Picture this: You arrive for your Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) flight early. You manage to avoid packing excessive amounts of liquids in your carry-on baggage. You remember your ID, you wait until your seat is called, you stow your bags properly. You're even prepared to turn off your electronic devices and stow your tray table and put your seat in its upright and locked position when ... you're asked to leave the plane because you're showing a little too much leg.Haha! What is this, 1951? Nope. It's 2007, and a few months ago waitress Kyla Ebbert (who works at Hooters, where scantily-clad is a good thing) was escorted off a Southwest Airlines flight from San Diego to Tucson because her outfit -- a miniskirt, tank top, and cropped sweater -- was too revealing (I don't see any cleavage and she was wearing a bra). She put up a fuss and was eventually let back on the plane after a lecture on her dress, or lack thereof.
Update: After apologizing to Ebbert, Southwest Airlines held a fare sale in honor of miniskirts -- it was fabulously popular with customers, but Kyla wasn't so pleased. To spite them -- or perhaps to take advantage of her 15 minutes of fame before it went away, leaving her still-penniless -- Kyla agreed to pose nude for Playboy.
Southwest Airlines has a history of questionable fashion judgment -- see here:
I'm all for appropriate clothing, but personally saw nothing in Ebbert's outfit that was cringe-worthy. And if it was?
Since when did proper attire become yet another qualification as an airline customer? It seems that airlines are their own worst enemies these days, kicking passengers off for uproarious sins such as breastfeeding, being the parents of overtired toddlers, or (gasp) wearing a skirt. What happened to "the customer is always right"?
In the airline business, sometimes, the customer is only right if it's convenient for the flight attendant. And that's only going to spell "losses" or, at the very least, "negative brand equity." Maybe Southwest (and many of its competitors) should invest in free yoga classes for its employees. Take a deep breath...
Update: Southwest Airlines apologized to Kyla Ebbert and then, in a PR-saving tongue-in-cheek stunt, offered "skimpy" airfare, a ten-day sale in honor of miniskirts. The sale ends September 28.
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Reader Comments (Page 5 of 32)
9-06-2007 @ 1:21PM
arthur said...
I agree with Richie. Nothing wrong with what she was wearing but they did skirt (no pun intended) the issue of whether or not she was wearing panties.
9-06-2007 @ 1:24PM
tina henry said...
well, this is to funny. I was just on a NW flight from Ithaca Ny, when a hippy type woman about 40 years old was wearing a sweater vest, no bra and had NEVER shaved under her arms got a seat on the plane. Ha and her daughter was just as dirty as she was!!! For at least 10 minutes she played with the air vent exposing this site..I would have rather seen someones body parts without hair as to have witnessed this site!!! it was offensive and so was the smell......
9-06-2007 @ 1:22PM
Linda Hess said...
How about a backshot of her bending over to pass the
tray or a drink to the window seat.
How about you know whose no panty shot.
How about the male "Bush" basher that was escorted
off a plane.
What you do on your own time is one thing, what you
do on a commercial airline where hundreds of people with all kinds of faiths, politics and sensitivites are captive in seats for an hour or hours , and whose legs
are cramped, and the only way you can be guaranteed
one armrest is if you sit on the aisle.
I'm so tired of the "in your face" people who have no
capacity to be sensitive to others.
Remember the old saying, your rights stop at the end
of my nose. If not, that's what laws are made for.
9-06-2007 @ 1:27PM
BeBe said...
Who designated Southwest as the fashion police? It seems there is no standard policy with the airlines,it's just whatever a particular attendant takes offense to. No wonder the airline industry is going under. They are their own worse enemy.
9-06-2007 @ 1:35PM
John said...
Ever watch that series "Airline"? It's real people being handled very badly in most cases by Southwest.
Handicapped peole especially are targeted for rude and demeaning klanguage and conduct by this carriers
employees.
I am handicaped and even though it is a direct flight for me to visit my grandkids on Southwest I will not fly them they really need to improve their people skills and back off when it comes to telling people how the dress and definetly improve how they treat the handicapped.
9-06-2007 @ 1:28PM
Richie said...
I am going to assume that...and I could be wrong....Linda Hess is either one, two or all 3 of the following.....ugly, fat or old.
9-06-2007 @ 1:30PM
s said...
She should not have been let back on the plane once they made the decision. Weakens the position of SW.
How can people comment on a situation the facts of which they ascertain from a few comments. They were not there! Just shows how willing people are to take any fragments of a situation and use it to support whatever their point of view is. Used to be called Mob rule instead of the rule of decorum and decency and respect for societal mores.
9-06-2007 @ 1:31PM
Cathy said...
There seems to be an alarming trend of complete intolerance to other people's preferences. She looks just fine. "Decency" and "appropriateness" are very subjective and I find imposing your will on someone doing nothing wrong far more offensive than what she is wearing. I can't help but believe that jealousy by someone not able to wear that type of clothing played a large part in this problem.
9-06-2007 @ 1:32PM
Russ said...
Who is going to be the morality judge on what people can
wear?Damn, I
thought I lived in America, home of the free,If you don't like what
she is wearing, go to the Middle East where you can tell women what
to wear or kill them if they don't do as you say. Cause you have
morals.
9-06-2007 @ 1:36PM
Debra Rottman said...
I'm a 54-year-old grandmother and I saw nothing wrong with her outfit. I wish I could wear that outfit, and when I get back in shape, maybe I will; but I know which airline I WON'T be flying.
9-06-2007 @ 1:38PM
Amy said...
I'd rather sit next to her than some 400 lb. obese person who's fat rolls are spilling over into my seat.
9-06-2007 @ 1:37PM
Alyson said...
Oh my goodness.....she wears less when she is working at Hooters and that isn't a big deal! Seems like some Southwest employee was in a snit that day. Really, quit picking on passenger's clothes and serve some peanuts!
9-06-2007 @ 1:38PM
Dawn said...
Next people will be escorted off planes for their hair color, or because someone thinks they are to over or under weight...How sad.
9-06-2007 @ 1:43PM
stormchaser said...
First off, Keith must be queer as a football bat, and probably felt threatened. Secondly, the young lady is lovely, with great legs, and shouldn't be embarassed for showing them off. However, I would have understood if they had asked her to change to closed-toe shoes. Whew, ugly feet!
9-06-2007 @ 1:51PM
MPSBH said...
Ron and s, your both idiots or cave people. Slap!!
9-06-2007 @ 1:43PM
D. L. said...
I personally don't see how they can remove someone for being dressed in that outfit. Although, I think she is much too attractive to have to dress like that to attract attention. Sexy and high class is always better.
9-06-2007 @ 1:46PM
Deborah said...
I think they should enforce appropiate dress codes. And her mother said 99 percent of 23 year olds that can dress ludely do. That is a load of bull crap. I'm 24 and I would never dress like a dirty tramp and would expect to be treated like one if I did.
9-06-2007 @ 1:47PM
jenn said...
ok thats a stupid reason to kick someone off a plane. that skirt isnt even that bad! u should see the girls at my school!! shield your eyes!!! lol jk
9-06-2007 @ 1:46PM
Chuck said...
So...Lets see;
No talkative infants
No overweight passangers
No passangers that don't meet some unknown
executive's dress code
No passangers that talk back to a flight crew member (no matter how badly they're being treated)
Sounds exactly like an industry that's in trouble & needs to increase it's customer base.
It's just another example of the end of customer service in this country.
9-06-2007 @ 1:51PM
lisa said...
I didn't see anything wrong with her clothing you are a beautiful girl if you got it flaunt it.............i would