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Woman thrown off Jetblue for wearing short shorts

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Old Jul 22, 2011, 2:31 pm
  #1  
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Woman thrown off Jetblue for wearing short shorts

I felt that the general forum was a better place for this article instead of the JetBlue FF forum.

A woman wearing baggy shirt and short shorts was kicked off a Jetblue flight to PBI.



A Harlem financial consultant wants JetBlue to pay for booting her off a Florida-bound flight after an airline worker accused her of not wearing panties.

Malinda Knowles, 27, claims in a Queens Supreme Court lawsuit that a JetBlue supervisor put a walkie-talkie between her legs to see what she had on under her baggy T-shirt."He said, 'I don't want to see your panties or anything but do you have any on?'" Knowles recalled yesterday.


She said fellow passengers on the July 13, 2010, flight to West Palm Beach watched in horror as she was confronted.

The former fashion model said she was wearing a baggy blue T-shirt over a pair of dark denim short-shorts she had tossed on after waking up at 4 a.m.
<snip>

After showing off her shorts, Knowles returned to the plane, but was told by the same walkie-talkie-wielding supervisor that the pilot would not take off with her aboard.

"He said, 'The captain is refusing to fly you today. We need to remove you from the flight,'" said Knowles, quoting the supervisor. "We need to remove you from the flight."

As passengers grew upset and grumbled about the delay, Knowles acquiesced.

My thoughts:
1) Regardless of my other thoughts, the captain was out of line. Why? If it is not a safety issue, then at least have consideration for the OTHER passengers on the plane who were subject to a delay and inconvenience. And if airlines want to start enforcing rules on clothes, then they should let that be the discretion of the Gate Agent where some compromise can be made before it is too late. The pilot should stick to worrying about the safety of the plane.
2) The lady used to be a fashion model? For what? The Annual Crackdealers Show?
3) Let's be honest. If I wonder if the lady looked like Rihanna in this getup, would she have been kicked off. I don't think so. To be fair, I would be thrilled if Rihanna sat next to me in that outfit and not so thrilled if that ex"fashion model" sat next to me.
4) People of all races (just check the white fat lady in stretchy sweatpants sporting an ugly cameltoe) are dressing like slobs these days. Now, I can't expect people to dress well for a $100 plane ride. Hell, I dress very casually. But can we have at least minimum standards? This lady is a financial consultant now and she is dressed like that? I don't care if the meeting is the next day. How long does it take to wear regular slacks or even regular shorts? 2 minutes?
5) What's the pilot's problem with the no panties? That is one less place to hide a bomb!!!!
6) If the airline employee really put a walkie talkie under her shirt, he is lucky she did not punch his lights out. Then again, with the post 9/11 paranoia, airline employees can get away with stifling common sense retaliation in the name of airline security.
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Old Jul 22, 2011, 2:44 pm
  #2  
 
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If this woman went through "enhanced" screening, imagine what the TSA officer must have had to go through...
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Old Jul 22, 2011, 2:51 pm
  #3  
 
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Actually, I think that the pilot was trying to protect her... If there was an emergency and she had to slide down the slide, the pilot didn't want her to get rug burns...
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Old Jul 22, 2011, 3:06 pm
  #4  
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sounds like the tee shirt would have been equivalent to a mini skirt....she should take it to the supreme court!
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Old Jul 22, 2011, 3:11 pm
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This is getting ridiculous. If none of the passengers had a problem with it then why is it the captains problem?
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Old Jul 22, 2011, 3:21 pm
  #6  
 
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"Kicked off flight for not wearing underwear".

http://news.travel.aol.com/2011/07/2...r-kicking-her/
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Old Jul 22, 2011, 5:46 pm
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If none of the passengers had a problem with it then why is it the captains problem?
Because the captain is in charge of the aircraft. If the captain believes a passenger's attire could be a safety hazard, then the passenger needs to be taken off the flight.

I dress for air travel with my own personal safety in mind. Flat, sturdy shoes. Cotton calf-length skirt and blouse. Layered for temperature regulation. Too hot? Take off a few layers. Too cold? Put more on.
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Old Jul 22, 2011, 6:01 pm
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And how, may I ask, could jean shorts and a baggy T be a safety hazard?

If the article tells the full story, it's clear that the employee was unsure what was under the shirt when it was hanging at full length, did an investigation, was found to be wrong in his assumption, and was too prideful to admit his mistake.

There is no way in hell this woman should have been kicked off the plane.
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Old Jul 22, 2011, 6:10 pm
  #9  
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Originally Posted by QueenOfCoach
Because the captain is in charge of the aircraft. If the captain believes a passenger's attire could be a safety hazard, then the passenger needs to be taken off the flight.

I dress for air travel with my own personal safety in mind. Flat, sturdy shoes. Cotton calf-length skirt and blouse. Layered for temperature regulation. Too hot? Take off a few layers. Too cold? Put more on.
W-T-FFFFF??? seriously.. safety hazard?????

what does your dress code have to do with this lady getting booted

to the JB Captain and the rest of the JB staff
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Old Jul 22, 2011, 7:06 pm
  #10  
 
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This dress code b---s--- is just getting out of hand - WN, US, B6 - what is going on here? For years no one gave a d--- and now all of a sudden this crap. I blame WN for starting it and now it is an epidemic. Enough already. How long will it be before atheists are thrown off the plane?
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Old Jul 22, 2011, 8:04 pm
  #11  
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Yep, sure is. She did not followed the airline dress code. She does not have a long shorts or pants, too. She must have followed the airline dress code. She will suing against JetBlue Employees. She will have to be respected from the airlines rules.

Here the link:

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/...#ixzz1SpQO4Dm7

http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news...#ixzz1SpQ4HQqU

She would have reconsider to put on next flight out again in a distant the future.
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Old Jul 22, 2011, 9:19 pm
  #12  
 
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Let me put it this way.

If I were wearing a baggy t-shirt with short-shorts, and if an airline gate agent asked if I had on anything under the baggy t-shirt, I would have just pulled the t-shirt up and said "Hey, look, I'm wearing shorts.".

That would be the end of that.

The fact that the passenger did not just pull the t-shirt up enough to show the shorts suggests to me that she got defiant and argumentative. That might have been the trigger to throw her off the plane.

I wasn't there, but I know what a reasonable person might have done in that situation. Letting it go that far without pulling the t-shirt up a few inches and showing the shorts is not reasonable.

Enough already. How long will it be before atheists are thrown off the plane?
This is an example of the "slippery slope" fallacy. If X is allowed to happen, then Y will inevitably follow. Y is not acceptable, therefore X should not be allowed.

"If 20 year old people are permitted to drink alcohol, pretty soon they will be letting 16 year olds drink alcohol, then they will let 10 year olds and 5 year olds drink alcohol..."

Fact: Drunk 5th graders is not a necessary consequence of lowering the drinking age from 21 to 20.
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Old Jul 22, 2011, 9:28 pm
  #13  
 
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Harlem woman sues JetBlue after officials question if she's wearing underwear, kick h

A Harlem financial consultant wants JetBlue to pay for booting her off a Florida-bound flight after an airline worker accused her of not wearing panties.

Malinda Knowles, 27, claims in a Queens Supreme Court lawsuit that a JetBlue supervisor put a walkie-talkie between her legs to see what she had on under her baggy T-shirt.

"He said, 'I don't want to see your panties or anything but do you have any on?'" Knowles recalled yesterday.

"I didn't want to show him anything. He wanted me to basically show him my crotch. I was completely humiliated. It was vulgar. It was macho. It was rude."

She said fellow passengers on the July 13, 2010, flight to West Palm Beach watched in horror as she was confronted.

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/...ff_flight.html
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Old Jul 22, 2011, 9:55 pm
  #14  
 
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I'm glad to see that JB is maintaining appearance standards on flights. Especially in NYC, they're targeting business customers, and keeping the atmosphere appropriate is one of many things they've got to focus on. Airlines aren't the only places with dress codes...
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Old Jul 22, 2011, 9:59 pm
  #15  
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Per http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/newss...elsewhere.html moving to the correct forum.

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