Over the weekend I caught the story about Billie Joe Armstrong being kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight for wearing baggy pants. I also caught the results and I realized that it was similar to me watching a commerical for Hydroxycut or some infomercial on weight loss. Results may vary. I know that if I was capable of finding pants which were actually baggy and I wore them and was kicked off a flight for wearing them, there is no way I would get an apology and a press release and still make it on the next flight. It just would not happen. I might get an apology after a write some nameless faceless person a million times and make countless phone calls and then get a coupon for a free drink. Oh, sure I think eventually they would put me on another flight, but the chances are greater than 50/50 they would only do so if I got a belt.
In case you were busy and did not see it, Billie Joe Armstrong got on a plane and one of the flight attendants said to him that his pants were too baggy and asked him to leave. Billy Joe said something to the effect of don't you have something else to worry about.
As Billy Joe was getting kicked off he Tweeted and there was also a Bay Area television reporter on the plane who also Tweeted. Billie Joe has 171,000 followers. All who now know that he hates Southwest Airlines. Within minutes Southwest is Tweeting him back and apologizing and promising to get to the bottom of it and get him on the next flight and basically kiss his butt in hopes those 171,000 people will actually fly on the airline. For us? Forget it. I think it is a stupid policy that got him kicked off the plane BUT, what made me want to write is when you realize even in something like this, just how different people are treated depending on if they are famous or not and not treated equally and it is frustrating.
Would like to understand the correlation between baggy pants, and endangering flights. There must something else going on for someone to get kicked off a plane, if not, have the flight attendant who kicked him out explain the situation: was he rude? Or was there an abuse of power that entitled an employee unworthy of responsibility to over use their decision making? These people are not underpaid, and customer service is part of their job description: they should be able to handle baggy pants and rude comments. If not, look for another job.
ReplyDeleteAgree totally frustrating.
ReplyDeleteAlso, this is ridiculous. Airlines are acting like they're stewards of fashion sense now. Eff off.
Were the pants so baggy that they were hanging down lower than what decency would allow?
ReplyDeleteBaggy pants are gangbanger and unacceptable method of dress code for air travel. Yes-airlines do have a dress code. You can't wear a bikini on board for example.
ReplyDeleteI feel bad for the woman who simply told the doofus to pull up his pants and he got all cocky with her. That was unacceptable in my eyes. Any one of us would have not only been kicked off the plane, but probably arrested as well.
And what the heck is Billy Joe doing flying on Southwest anyway???
I can't imagine Billie Joe Armstrong in baggy pants.
ReplyDeleteThat's all I got.
I heard saggy pants actually started in prison as a way to let other inmates know you were "available."
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many of these bozos (and I love BJA and Green Day) would wear them knowing its origin...
not baggy pants, sagging pants that were below the plumber crack line. and now all it seems to take to get kicked off a flight is to displease a stewardess pre-flight.
ReplyDelete"Baggy pants are gangbanger" - are you serious with that comment?? Way to completely stereotype someone based on how he/she chooses to wear his jeans. Sorry, that's ridiculous. That might be YOUR opinion, but not everyone else thinks so.
ReplyDeleteWhatever those baggy pants mean, and just pee myself laughing whenever I see those little boys going up the stairs in the subway. One of these days, one of them is going to skid-mark all the way to the bottom of the stairs!
ReplyDeleteBaggy pants on the boys are ridiculous, but everywhere. Would they have kicked off a woman who was wearing harem pants? Doubt it.
ReplyDeleteThey weren't baggy pants, they were saggy pants. I am not surprised an airline wouldn't let someone on with their undies showing. Heck, they'd probably risk getting sued by parents whose kids were "traumatized" by seeing underwear. And he didn't get kicked off for the pants, he got kicked off for not obeying the flight attendant. These days, there is zero tolerance for that, and you'd have to be an idiot (or feeling very self-entitled) not to know that.
ReplyDeleteHey jackass,
ReplyDeleteYou're almost 40. Grown up, stop crying, pull your f$%^$ng pants up, and stop carrying on like a whiny little self-indulgent brat.
Thanks.
P.S. Your legions of fans live in mommy's basement because, uh, duh, fuck the man ya know? So their opinion of Southwest Airlines, the only airline they can afford on their allowances, is rather irrelevant, Billie.
ReplyDeleteSitting at the traffic light one day and a guy with baggy pants crossing the street actually lost his pants! I was cackling like a mad hen and clapping.
ReplyDeletebilly joe (seriously, that's his name?) needs to consider flying these guys instead.
ReplyDeletePlease, like anyone actually follows airline dress codes anymore, anyways. Exhibit, Pookie's post! :)
ReplyDeleteI'd much rather have saggy/baggy pants than moose knuckle.
That being said, if I got reprimanded by a FA, I'd be mortified, but certainly wouldn't try and fight it.
The funniest part of all of the celebrities being treated badly by Southwest (Billy Joe and Kevin Smith come to mind) is the fact that they all seem to be flying coach on SOUTHWEST.
ReplyDeleteCelebrities: cheap like the rest of us.
My favorite story is from Snoop Dogg- apparently he buys two seats in coach rather than one seat in first, because it is cheaper and he gets more space.
I agree with Amartel in a way. Pull your damn pants up. I hate that fashion. But, it's a free country and he wasn't showing his butt crack or anything, so he has the right to wear pants how he wants. Nowadays it's a rarity to see a guy with regular fitting pants on.
ReplyDelete@Gogo. You're wrong, that's an urban myth. It did start in the prisons, but only as a result of ill-fitting uniforms and no belts.
ReplyDeleteIt has nothing to do with signalling sexual availability.