What a difference a day makes (on a crap airline)
Here's Southwest's president yesterday:
Southwest Airlines won't likely apologize to a passenger the discount airline said dressed too provocatively to fly, company President Colleen Barrett said Thursday.
The exec spoke about the incident at Texas Christian University, as featured speaker of the university's Tandy Executive Speaker Series.
"I just can't do that to the customer service supe (supervisor)," she said. "He handled the situation discreetly and with patience, and he did not deny her boarding."
The Dallas-based airline's flap with the passenger, 23-year-old Kyla Ebbert, began in early September -- two months after her flight from San Diego to Tucson, Ariz.
Ebbert has said to other media sources she felt humiliated and felt the stares of other passengers who overheard a Southwest employee asking Ebbert to change her outfit, which consisted of a frayed mini-skirt and a sweater.
Barrett said Ebbert flew with a blanket over her skirt.
"I'm sure she will probably have a movie contract by next week," Barrett quipped.
While Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) doesn't have an established dress code, Barrett said the airline does expect passengers to be "sensible and reasonable."
Some have called the airline, known for its prominent advertisement of hot pant-clad stewardesses in the 1970s, prudish. But Barrett says company officials have removed people from flights in the past for wearing T-shirts with lewd statements on them.
Meanwhile Barrett says the airline continues its culture of putting employees first and trusting them to make appropriate decisions, as with the scenario involving Ebbert.
Here's a Southwest employee on the Newsweek's Travel blog, This Just In, also yesterday:
As an airline employee, specifically of the airline involved, I am so tired of hearing about this "poor, picked on girl". First, there are two sides to every story and I don't feel she was completely honest about the way she was wearing that outfit. I heard she had the shirt pulled up and the skirt pulled down exposing her entire midriff and pelvic bones. An airplane is not a nightclub and even though we serve drinks, it is not a bar. Dress appropriately. I am tired of seeing everybody's body parts no matter their size. Second, SWA is a business and is responsible to all passengers including the one that complained about her outfit. As any business they can reserve the right to refuse anyone. I have never seen an employee address a problem with a passenger ON the aircraft. It is always done in the jetway. Perhaps the reason the entire airplane was staring at her wasn't because they overheard her "dressing down" but because she was dressed like that. DUH! Third, have you seen this girl's My Space page? Her heroes are Jenna Jameson (the porn star) and Paris Hilton (who has her own issues with decency). [Editor's note: We cannot verify that this webpage is, in fact, an accurate cached version of Kayla Ebbert's MySpace page--or even if Kayla Ebbert has a MySpace page. For example, the name Kyla on this page is spelled differently from Kayla.] Enough said about that. Please let's move on from this whole blown-out-of-proportion, juvenile, waste-of-time, fame-seeking, and ludicrous ordeal.
And here's Southwest CEO Gary Kelly today:
In classic Southwest Airlines flair, CEO Gary Kelly today made a public apology to one of its Customers whose trip several months ago has become the subject of recent television and newspaper commentary. Company President Colleen Barrett has reached out to the Customer directly, and Kelly issued Kyla Ebbert an apology and invitation to again fly on Southwest as she taped a television show.
"From a Company who really loves PR, touche to you Kyla! Some have said we've gone from wearing our famous hot pants to having hot flashes at Southwest, but nothing could be further from the truth. As we both know, this story has great legs, but the true issue here is that you are a valued Customer, and you did not get an adequate apology. Kyla, we could have handled this better, and on behalf of Southwest Airlines, I am truly sorry. We hope you continue to fly Southwest Airlines. Our Company is based on freedom even if our actions may have not appeared that way. It was never our intention to treat you unfairly and again, we apologize."
Kelly took an additional step and is sharing his direct comments about the incident by recording ads for national radio. Those comments detail a national fare sale launched today featuring "mini-skirt" fares.
What a cl*sterph*ck of an airline.
I'm actually okay with an airline enforcing some minimal dress standards (clothing is not optional on the plane, thank you). But clearly, the woman in question met minimal dress standards. I'm not down with an airline enforcing ridiculous dress standards. Especially the cattle-transport airline.
In Southwest's case, though, they have much bigger problems -- no in-flight entertainment, the dreaded cattle call, indifferent customer service, and most importantly, planes that don't get where they are supposed to when they are supposed to.
I'm glad Gary Kelly thinks it's all fun now, and hopes the bad press is behind him. Given Southwest's stock performance on his watch, not to mention competitors like Virgin America and Jet Blue flying nicer jets with much better service and amenities and competing on price, this little incident may be the least of his worries.
UPDATE: And now Southwest's President weighs in, and grovels a bit for good measure. Completely unconvincing. Whatever.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/14/07 18:46 | Travel | Technorati
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