, who were about to board a flight to Minneapolis, were turned away at the gate at Denver International Airport, the company said on Sunday. United doubled down on that decision, defending it in a series of tweets on Sunday.

The incident was first reported on Twitter by Shannon Watts, a passenger at the airport who was waiting to board a flight to Mexico. In a telephone interview from Mexico on Sunday afternoon, Ms. Watts said she noticed two visibly upset teenage girls leaving the gate next to hers. Both were wearing leggings.

Ms. Watts went over to the neighboring gate and saw a “frantic” family with two young girls, one of whom was also wearing leggings, engaged in a tense exchange with a gate agent who told them, “I don’t make the rules, I just enforce them.”

Why the fuck do US carriers have to suck so much?

[EmiGirl]

They did follow up saying that it's because these people were flying free on passes, whatever that means. And that there is a special dress code for them that includes spandex/form fitting pants. They said had they been a noreal passenger it wouldn't have been an issue at all.

[louisa05]

10 minutes ago, EmiGirl said:

They did follow up saying that it's because these people were flying free on passes, whatever that means. And that there is a special dress code for them that includes spandex/form fitting pants. They said had they been a noreal passenger it wouldn't have been an issue at all.

And that still makes no sense. Why would there be a special dress code for passes? They are on the same plane with the same people. 

If airlines are going to have dress codes, then they need to make them easily available to all potential passengers. Otherwise, if it doesn't break actual public indecency laws, you should be able to get on a plane wearing it. 

[Suz8710]

From my understanding they were flying free on family & friends passes...which is a great deal. 

I'd wear a ball gown, gloves and heels or pretty much whatever they wanted me to wear, for free flights. I believe the rules are well disclosed, but maybe I'm wrong and varies by carrier.

[EmiGirl]

I have no idea. Some BS about people on passes representing the company or something. 

[Hmmm_idolatry]

My husband's cousin just flew home for her grandmother's funeral on a pass from American Airlines.  Her boyfriend's father is a pilot for them. She has a mohawk, several piercings in her face and ears, and wears leggings all the time (and probably did on the flight).  I wish she was still in town; I'd ask her if her pass included a printout regarding dress code.  I strongly suspect it did not.  

I wonder if the United passes listed a dress code policy somewhere.  My guess is that it did not.  Whenever I read about these sexist stories involving young women getting thrown out of dances, classes, and now planes, I get so irritated.  Unless their genitalia were showing and or they were wearing bathing suits and no pants at all, I really don't see why they couldn't board the plane.  The agent at the gate is full of BS.  Blaming policy is ridiculous.  Would there be a policy cop on the plane who would then demand to know which agent allowed these offensive people on the plane?  Would someone at the destination see them deplane and demand to know how they were allowed to board since they were in such a flagrant violation of policy?  I highly doubt it.  And now, just to be super obnoxious, I"m going to wear leggings on my next flight.  

[47of74]

42 minutes ago, Hmmm_idolatry said:

 And now, just to be super obnoxious, I"m going to wear leggings on my next flight.  

Hopefully lots of women will do so, especially on United flights.  And United employees everywhere will say fuck you very much <insert name of gate agent here> by the time all is said and done.

[Mercer]

I don't per se have issues with dress codes, as long as:

1.) The rules are not primarily based on an employee making a subjective judgment, but are formalized, publicized, and transparent so everyone knows the expectations in advance.

2.) They are enforced equally for every person regardless of body type, gender, race, age, economic status, etc.

I would be very curious if those two things were the case here or not.

[Hmmm_idolatry]

One of the people in this group was only 10 years old.  The other two were young teens.  That's what makes this even more obnoxious, IMO.  They shamed young girls who were traveling without parents.  I'm sure they were very freaked out by this. 

[Jug Band Baby]

The girls weren't shamed.  They and their parents didn't respect the dress code for using the free employee passes.  United employees have spoken up all over the place about how there are detailed rules for flying on the passes, including no form-fitting clothes for any gender.  My brother-in-law used to work for United until a few years ago, and he said that the dress code for using employee passes is a known dress code.  It's not something left to the discretion of the gatespeople.  If you want to use the free passes, follow the rules for them.  If you want to wear different attire, then buy regular tickets.  The girls and their parents aren't the pissed people here.  A bystander saw this, didn't have the details, and ran to the internet to create a fuss.  She as wrong.

[laPapessaGiovanna]

I'll never understand the obsession for dress codes. These weren't employees of the airline, they were just people travelling, what ticket they were using shouldn't matter, they did't have it tattooed on their brow and they definitely didn't represent the company. To me this dress code seems a sort of "blackmail": do you want to travel with very favourable conditions well then you can, but you'll have to let us have special controlling powers over your clothes and since we are prude victorian backward control obsessed  and clothes obsessed idiots we decided to ban leggings for you, take or leave. It's pure stupid meanness. 

Or they let Lori Alexander, queen of meanness and passive aggressiveness, choose their dress code, in that case they may soon want to investigate  if people are wearing thongs under their clothes. /sarcasm

And beware next time you go to the store with coupons. They may feel the need to emulate airlines and want you to respect a dress code if you pay with a coupon that grants you exceedingly favourable conditions. /sarcasm again

[47of74]

Yeah and now United has really stepped in it. I hope they know that they had better check the temperature in hell first if they think I'll fly them again.

[Destiny]

On 30/03/2017 at 10:04 PM, laPapessaGiovanna said:

Or they let Lori Alexander, queen of meanness and passive aggressiveness, choose their dress code, in that case they may soon want to investigate  if people are wearing thongs under their clothes. /sarcasm

Wait wait wait. Lori says I can't wear a thong anymore either? Well fuck. I guess I will never fly again!