News and notes from around the interweb:
- Reflections on United’s Captain Denny Flanagan as he prepares for his final flight.
- Seattle burlesque performer denied boarding on JetBlue connecting flight home because her short shorts were too short. The woman calls herself ‘the Pelvis of Justice.’ JetBlue says,
We support our crew members’ discretion to make these difficult decisions, and we decided to reimburse the customer for the cost of the new shorts and offered a credit for future flight as a good will gesture.”
- I love airline retrospectives, and this is a good one on the Trump Shuttle (I’ve also covered How Donald Trump Bought – and Lost – an Airline and how he overpaid to buy it though there’s some disagreement over how much of the more than $100 million he personally guaranteed in the deal was lost.) Here’s Trump’s own words:
Stumbling over his enthusiasm at one point, he called the shuttle a “truly great transportation whatever.”
…“Truthfully? Truthfully it was great for the Trump ego,” he said. “I’m not supposed to say that.”
- Lufthansa will eliminate Venezuela flights June 18. I’m only surprised it took this long.
- The housekeeping cart at my hotel is a stolen shopping cart from Marshalls (HT: Tocqueville)
This is ridiculous. She’s probably wanting the free publicity, who could blame her. Southwest has made the crazy “judgement calls” before on several flights in/out of Florida, aka the hottest place in the southeast, where temps reach well over 100 degrees and humidity at 100 percent, they have refused to allow female passengers wearing tank tops/shorts on board because it was what they deemed inappropriate. I think it is often frumpy unattractive old bats who are jealous of those young girls. The way I see it, if it isn’t ILLEGAL to wear in public, it shouldn’t prevent you from boarding a plane! I also think this should be addressed by the federal regulators, you shouldn’t have to worry that you’ll be denied boarding because some first class passenger decided you were too sexy and they did’t want their spouse looking at you and complained and got you kicked off a flight! Or some f/a was jealous. I’ve seen teens/young girls wearing shorts much worse on planes (in malls, restaurants, etc) and no one bats an eye anymore. The whole thing is just crazy. If it makes a passenger uncomfortable, tell them to STOP GAWKING!
No one looks at the bright side, if EVERYONE wore these skimpy clothes, we wouldn’t have to worry about what people might be hiding under them!
Penny, I am a liberal woman and I disagree completely. Male OR female, I don’t want to see a fellow passenger “inappropriately dressed” and by that I mean having skin exposed where bodily fluids can easily leak out onto the seat/armrest. A man in a muscle/”wife-beater” shirt would be just as offensive–who knows what kind of body fluids are dripping from his armpits and onto the seat?
Young or old, male or female, it’s basically knowing how to dress and for what occasion. Maybe the days of dressing in a suit and tie, or gloves and stockings, are long gone, but that doesn’t mean a person’s good taste should disappear, also.
Kimmo, the bodily fluid that comes from an armpit is the same fluid that comes from a forehead. It’s called sweat.
Should the people boarding in the summer in Flotida wear a bag over their head?
Swear.
I agree with @Penny. I don’t want to look at hairy legs/arms, fat legs/arms (politically incorrect comment) or stomachs hanging out, male or female in a plane where I don’t have the option of moving away or not looking because the person is there for the duration of the flight. Its visual polution.
I meant to agree with @kimmie not @penny, sorry.
LOL…what a bunch of self righteous prudes…clearly all women on aircraft should be fully covered and wear niqabs!!!
@Kimmie there is nothing liberal or even logically sound about your position – you wouldn’t be able to put a hand or forearm or shin on the seat or armrest in your view of the world just in case your body was to exude a droplet of sweat = absurd stupidity. Good taste is a matter of subjectivity, social, cultural and religious mores which are highly diverse in the age of modern travel.
@Norita I trust you cover up yourself and don’t flash so much as an ankle when you travel – I’d hate to be exposed to any “visual pollution”.
Seriously, folks, if an airline wants to administer some sort of dress code (over and above what would be considered legally compliant) it should make such public and inform its passengers.
Here in Australia Qantas has been forcing stricter dress standards in its lounges, , which has caused some absurd situations (people with open sandals being refused entry), but at least the rules have been published and widely publicised as a common point of reference.
@platy: Seriously, should an airline have to publish a dress code or guidelines as to what is appropriate dress? Sounds to me like middle school, where all the “tweens” were pushing the limits to see what they could get away with. But QR must feel the need to do so, because the pax cannot do it for themselves.
Common sense and consideration (as well as respect) for self and others should come from within; and not be forced by external forces. There is a saying that a government makes rules when people cannot govern themselves accordingly, and it is indicative of our contemporary mindset that we cannot compoft ourselves as dictated by the situation.
I used to live in Key West and fly A LOT to and from the island, for both business and pleasure. Sometimes we would fly 8 seaters, sometimes 12, and other times an ERJ 135. It was hot, humid, and tight quarters. No, I would not expect anyone to be bundled up in a burka or a blanket. I would, however, hope that the (often intoxicated) person seated next to me would have enough class to not be wearing a minimum of clothing so his/her hot, sticky, hairy, scabby, possibly warty, maybe MERSA infected skin was not affecting myself or the next passenger to sit in the seat.
@ Kimmie
Well, obviously, yes an airline needs to publish a dress code if opinions on what is acceptable are so clearly divided and passengers are going to get dumped off flights for unreasonable excuses – there was no obvious health or security threat in the case of the girl with the brief shorts and her dress was not remarkable in the modern day world…
Many local bars, night clubs, etc., here in Cairns have a simple dress code promoted at the door, and this is far hotter, more humid and sweaty than the most wonderful Florida Keys.
I personally have no issue with the clothing of the girl – it seems that others do.
Why should folk more open minded and liberal than your good self be subjected to your particular and Victorian prudishness and be forced to dress up?
The “it ain’t healthy” excuse doesn’t have weight – how somebody dresses isn’t going to reveal whether they are a health risk to other passengers, whether some golden staph (methicyllin-resistent or otherwise) is lurking in their tonsils, etc…
…of course there would be point where MOST would agree on a standard of behaviour – I recall a couple changing their baby’s nappy on a restaurant table with the rank smell of baby shit pervading the whole room and the restaurant management turned a blind eye…then you would have very good cause to be anxious about a health risk and personal comfort! We haven’t eaten there since…!!!
.. I also once saw a gentleman on a flight use the airline pillow as a hanky to stifle a spluttering cough…yuck!
… I’d definitely rather sit next to the burlesque girl in the shorts!
Maybe Marshall’s sells their shopping carts too 🙂
What happened to the days when women wore clothes that made them look good, not like children in pjs? She looks like she just rolled out of bed and put socks on!
As for all you commenters saying she should be fully covered vs wearing her bra and panties you are going to the outer limits here.
She is in a public place and should dress for that place. She can wear her shorty shorts to the beach or in her house or at the strip club but an airport or office or court room and it is not appropriate.
I have seen judges have people removed from the court room for wearing shorts during heat waves. It is not appropriate attaire and they have to leave.
@ Tomri
But that’s your personal opinion and obviously based on prudish perceptions! We’re talking about a paying customer being chucked off a flight
FWIW, the beach IS a public place.
Why should an airport / aircraft cabin have the same requirements as a court house?
In any case, many states in the US DO have defined dress codes for court appearances – a few (including Florida) do not: in the latter case the judge has discretion and some judges are of the opinion that no dress code should be imposed (it is an imposition on the person called to appear) and others regard formal dress to be appropriate. So even judges disagree on what is appropriate dress in that scenario!
Which brings me back to the main point – if folk like yourself are so prudish to think paying customers should be chucked off a flight they have paid for because they don’t align with your view of the world, then clearly the airline needs to publish guidelines!
It would be better if some tolerance prevailed.