U.S. Airways is now facing a lawsuit after two African-American passengers were told to ditch their hoodies and jeans before boarding first class.
Miles and MacCraig Warren were told that their casual outfits were not acceptable in U.S. Airways first-class section. But when the California brothers boarded the plane, they saw white and Filipino passengers wearing jeans and hoodies.
The brothers filed a lawsuit in federal court this week, seeking punitive damages for discrimination and emotional distress.
You may want to research this – the passengers were traveling on airline employee "buddy passes" which require a dress code, according to another report. The dress code is mandatory for all employees and their friends using passes.
I will echo my friend Mr. Miller's comments. I'm a one-time US Airways employee who has pass-ridden for many airlines for years. I can honestly say that there was no inappropriate action taken by US Airways staff. Pass riding, according to the rules, which are pretty uniform among many carriers, indicate that a dress code be met, honored and respected, especially those riding in the front cabin. Pass riders represent the employees of these carriers.
I'm a long-time aviation journalist and I've worked for two airlines. Your reporter should have done a bit more research on this story. As the two previous commenters noted, there is a dress code for those flying on steeply discounted buddy passes, which the gentlemen in your story were using. Full-fare passengers can wear what they want, no matter what color they are. It's sad when a story doesn't report ALL the facts. It's much easier to pull the race card, which was not warranted in this particular case. In the future, I would be happy to speak to your reporters and either give them information about how the airlines work or put them in touch with independent experts on the industry. I hope you will at least add a clarification to your story to make it more accurate.
I once was denied an upgrade because I was bare legged. I had to be wearing stockings the flight attendant told me. And yes I was flying on a pass from the airline.
Thanks for this explanation!
I remember getting comped tickets from the old Comair, when it was a stand-alone operator for Delta…Gloria Weber was their PR woman…and the list of dress code stated that I was to wear a tie. On a CRJ. The pilot wasn't wearing a tie. When the FA passed out the beverages and asked if I wanted anything else, I said "Do you have a Comair tie?" — it became a running joke that the pilot can't take off until he gets a tie, etc.
I can understand that airlines as a private entity have rights to discriminate based on some dimensions ( fare cost, correlated with socioeconomic class) but these entities are heavily subsidized by tax payers and there is so little scrutiny of the whole class seating system. All passengers are human being and should be afforded the right to travel in equitable comfort. A thousand years from now our progeny will look upon such behavior as decidedly barbaric.
I can understand that airlines as a private entity have rights to discriminate based on some dimensions ( fare cost, correlated with socioeconomic class) but these entities are heavily subsidized by tax payers and there is so little scrutiny of the whole class seating system. All passengers are human being and should be afforded the right to travel in equitable comfort. A thousand years from now our progeny will look upon such behavior as decidedly barbaric.
Derrick-did you not read my reply? There was NO discrimination! The gentlemen were flying on extremely low buddy pass fares which require ANYONE using them to dress accordingly. Their problem is they didn't read the rules beforehand. There is NO lawsuit and there was NO discrimination.
Derrick. You may not be aware of this, but on Facebook you aren't supposed to admit you were wrong. About anything. Ever.
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