Airline Agent Denies Man Seat for Fashion Choice
By JASON DUSETT and LEANNE GENDREAU
Updated 11:09 AM EDT, Fri, Nov 6, 2009
A man working as a subcontractor for United Airlines last month denied a vice president from Best Buy a first-class seat over his choice of wardrobe.
The offensive clothing choice? A tracksuit.
Armando Alvarez was traveling from Dulles in Washington to Connecticut on Oct. 26 for a business trip and used his United miles to upgrade to first class, according to several news reports.
But, the agent would not let Alvarez enter the cabin. Apparently, the man thought the exec was an airline employee traveling on an employee pass, United says.
The problem was that he was not wearing the dress code that United employees must wear in those situations. Business attire and uniforms are allowed in the dress code. Tracksuits are not.
United says the agent -- a contract employee who works for Air Wisconsin -- was working with another customer when Alvarez approached and there was also a language issue. English is not the employee's first language, the spokesperson said.
United Airlines’ reassures that there is no policy to punish passengers who dress for comfort, regardless of where they sit. The only requirements are that you wear clothes and shoes.
United is investigating the incident. They apologized for the miscommunication and said they offered Alvarez a travel certificate for what he paid for the seat. It will be worth what he paid for the flight, they said.
So it looks like he will be flying in coach, again.
Copyright Associated Press / NBC Connecticut
First Published: Nov 6, 2009 1:19 AM EDT
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