Even though Southwest Airlines believes in LUV, they do not, apparently, believe in excessive public displays of affection.  Actress Leisha Hailey and a companion were removed from a flight recently after passengers complained of a kiss. 

How bad was that kiss?  Who really knows.  Should she/they have been removed from the flight?  Probably not. 

Here is the thing:  You can err on the side of caution when it comes to safety but it would be wiser to err on the side of tolerance with respect to many other things such as dress and non-threatening behaviour.  Do I think Southwest discriminates against gays?  No, I don’t.  They have an excellent record there. 

But I do think that there appears to be a focus on anything outside a fairly rigid norm and that might need to be relaxed a bit.   Here is the thing:  I don’t expect Southwest to put up with lascivious behaviour on their flights and I don’t expect them to put up with grossly inappropriate clothing.  I think a reasonable person knows just where those lines are but Southwest has had just a few too many incidents related to people’s behaviour that, at the end of the day, incur no real harm.  Do we really care if two women share even an enthusiastic and somewhat lengthy kiss?  Probably not.   More importantly, is Southwest prepared to act exactly the same way the next time husband and wife or boyfriend and girlfriend share a kiss?  Because I’ve seen more than one energetic kiss shared between such at Southwest gates and on their aircraft.

As for the actress . . . I don’t find her tweets all that funny either.  The militant tone isn’t necessary and its undignified.  By all means, be outraged if you believe you’re wrong.  But show a little more dignity while you’re at it.  Throwing out threats and accusations in real time makes you look like a child and like you deserved your treatment. 

I honestly don’t know if the acrtress’ behaviour was inappropriate or not.  Frankly, that would have to be one hell of a kiss to have crossed a line.  It’s possible it was.  It’s equally possible that some passenger(s) and/or flight attendants need to focus a little bit more on what’s important in life and a kiss isn’t it.  Minding one’s business is an important business skill as well. 

Both parties look bad in this and both should look bad.  Rather than reviewing the incident and, once again, standing by your people, Southwest needs to review whether or not it needs to communicate a better set of standards.

Filed under: Airline News by ajax