Flier gets a dressing-down for her clothes call

What do you think of the coverup Southwest was involved in this summer?

I'm not talking about selling tickets under the counter or buying airplane parts from some third-world country. I'm talking about telling the young lady on one of its flights that she was improperly dressed and asking her to change her outfit or wrap herself in a blanket.

In case you missed the brouhaha -- which hit every major network and talk show from coast to coast -- Kyla Ebbert, a Hooters waitress and college student, planned to fly from San Diego, Calif., to Tucson, Ariz. But as she boarded her plane, an agent dressed her down for her dress style.

The outfit, a miniskirt and snug sweater, pales in comparison to some of the outfits I've seen on airplanes. Just last week I was forced to sit next to a man wearing cut-offs and a ripped undershirt that showed evidence of what he had eaten over the last several days. The outfit could have walked onto the plane by itself. But I digress.

According to all the talk shows, Ebbert only wanted an apology from the airline. But Southwest skirted the issue until she went public.

After that, CEO Gary Kelly made the best of a bad situation. He poked fun at Southwest, saying the airline had not gone from "hot pants" to "hot flashes" as some blogs suggested. He issued a formal apology to the young lady. And he launched a national fare sale dubbed "the mini-skirt sale."

This isn't the first time Southwest had a clothes call.

In 2005, a woman wearing a T-shirt featuring pictures of President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, boarded a flight in Los Angeles, Calif., heading for Seattle, Wash., with a stop in Reno, Nev. The shirt also sported a slogan similar to the movie title "Meet the Fockers," which was a turnoff to some passengers.

When the woman refused to wear the T-shirt inside out, she was asked to leave the plane in Reno.

What many passengers don't understand is the airlines have the right to remove a passenger from a flight if it feels that person is offensive to other passengers. But because carriers are more interested in filling their seats than the comfort of other passengers, it rarely happens.

Occasionally though, an agent or a flight attendant gets his fill of the seedy side of life and takes a stand.

Several years ago, on a flight to Rome, Italy, a passenger boarded our flight who apparently had an aversion to soap and water. His odor was so pungent, nearby passengers' eyes began to water.

The agent was summoned and the odor and its owner were removed from the plane.

Recently, a passenger who wasn't wearing shoes attempted to board a flight to Houston, Texas. He claimed it was easier getting through security with bare feet. He was denied boarding.

Although I don't think he missed his flight because he wasn't wearing his wingtips, he had definitely tied more than one on before arriving at the gate.

It's doubtful that a miniskirt will have enough fabric to change the dress code of some travelers. But, like CEO Kelly said, the story definitely has legs.

With a little luck, the next passenger to board with an "I'm with stupid" T-shirt might find himself waiting at the gate. We'll probably never get back to the days of suits and ties and knit dresses with matching pumps. But it would be nice to see the airlines ground more of the flying debris.

Gail Todd, a free-lance

writer,worked as a flight

attendant for more than 30

years. She can be reached via

e-mail at gailtodd@aol.com.