What's the book corporate America doesn't want you to read? Find out now -- or you could get scammed.

What’s to stop us from flying nude on Southwest?

September 13, 2007

It doesn’t take much to capture the imagination of a TV producer on a slow news day. I’m talking about the brouhaha over Southwest Airlines passenger Kyla Ebbert’s attire — or lack thereof. Ebbert parlayed her fashion faux-pas into an appearance on the Today Show, and the blogosphere followed in lockstep.

Turns out Ebbert wasn’t the first person snagged by the airline’s clothing cops. Another woman has since come forward to say she, too, was told to cover up by Southwest.

Now, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with enforcing a dress code in a public place. But one question that’s been largely overlooked is: Did anyone bother to tell Ebbert and passengers like her that they were expected to dress modestly for their journey before they boarded the aircraft?

Actually, no.

In fact, Southwest’s Web site suggests you can dress the way you want to. On a page for prospective interns, the carrier lists “SWA offers a casual dress code,” as one of the benefits of joining the company. Proper attire is even something of a joke at Southwest — at least if these pictures are to be believed.

I checked around to find out if any airline had a publicly-available dress code, and could only find one: Delta Air Lines. Its dress code is for travel agents who are using a discounted ticket. United Airlines has a dress code, but it’s for employees.

So it’s a simple question, really. How can passengers dress appropriately if no one tells them?

Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

23 comments

  • HChon

    “So it’s a simple question, really. How can passengers dress appropriately if no one tells them?”

    You’re kidding right? The answer is simpler … because passengers should have been raise by parents who instill in them what is appropriate behavior and what is not. For instance, you are taught not to wear your bathing suit to church and that pajamas are not appropriate in the office. Why does anyone need a formal dress code to tell them what is acceptable. You know why – because people do not want to be responsible/accountable for their own actions. These ladies want to blame the reaction and treatment they received because the airline doesn’t have a written policy on the issue rather than looking in the mirror.

  • Bob

    HChon are you serious? “Raise(d) by parents who instill in them what is appropriate behavior and what is not.” If I can’t see nipples and pubic hair, the woman is D-R-E-S-S-E-D! This is beyond question of dress code … it’s simple freedom of expression – the right to bare arms!

  • Chicky

    I’ve seen women on airplanes wearing similar clothing, and no one said anything. However, I do think there’s a safety issue here: what if someone dressed like this girl has to go down the inflatable slide? I can see something akin to serious carpet burn on her legs– to say nothing of the show she might give people on the ground.

    I never have understood why some women on airplanes feel the need to dress in their haute couture ensembles or like auditioners for the Pussycat Dolls. There’s a time and a place to “dress provocatively,” as Ms. Ebbert’s mother remarked, and that time isn’t on an airplane.

    Having said that, if Southwest doesn’t have a dress code in its contract of carriage, if a woman comes on board with all relevant parts covered up, let her board the plane and say nothing. Actually, having her her clothing and/or appearance totally ignored is probably the worst punishment she can receive.

  • http://AmateurTraveler.com Chris (Amateur Traveler podcast)

    A simple question but a great one. I wish I had thought of it.

  • Eric

    I find it funny that an airline that once put its flight attendants in hot pants can get away with complaining about the way someone dresses.

  • http://hubpages.com/profile/Jennlee3741 Jenni Hammitt

    Yes, there isn’t a dress code stated by the airline. However, the school I teach at does not have a dress code either. We expect our students to use good judgement (yes good judgement and common sense, both of these things are not always applied) in choosing what they wear on campus. HOWEVER, as instructors we have the right to ask a student to leave if the student’s outfit is distracting or not appropriate for class. From what I have read, that is the same type of policy Southwest has. It is up to the discression of the employee to decide what is and is not appropriate. It is a grey area.

    My time to be Devil’s Advocate: I would also like to mention that yes, she has been runnign around to media outlets showing the outfit in question. However, is that exactly as she was wearing it at the time of the incident? We don’t know. We weren’t there. That isn’t to say that perhaps the employee could have handled it differently if she was riduculed as she says she was.

  • http://guardienne.blogspot.com Colleen

    Just like the gas stations have the “No shoes, no shirt, no service” signs, if you can’t manage to get on the plane, put your bags away, and sit down (and get up again) without flashing your panties (which Ebbert did indeed do on the Today Show as she sat back down), then your outfit is inappropriate. I’m 28, not some curmudgeonly old woman, and I think this is just dang commonsense.

  • Pingback: Vacation Apprentice: Sights and events from around the world!

  • Melissa

    This woman said she was completely humiliated and cried on the whole flight. And yet she didn’t bother to try and change before getting on the return flight. Am I the only one that finds this odd??

  • http://www.upgradetravelbetter.com/ Mark Ashley

    Pointing to Southwest’s “casual” dress code is a start, but how about pointing to their own flight attendants’ uniforms from yesteryear? This is what once was on “the love airline,” after all:

    http://img.timeinc.net/time/2003/flight/images/1970s.jpg

    Or their 1972 advertising
    video

  • Jennifer

    It is interesting to me that men seem to have no problem with what that girl wore. I refuse to use her name to give her even more of the publicity she is seeking. If we can see your crotch it’s inappropriate. There doesn’t need to be any dress code for this to be the case. I’m also sure she didn’t wear the outfit “exactly” as she wore it on the airplane. Finally, women dress like this to get attention, then she doesn’t like the attention she gets. Too bad.

  • Eileen

    How about the people who fly in dirty sweats, a tattered T-shirt stating “Its not a spare tire, it’s a solar panel for a sex machine”, their sweaty arm har mucking up my armrest, taking up all the space, and otherwise looking like an unmade bed?

    If Southwest wants a dresscode, fine. Make one. But if they don’t want to make one, they don’t get to enforce one. If the flight attendant is really that uncomfortable, he should have handed her a blanket, and said, “here, in case you get cold.” It would have solved the whole problem.

  • pierre

    America is slipping back to the Dark Ages. It has become a truly Socialist country with bizarre societal standards. Violence is reaching new heights of acceptance (violent electronic games for the kids, violent sports, violent movies, violent training through the military, etc…). However the baring of the skin is seemingly the most abhorant “crime” in this country. Puritans are everywhere wanting to apply THEIR standard of living on the rest of us sane individuals. Infantilism is rampant. Why not create a 51st State and force all morons to move there?

  • Ed

    I agree with Eileen…if SW wants to have a dress code, publish it and enforce it. I take exception to the explaination that they have “to ensure the comfort of children and “adults with heightened sensitivities.” ”
    Huh? So, if there was an islamic cleric onboard the airplane and a woman got on with her face uncovered, would they force her to wear a burka? Why must we all cater to the fringe society of the minority? If I were on that flight, I’ld complain that some people were wearing TOO MUCH clothing…I’ld call the flight attendant over and say “uh…I think that the person in seat 12B is wearing too much clothing and I find it offensive that they are so covered up…can you have that person expelled from the plane or have them remove some clothing?”
    I think that the next thing that this woman needs to do is sue the airline for a crap load of money in order to force a written policy…
    Look…don’t shove your morals down my throat. Some on this list say that a dress code is obvious…Hmmm…sorry, I don’t follow fashion and honestly, I don’t understand dress codes. I don’t have one at work, and I don’t have one at home…I go the the grocery store in my bathing suit (I wear a tee shirt if I know I’m going to walk through the freezer isle) And I’m barefoot most of the time (I wear tevas when I’m not barefoot) I’m the most dressed at work and that is only because they have the AC turned up so I have to wear long pants and a shirt (although it’s always a Hawaiian shirt) but I’m barefoot (or tevas) … and honestly…I never “dress up” for anything…infact, I dont’ think I own any formal clothes…no need for them.
    Keep your morals to yourself and if there is a published dress code, then publish and enforce it!
    Ed
    web/gadget guru

  • Ed

    Does anyone else find it funny that on the page:
    http://www.southwest.com/about_swa/press/070426_bizfest.html
    the banner says “where Youth and Oportunity meet” and the only people you see are old grey-haired fogies trying to be “hip”.
    Talk about your stodgey stiff shirt types…Sorry…but the people in the photos are stiffer than a 2X4!
    Ed
    web/gadget guru

  • http://Skimpyfaresale spencermi1

    I saw that Southwest is giving a discount on fares to make up for the “confusion” about their dress code. I can’t find any thing on their website about how to get the skimpy fare discount. Does any one know?

    Thanks. Mickie Spencer

  • JohnL

    I’m not offended at all with Ms. Ebbert’s attire. How she chooses to dress has no impact on me personally, professionally or as a member of the human race. Her personal dress code does not speak for me nor for anyone else. It only speaks for Ms. Ebbert.

    When flying, I dress to be comfortable AND safe but I too dress for the weather at my destination. Since it is Ms. Ebbert’s responsibility to look out for Ms. Ebbert’s welfare, if she feels safe in her attire, so be it. I find it more objectionable to be sitting next to a person with strong body odor, flatulence or sour breath.

    Ms. Ebbert probably did not expose anything you would not see on a regular day at the beach. She appears to be comfortable with her body. It really makes me wonder if those that complain are expressing their own insecurities with their own bodies. And, really, aren’t there more important things to worry about?

  • Tony for Freedom

    Hold it! Let’s take a completely different stand on this. If anyone finds another travellers clothing choice offensive or uncomfortable, then let THEM get off the plane and take another flight. In the land of choices,if it really makes someone that uncomfortable to have to view another persons fashion sense, then just get up and take another flight. That inconvienience will be a small price to pay compared to the peace of mind one would achieve. Idiots!!

  • John

    If you can make it through security and the long hike down the airport concourse without being arrested for indecent exposure, you ought be able to get on the plane. Period.

  • http://None Douglas

    Pierre–

    Just as a matter of information. Your reference to Socialism is entirely mistaken and has nothing at all to do with dress codes. It’s a system of economics by which a country
    manages its finances. It’s not even political; it’s economic. All countries are ‘socialist’ to a greater or lesser extent. If it taxes citizens to provide all the basic services and even to provide assistance to the poor or sick or downtrodden, that’s socialism. Some countries are more socialist than others.
    The true welfare state is a welfare state because of its socialist practices. Playing Robin Hood, if you will, taking from the rich to give to the poor. Any system of ‘redistribution of wealth’ has socialistic underpinnings. These systems, of course, ruin a country faster than it helps, because the recipients of the government’s largesse, which it has stolen from a productive populace, have absolutely no hint of how to invest it or put their newly acquired wealth to productive use. Of course it isn’t really wealth; it’s usually nothing more than bare bones subsistence. The rest usually winds up in the pockets of corrupt public officials, claiming their ‘doing their best for the betterment of their country’, best translated as ‘…the betterment of their personal bank accounts”

    But I digress. Don’t confuse socialism when it comes to establishment and observance of common sense rules of dress in public places. They really are two VERY separate issues.

  • Warlockco

    Thing is Her Outfit was OBJECTED to by a MALE Flight Attendant on the way in.
    A FEMALE Flight Attendant COMPLIMENTED her on the return flight.

  • Pingback: flying nude

  • Tina

    I don’t think that wearing a skirt that short is necessary for a for a person to look good. As someone else pointed out, she is wearing the outfit to draw attention (whether it be male or otherwise). She got what she asked for.
    REgardless…..
    Who wants to be the next person to sit in that seat for an extended period (at least not without a paper potty cover! Germs on planes are bad enough without the potentially added biological “exchange”.

    What do you want to bet she wouldn’t dare consider sitting on a public potty without a paper cover? So why would she want to sit on a fabric seat that I can almost assure you didn’t go through a disinfect cycle between passengers.

Previous post:

Next post: