Well, I think an American Airlines employee is about to lose their travel privileges, if they haven’t lost them already.
One of the benefits of working in the airline industry is that you get flight benefits, and in some cases you can share them with family. The catch is that when traveling on these benefits you’re expected to behave properly, or else your benefits are put in jeopardy. That seems reasonable enough, no?
Well, apparently not in this case.
A woman has posted a 28 minute video/tirade online after she was denied boarding on an American Airlines flight from Miami to New York.
She was flying from Jamaica to New York via Miami, and successfully got on the first flight, only to be denied boarding on the second flight. She claims she was denied boarding over what she was wearing, while a supervisor claims that it was primarily because she was cursing at agents.
One thing is for sure — it’s completely unacceptable for her to go on a public tirade against American Airlines like she did. You can’t travel on flight benefits that are a benefit of employment and act like this.
She does nothing but cuss about the airline for nearly 30 minutes.
“Don’t fly American Airlines, they f*cking suck, they can kiss my Jamaican black a**, and I will never be using them again.”
“I didn’t take it lightly when they were being f*cking d*ckwads, so I’m putting they ass on blast.”
“American Airlines can eat the sh*t out the dry of my f*cking a**crack.”
She says “I am not an employee, I can wear whatever I want.” She goes on to clarify that it’s her cousin who works for American Airlines, and the airline can’t control her — “I’m a goddamn entrepreneur, I don’t work for nobody. No offense to anybody who works for people, gotta get your bread.”
“The way they are behaving you’d think we are in the Emirates states or Dubai, where you gotta cover your head.”
The lady said “I ask you all to share this, to bring awareness to this great injustice.” So I’ll gladly share it.
Here’s the video:
Was American’s employee dress code actually being violated?
This isn’t the first high profile incident involving airline employee dress codes. Last March United had a story that went viral regarding someone traveling on employee benefits who was denied boarding for wearing leggings. That raised the question of whether airline employee dress codes were inherently sexist, since most of the prohibited items were things that women would typically wear.
Since then we’ve seen major airlines, including American, adjust their dress codes for traveling employees. Here’s how American updated their policy at the time:
For most of us, being comfortable in flight extends to the clothes we wear. American doesn’t have a prescribed dress code for our non-revenue guests. So, as long as your clothing is neat and clean and doesn’t offend or distract, you’re good to fly in any class (including premium cabins). If you’re looking for more specifics, here are a few:
- When we say offensive or distractive, we mean you shouldn’t wear anything that’s overly revealing (like super short shorts or something that is sheer or see through). That also extends to swimwear or sleepwear (of course it’s always okay to change into your American-provided pajamas if you’re lucky to snag a First Class seat on a premium international flight!)
- It also means to avoid any attire that is vulgar or violates community standards of decency
- When in doubt, ask yourself, “Do I blend in with customers?” If so, you’re probably set
Bottom line
It’s debatable whether this lady was dressed in such a way that violated American’s very lax dress code policy. Personally I think someone traveling on employee benefits (and passengers in general, for that matter) should dress better than that. However, based on what we hear, that’s not even the entire issue, but rather also the way she was cursing at employees.
One thing is for sure, though. The way she’s acting is completely irresponsible. You can’t put an airline on blast like this when you’re taking advantage of a relative’s travel benefits.
I suspect that relative will be losing their privileges very soon.
What do you make of this situation?
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