r/OutOfTheLoop • u/limbikity • Mar 27 '17
Answered What is the controversy with United Airlines?
What is going on? All I can tell from Twitter is something about clothes that are allowed on flights?
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Mar 27 '17
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/26/us/united-airlines-leggings.html?_r=0
Two teenage girls were barred from boarding a United flight because they were wearing leggings. The girls were using an employee benefit that allows United employees or their kids free travel. United is backing the agent who barred the girls, saying that anyone who uses the pass is subject to the
My understanding is that all the hubbub stems from confusion over which dress code should have been applied and it being about two little girls.
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u/V2Blast Mar 27 '17
The employee dress code specifically prohibits leggings, but the general dress code for passengers does not.
My understanding is that all the hubbub stems from confusion over which dress code should have been applied and it being about two little girls.
It didn't help that the airline's own Twitter account first replied to a bunch of people who tweeted them with this:
United shall have the right to refuse passengers who are not properly clothed via our Contract of Carriage
It didn't tweet this bit about them being "pass riders" until several hours later:
The passengers this morning were United pass riders who were not in compliance with our dress code policy for company benefit travel.
And then, of course, I don't think the policy for pass travelers is public information, so people may still criticize that dress code or wonder whether the policy for male pass travelers is similarly strict.
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Mar 28 '17
wonder whether the policy for male pass travelers is similarly strict.
In the original r/news thread about this, someone linked the full list of clothing rules, and it was clear about tight, revealing clothing (and specifically mentioned yoga pants) and didn't say anything about the gender of the wearer. I'm not sure where you're getting the idea that it's a sexist policy. Could you expand upon that some?
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u/V2Blast Mar 28 '17
I didn't say it was sexist, I just said that if the policy's not public knowledge, it leaves more room for people to debate the fairness of the policy. I haven't seen the r/news thread.
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Mar 28 '17 edited Mar 28 '17
Here's the rules that I saw. I've also linked them a few times since finding them. According to people more experienced in this than me, it seems that the people getting the tickets are told this multiple times in the process of getting these.
Also, I would say that by including that at all, you are suggesting that it's a reasonable belief that these are sexist. Without far more information than we had at first, jumping to that seems absurd to me. But then I'm also in a conversation that started yesterday in that r/news thread with someone that thinks the ticket taker is likely a pedophile and that these rules are related to pedophilia, so hey, assuming it's sexist is not NEARLY as unreasonable as some thoughts.
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Mar 27 '17
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u/Calkhas Mar 28 '17
The dress standards are well known and those travelling on staff tickets are reminded of the need to be appropriately attired.
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u/V2Blast Mar 27 '17
That's true... But my point in that last part was that the people criticizing the dress code don't know exactly what the dress code is - and even if the airline had a rule to point to to justify preventing the teenagers from boarding the flight, people may still argue that the rule itself is dumb/unfair/discriminatory. And that debate won't exactly be resolved without even knowing what exactly the policy says.
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u/K1nsey6 Mar 27 '17
The person flying was traveling on an employee pass. There are VERY specific requirements on what can and can not be worn while traveling on an employee pass. This person starting this outrage is from someone that has NO idea what the situation is but decided to stick their opinion into it. 18 year airline employee here.
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u/Sillysolomon Mar 28 '17
Well they didn't follow the guidelines set for anyone using employee pass rider tickets. I use my dads all the time, yeah wearing a dress shirt and all that is a pain sometimes but really its no big deal. I don't mind it at all, yeah I would be more comfortable in a pair of jeans and a tshirt but I can change when I get to my destination. Dressing in a professional manner is a part of the deal, their dad should have known this was going to happen.
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Mar 28 '17
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u/Calkhas Mar 28 '17 edited Mar 28 '17
The passengers were travelling on staff tickets. These are either heavily discounted or free, and they are offered as perks to employees. Staff ticket holders are known to the gate agents in advance (because they have the lowest priority in case last minute space on the aircraft is needed for a revenue passenger, and because they are not entitled to the same standard of service as revenue passengers). Passengers travelling on UA staff tickets are subject to certain dress regulations, which are, generally enforced rather strictly.
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Mar 27 '17
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u/Bammerrs Mar 27 '17
Your post fails to mention that they were flying on an employee pass and thus subject to the dress code.
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u/CARDTRICKSTER Mar 27 '17
Right, I just read an article about that. United Airlines is definitely justified in their decision because they want to protect their image. Twitter users are blowing it WAY out of proportion
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Mar 27 '17
I understand it's in UA's interest to keep a professional image, but how can you even tell if someone is flying on an employee pass and who isn't? Seems like a silly and outdated rule especially because
Casual attire is allowed as long as it looks neat and is in good taste for the local environment. (1/2)
leggings are pretty much the go-to casual wear these days. Leggings are also becoming more popular than jeans.
The outrage was misplaced, though I don't know if it was fully unjustified.
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u/Bammerrs Mar 27 '17
Totally, everyone just believes the headline and don't bother to read the entire story.
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u/RancidLemons Mar 27 '17 edited Mar 27 '17
Here's how it's presented. United Airlines banned at least two young girls for flying because they were wearing leggings. This has sparked a lot of outrage because policing what you can or can't wear on a plane is ridiculous and it has been called "sexualizing ten year old girls."
What actually happened is the girls were told they had to change because they were flying as "pass riders
The father was also stopped from flying as he was wearing shorts. This doesn't seem to spark as much outrage for some reason. (Edit - one of the original stories I read made this claim, now I'm reading that he was not asked to leave as his shorts were long, so take this with a grain of salt.)
It's worth noting that the company defended the position by simply stating they could refuse to allow people to travel if they wanted, which is frankly the stupidest way they could have handled the situation. It wasn't until the evening that they essentially spelled out "pass riders have a specific dress code."
Them's the facts. My opinion is that UA is well within their rights to do this and are not at all unreasonable to ask that people flying for free adhere to a dress code. They mishandled the entire complaint but are having an unnecessary handful of shit thrown at them.