Last week, Kyla Ebbert appeared on TODAY to show Matt Lauer and the rest of the country the outfit she says
an airline employee told her was too skimpy and revealing to wear on a July 3rd Southwest Airlines flight from San Diego to Tucson.
Ebbert, a 23-year-old student and Hooters waitress, thought the outfit was appropriate flying attire for a quick day-trip from one hot city to another. So did her mom, her lawyer and plenty of folks who have heard her side of the story and seen the television clip. But as “Today” producer Dan Fleschner wrote on the program’s blog, after Ebbert stood up to show off her outfit, she sat down and gave the audience a peek at what may have been part of the problem.
Fleschner’s blog entry says: “At first, when she appeared on the set, it didn't seem like her outfit was so inappropriate.
It was clear that her skirt was pretty short, but it didn't seem worthy of getting a lecture from a customer service representative on how to dress. But when she sat down, we learned just how short that skirt was — when she flashed our national television audience. Yeah, that skirt was short.”
Was it too short? Fleschner didn’t give his opinion. But it seems that the “flashing” scene was edited for the show’s later airings.
Ebbert’s experience, and other reported incidents where passengers have been asked to cover up or remove T-shirts bearing political statements or slogans, raises questions, including:
What is the appropriate dress for flying?
Do airlines have dress codes? Should they?
Can or should an airline employee be permitted to claim “inappropriate dress” as a reason for keeping a ticketed passenger from flying?
Source: Dressed down for dressing down - Well-Mannered Traveler - MSNBC.com