On Sunday, a United passenger and the founder of Moms Demand Action, Shannon Watts, tweeted that two girls were not being allowed to board a flight because of the leggings they were wearing.
1) A @united gate agent isn't letting girls in leggings get on flight from Denver to Minneapolis because spandex is not allowed?
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) March 26, 2017
2) She's forcing them to change or put dresses on over leggings or they can't board. Since when does @united police women's clothing?
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) March 26, 2017
3) Gate agent for flt 215 at 7:55. Said she doesn't make the rules, just follows them. I guess @united not letting women wear athletic wear?
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) March 26, 2017
.@united They just boarded after being forced to change or put dresses on over the top of their clothing. Is this your policy?
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) March 26, 2017
United’s social media team responded, explaining that they can bar passengers from boarding due to clothing:
@shannonrwatts In our Contract of Carriage, Rule 21, we do have the right to refuse transport for passengers who ... https://t.co/52kRVgaCyb
— United (@united) March 26, 2017
The response only served to make Watts angrier, who continued to tweet about the incident .
The father had shorts on. Two young women in leggings booted from flight and a girl had to put a dress on over leggings in order to board. https://t.co/sCCP01gWcA
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) March 26, 2017
The situation—along with the airline’s responses—began to attract widespread attention, and consumers and celebrities took to Twitter and Facebook to lash out against the decision.
@united Leggings are business attire for 10 year olds. Their business is being children.
— Patricia Arquette (@PattyArquette) March 26, 2017
@PattyArquette Leggings are not inappropriate attire except in the case of someone traveling as a pass rider. ^KP
— United (@united) March 26, 2017
United stuck with its decision, explaining that the girls were traveling via an employee benefit pass, which is subject to a dress code.
Jonathan Guerin, a spokesman for United, confirmed that two teenage girls were told they could not board a flight from Denver to Minneapolis because their leggings violated the company’s dress code policy for “pass travelers,” a company benefit that allows United employees and their dependents to travel for free on a standby basis.
Mr. Guerin said pass travelers are “representing” the company and as such are not allowed to wear Lycra and spandex leggings, tattered or ripped jeans, midriff shirts, flip-flops or any article of clothing that shows their undergarments.
“It’s not that we want our standby travelers to come in wearing a suit and tie or that sort of thing,” he said. “We want people to be comfortable when they travel as long as it’s neat and in good taste for that environment.”
The airline tweeted:
The passengers this morning were United pass riders who were not in compliance with our dress code policy for company benefit travel.
— United (@united) March 26, 2017
Several social media users backed the airline’s decision, and some shared the requirements for those traveling through United’s employee benefits program:
Though several social media users sided with United, the airline’s explanation didn’t stop others’ criticism.
Some Twitter users pointed out a seeming discrepancy between the airline’s dress code and its advertising:
Journalist/Platinum flyer here, @United: You block girls in leggings from flights but you're promoting yourself w/THIS tweet? @shannonrwatts http://pic.twitter.com/wdCB34aqT8
— Jeff Yang (@originalspin) March 26, 2017
So @united passengers with leggings violate a dress code, but http://pic.twitter.com/31Ays4M5OI
— eric gautreaux (@ericgautreaux1) March 26, 2017
[RELATED: Keep your cool in a crisis with these tips.]
Others attacked the airline’s response to the backlash—especially as it grew.
Girls wearing LEGGINGS reportedly forced to change before @united would let them board and this...is...United's response... http://pic.twitter.com/KHJgau8tRE
— Elizabeth Minkel (@elizabethminkel) March 26, 2017
Hey @united, are "leggings" really the hill you want to die on? An apology and "my bad, here's some miles" seems like a better route
— Mary Numair (@MaryNumair) March 26, 2017
@united And yet how you handled this on Twitter likely did more damage to the brand than 10 year olds in leggings could ever do. Ironic!
— Jamie Wells (@drjwells) March 26, 2017
Later on Sunday, United tweeted the following, which to many, came off as insincere:
To our customers…your leggings are welcome! Learn more about our company’s pass travel privilege: https://t.co/5e3euG1H9G.
— United (@united) March 27, 2017
Reuters reported that United’s spokesman, Jonathan Guerin, admitted that the team could have upped its PR game:
Guerin conceded that the airline, in its initial response to the flap, could have done a better job of explaining the situation and countering apparently inaccurate information about the incident that appeared on Twitter.
"We'll definitely take something away from today, but we'll continue to engage with our customers (on social media)," he said.
How would you have advised the airline to respond to this situation, PR Daily readers? What would you have done differently?
(Image via)from PR Daily News Feed http://ift.tt/2oq1uEa
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