The Important but Problematic Minimal Airline Dress Code

Maggie McMuffin: I do not like this outfit. That said, my opinion on her style choices is irrelevant. I felt I had to include my sartorial opinion to start this op-ed, however — call it full disclosure, but I had to question, examine extra carefully all the nuances of how I felt about her story. The media coverage asked whether her being refused boarding for her JetBlue flight unless she changed clothes (Note: the airline denies it was an ultimatum) constituted a “judgment flaw.” I do not believe it did, but not because of my personal taste.

Maggie McMuffin

Dress code is a very gray area for airlines. First, realize that they are generally conservative by nature (at the management level). Many have only recently loosened up on dress codes for their own employees on travel passes – if they’ve loosened up at all. For most of my flying career, we’ve had to wear business attire to sit on the jumpseat or in a premium cabin, and even in coach, some casual wear is still disallowed.

Something of a passenger dress code does exist, albeit a skimpy one. The wording is a few lines about clothing that would “cause discomfort or be considered offensive by others.” Clothes with curse words or salacious phrases printed on them are definitely understood by agents and crew to be a no-no. Barring explicit messages, it is extremely unusual for a crew to make any fuss (notwithstanding private opinions). Otherwise, it usually comes down to whether other passengers complain. We witness all sorts of half dress at work, and Ms. McMuffin’s outfit was not unusual, nor was it the worst of it. Given that, it is unfair she got pointed out.

In media reports, the passenger has been identified everywhere by her burlesque stage name “Maggie McMuffin” (something I’ll get back to later), and she says she would like to see a “clear dress code for airline passengers.” I understand where she’s coming from, but in reality, that’s a terrible idea. Dress codes can be incredibly problematic. Furthermore, the main concern is safety, and policing dress is not something I wish to put on my priority list. In this case, the only person who complained (as far as we know) was a pilot. Are pilots intended among the “others” who could be offended — especially considering they won’t even be in the cabin with the offender?

Whatever the answer, one thing is not vague: pilots get final say over whatever happens on their airplane. It’s one of the most standard operating rules and won’t be changing anytime soon. Here it played out in an unfortunate way, but considering the safety reasons and responsibilities for the rule, it’s overall a good thing. Does it allow room for such “judgment flaws” if you have a jerky pilot? Yes, and occasionally this creates internal problems the airline has to deal with also.

An example: we currently have a pilot famous for kicking female flight attendants off their trip if they are not wearing a uniform scarf. Mind you, we are permitted to take our scarves off on the airplane! Worse, a few male flight attendants say they’ve tested this pilot by removing their ties (which is not permitted) and this pilot made no fuss at all. It’s so wrong that a random pilot is allowed to throw his personal, non-safety related, seemingly sexist weight around! However, at the moment, pilots simply have that power. Mostly, flight attendants who this particular pilot kicked off were given pay for the trips they lost, and for awhile the airline put up with it. From what I hear, it finally happened enough times that he’s “been spoken to” and has “calmed down.” So you get a few insufferable types, and unless they’re causing safety issues, it takes a bit to rein them in. I feel confident in assuming the JetBlue pilot who had an issue with Ms. McMuffin’s dress has at least “been spoken to.”

In a way, Ms. McMuffin’s experience was a personal disagreement between herself and a pilot that played out on his turf. There was, I feel, a judgment flaw on the part of the pilot (which the airline seems to agree with if you judge by the flight credit she was offered), but the airline doesn’t really have any great options at the moment. Thankfully, most pilots are far too responsible and respectful to pull stunts like this. In my opinion, pilot awareness of what a mess this one guy caused is far more effective than Ms. McMuffin’s call for a specific dress code.

Lastly, regarding most articles identifying Ms. McMuffin as a “burlesque dancer”: What does that have to do with anything? Did she insist on pushing her stage act in the reporting or is it that the detail was just too clickbaity to pass up? If she were a lawyer, would it change any opinions on her outfit and what happened? Given the tiresome stereotypes that cling to my job and cause people to make judgments about flight attendants – even though the job has nothing to do with sex! – this stubborn fascination with her being a burlesque dancer stood out to me. For a story that’s fat with undercurrents of sexism, it’s a tad ironic that the media played it this way. It’s telling where the sensationalism of the story actually lies.

[Photos: Getty, Instagram]