Air travel can be a mixed bag of fashion, as passengers of all different style sensibilities come together on a different kind of runway. Sometimes, those styles come into conflict with airline staffers, like in the case of a JetBlue passenger who was told her shorts were too short to fly, and that she’d have to change if she wanted to board the flight.
Earlier this month, a burlesque dancer from Seattle was waiting for a connecting flight home at Logan International Airport in Boston, after flying from New York that day wearing a long-sleeved sweater, thigh-high socks, and shorts, reports KIRO 7 News. She tells the news station she had been waiting by the gate for about 45 minutes when a gate agent approached her.
[“She] told me that she was really sorry for bringing this up but just what I was wearing was not appropriate and the flight crew had discussed it and the pilot had decided that I needed to put something else on or I would not be allowed to board the flight,” she said.
The problem was her shorts, she said, but she didn’t have any other clothing with her to change into. Instead, she asked if she could tie her sweater around her waist or use a blanket to cover up, but was denied. She ended up buying $22 pajama bottoms at an airport store so she could get home.
JetBlue said in a statement to KIRO 7 that the gate and on board crew discussed the passenger’s clothing, and “determined that the burlesque shorts may offend other families on the flight.”
“While the customer was not denied boarding, the crew members politely asked if she could change. The customer agreed and continued on the flight without interruption,” the airline said, adding that it supports its crew members’ discretion “to make these difficult decisions,” and has reimbursed the customer for the cost of the replacement clothing she had to buy. She’ll also get a credit for a future flight “as a goodwill gesture.”
The woman tells KIRO 7 that she didn’t mention the fact that she’s a burlesque dancer before or after the confrontation.
She says she wants the pilot to apologize, for the airline to have a clear dress code for airline passengers, and offer cash or a larger flight credit.
“I was told it was the pilot’s final say so these are official rules that can be broken,” she said.
Seattle burlesque performer: Airline did not allow me to board plane because of my short shorts [KIRO 7 News]
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist
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