Too Hot to Fly?

On February 14, 2008, two best friends and Tampa residents, Nisreen Swedberg and Sarah Williams, boarded a plane to embark on a trip to Los Angeles on a Southwest Airlines flight. The girls said that from the second they stepped foot on the plane; the flight crew was rude and unwelcoming to them. The girls also claimed that when they asked for water on the plane and they were ignored.

They went on to say that when they knocked on the door to the restroom they were yelled at by another passenger and questioned by the crew. The situation caused such a ruckus that when the plane landed, they were taken off the plane by police. Later, the FBI questioned the girls. The girls claimed that they were mistreated because they were young and pretty.

They believe that the flight crew was just jealous of them because many of the attendants were "older ladies". All charges were dropped, but the girls were banned from all future Southwest Airlines flights. This left them stranded in Los Angeles. Nisreen Swedberg decided to spend $419.50 on a one-way ticket back home, but Sarah Williams is still waiting for a less expensive ticket.

In my opinion, the flight attendants probably weren't discriminating against the girls because of their good looks. There are far more attractive women in the world and it doesn't make much sense that the first case of occurred with average looking girls. The girls were probably being obnoxious and annoying everyone on the plane. At least, that's the way it looks based on the details I've found. The fact of the matter is that flight attendants, just like everyone else, get tired of being at work. They have to be on their feet for hours at a time and they don't always get to interact with polite people. It's important to remember that no one can be nice all the time when they have to deal with rude people for 50% of their day.

I was on an eight-hour flight to London and I asked a flight attendant for a blanket. As she turned around I saw her roll her eyes and audibly sigh. I could tell that she wasn't in the best mood so I made a conscious effort to smile and say thank you for everything she did for me. By the end of the flight she was in a much better mood, and not for a second did I stop to think that maybe she was rude because I was so much hotter that her. Instead, I realized that work isn't very much fun for most people and customers need to treat those at work like they're actually people, not employees who need to do what you say when you say it with a big smile on their face.

I think that this problem could have been avoided if the girls had just realized that the flight attendant was probably tired. As for the passenger who yelled at them, there are rude people everywhere in the world, and it takes a mature adult to stop the argument before it escalates to being escorted of the plane my four police officers.

More information: http://www.tampabays10.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=74549