Airline Dress Code Controversy

'It makes business travel more fun': Passenger who flies in lingerie explains why he wears skimpy underwear and heels 

A man who ignited a row about airline dress codes after he was allowed to wear skimpy women's panties and mid.thigh stockings on a U.S. Airways flight has said that he does it to make business travel more fun.

The 65-year-old Phoenix man, who works as a business consultant and flies several times a month as a preferred customer on the airline, said that he has flown in scanty female clothing for several years.

A dispute erupted after pictures emerged of the man dressed in a blue bathing suit and heels on a flight from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, days before a college football player was arrested on a flight following a row over his baggy pants.

The business man, who has refused to be named, said that he has rarely been requested to cover up by airline staff, but has complied with requests when asked. 

'It has never been my intent to put people in a situation where they feel uncomfortable,' the man said. 

'I try to respect other people's opinions. As long as my dress is not indecent from a legal perspective, and so long as the airline does not object, I have the right to wear what I wear. And others have the right to wear what they want to wear,' he told the San Francisco Chronicle. 

U.S. Airways has been accused of hypocrisy after it allowed the man wearing skimpy women's panties and mid-thigh stockings to fly days before a college football player was arrested on a flight following a dispute over his baggy pants. 

Jill Tarlow, a passenger on a June 9 flight from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Phoenix, took a photo of the scantily clad man wearing a blue women's bathing suit and high heels. 

The man flew six days before University of New Mexico football player DeShon Marman was arrested on a U.S. Airways flight at San Francisco airport following allegations he refused to pull up his pants. 

Ms Tarlow said that she and other passengers complained before boarding the plane, but U.S. Airways employees did not stop the unidentified man from flying. 

'No one would believe me if I didn't take his picture,' the 40-year-old woman from Phoenix said. 'It was unbelievable.' 

U.S. Airways spokeswoman Valerie Wunder defended the airline's decision to let the man fly, saying employees acted correctly. 

'We don't have a dress code policy,' she said. 'Obviously, if their private parts are exposed, that's not appropriate... So if they're not exposing their private parts, they're allowed to fly.' 

The airline has said Marman was exposing a body part on June 15 when he was repeatedly asked to pull up his pants. 

His attorney, Joe O'Sullivan, said surveillance video would show his client's skin was not showing. He accused the airline of racial discrimination. Marman is African American. 

'It just shows the hypocrisy involved,' Mr O'Sullivan told the San Francisco Chronicle. 'A white man is allowed to fly in underwear without question, but my client was asked to pull up his pajama pants because they hung below his waist.' 

Ms Wunder said Marman was asked to leave the flight not because of his clothing, but because he refused an employee's request. 

Marman was arrested on suspicion of trespassing, battery of a police officer and obstruction after refusing to leave the plane on the captain's orders, according to police. 

Police have also said he injured an officer while being taken into custody. 

Prosecutors have until July 18 to file any charges against him. 

The cross-dressing business man said that he thought Marman had probably brought his problems on himself by refusing an airline employee's instruction to pull up his pants. 

His issue was that he refused to listen to an employee and became belligerent,' he told the San Francisco Chronicle. 

'I have a feeling youth played a role in his response. I've learned over the years, the best response to a confrontation is a soft response. Becoming angry is never a good practice. 

'You cloud your own ability to think properly, and you reduce your chances of persuading the other person.' 

But he said he would not have asked the teenager to pull up his pants. 

'These kids probably look at me and don't like what I'm wearing,' he said. 

'I'm not really one to put myself out there and pass judgement on what someone else is wearing.' 

The business man said that he does not want to be named because of his reputation. 'I have a lot at stake here,' he said. '

I'm a business consultant and would be extremely vulnerable to being discredited. ... This is just something I do for fun. I don't mean any harm.'

Source: Daily Mail 

Do you think the football player should have been taken off the flight?

Do you think the cross-dresser should have been allowed on the flight?

What do you wear when you fly?

Vocabulary:

to have a r__ - a noisy argument

at s____ - when sth of value is in danger of being lost

to f___ charges - to officially accuse sb in a court of law

to m___ h___ - to intend offence

b____ (adj) - to describe clothes that are loose

p____ (plural n) - what they call trousers in the US

h___ (n) - the back of your foot / h___-h____ - what women wear to appear taller

w____ - the middle part of your body / same pronunciation as w____ - as in "a w____ of time"

t____ - the part of your leg above the knee

to c_____ with sth - to do sth that is required eg a law

a dispute -

skimpy (adj) -

underwear (sing n) -

to trespass -

to play a role in sth -

to cloud -

a request -


Grammar point:

"As long as my dress is not indecent from a legal perspective, and so long as the airline does not object, I have the right to wear what I wear."

We use "as long as" in conditional sentences as an alternative to "provided/providing (that)", meaning "if and only if." "So long as" means the same as "as long as", but it isn't as common.

You can borrow my car so long as you drive carefully.

You will enjoy living in Malasaña as long as you don't mind the noise.

As long as you don't make any silly mistakes, you will pass the exam.

Source: abc15com (You Tube) key words: US airways double standards