12 Reasons I’d never fly Southwest Airlines again:
1) Southwest Airlines seems to have no problem in using religion as a reason for discrimination -- kicking a Muslim woman off its flight after insinuating she was a terrorist.
She’s actually a U.S. citizen, living in the nation for more than a decade when a flight attendant misheard a cell phone ‘goodbye’ that left the woman without a flight, highly embarrassed and in tears. “I’ve got to go” translated to “it’s a go,” at least for an eavesdropping flight attendant. After a forced, second TSA screening—effectively making the woman the most screened passenger who would’ve been on the flight—Southwest flight attendants or crew refused her back on board. They weren’t ‘comfortable’ with the woman being on their flight.
2) Southwest Airlines sees no problems hiring employees who discriminate.
In March 2011, the homophobic and obviously hate-filled Southwest Airlines pilot by the name of James Taylor expressed his hate for gays, fat women and co-workers in a rant that went public via an open microphone. Yes, he used the word ‘hate’. He hates gays – and he hates fat women and his co-workers. Of course passengers should feel comfortable flying with him – and should, since he’s actively working for Southwest. Air controllers continued to warn the pilot of his publicly-aired conversation of hatred, but the pilot was too distracted and busy talking — which begs the question as to whether the pilot was also too busy and occupied by his hate-filled rant to fly and operate a plane carrying passengers. Apparently the airline does not discriminate in hiring the stupid.
3) Southwest Airlines sees no reason to fire employees who discriminate.
After first hiding the name of its hate-filled pilot who tied up Houston airwaves, the airline refused to fire its hate-filled pilot—essentially hiding its employee in ‘sensitivity training’ before bringing him back to fly for the airline just months later, in mid-2011.
4) Southwest Airlines has no patience with one of the nation’s most common, human fears of flying – or accusing its passengers of being a drunken sod.
Just months ago in July, the airline kicked a woman off a flight for crying, basically accusing her being a drunken sod for good measure. The reality: She was suffering from anxiety due to mild fear of flying. But the real issue was probably the fact her father had just suffered a heart attack and two sisters were flying to see him.
5) Southwest Airlines has no problem arresting its own passengers and just might arrest you.
The airline got the FBI involved over an electronic cigarette policy, forcing a front-row passenger to defend himself in what could turn to a 20-year jail sentence -- all after an apparent ego battle involving an insistent flight attendant who wanted to be ‘right’. Southwest crew claims a packet of peanuts hit the cabin door, sparking use of an “interfering with a flight crew” legal charge – a charge that trumps the most physical of assaults.
6) Southwest Airlines discriminates against fashion – and, quite possibly, women. While the government can’t ban free speech, Southwest Airlines apparently thinks it can: In 2007, two back-to-back passengers being kicked off flights included a woman booted for an outfit crew didn’t like. A man was then forced to remove what crew had called a “sexually suggestive t-shirt.” Supposedly it had plans to issue an apology. That must have been private. Those plans for an apology probably coincided with potential plans for a lawsuit against the airline. Southwest claimed it was a ‘mistake,’ since the airline has no dress code and can only deny service for the “lewd, obscene or patently offensive.”
7) Southwest Airlines seems to have no problem discriminating against, and embarrassing, overweight passengers.
The airline kicked director Kevin Smith off a 2010 flight when he didn’t fit in a single seat -- sparking the famous heavyweight to tweet: “Dear Southwest Air, I know I’m fat, but was (the pilot) … really justified in throwing me off a flight for which I was already seated?” That’d be a ‘no’.
8) Southwest Airlines doesn’t discriminate against celebrities – it has no problem kicking off pretty much any passenger for any reason or, rather, lack of reason.
Apparently the airline’s management is too stupid not to rein in flight attendants and employees who continue to make the company look stupid, irresponsible, insensitive – or even inspire an outright boycott by customers. Civil rights don’t seem to have any place on Southwest. While the airline holds absolutely no legal right or policy pertaining to a dress code that doesn’t exist, the airline just kicked off celeb band member Billie Joe Armstrong -- for sagging pants. The Green Day singer’s traveling companion was booted by Southwest too. He didn’t even have sagging pants, but apparently it’s guilt by association. Don’t look for an apology. The airline cites the same lack of response it provides all passengers whom have been discriminated against: Getting a refund is apparently supposed to be a substantial enough response for stripping rights.
9) Southwest Airlines seems to discriminate against gays – booting lesbian passenger and L-Word star Leisha Hailey off its plane in September after kissing her girlfriend.
The airline’s flight attendant says Southwest as a ‘family’ airline. Apparently gay people as roughly ten percent of the population are not families. Simultaneously, the hypocritical claim that the airline supports the LGBT community persists. Strangely, GLAAD refuses to comment on what now appears to be a very poor ‘alliance’. Was it the horrible PR over the kiss that’s prompted GLAAD to stay away – or the homophobic Southwest pilot who, in March, said “I hate a hundred percent of their [gay] asses.”
10) Southwest Airlines seems to be taking a new tack in responding to its discrimination issues. Most would probably refer to it simply as lying.
The airline really screwed up with kicking Leisha Hailey off its plane after an apparently not-so-bright crew didn’t realize it was messing with the wrong passenger in its most recent round of discrimination. It hadn’t even allowed 30 days to pass since the company allowed another flight attendant to kick off the Green Day singer for sagging pants. The bad publicity apparently wasn’t bad enough – or at least didn’t equal a lawsuit. This celeb poses more of a problem for the airline. Hailey was smart enough to take video and, more importantly, to speak up about fighting discrimination against gays. Highlighting the incident throughout the media has led to Southwest now suddenly claiming Leisha Hailey wasn’t kicked off the plane for a lesbian kiss, but instead for “innapropriate language.” The company can't seem to say exactly what that supposed language has been. Hailey must’ve been cussing out her girlfriend before planting that kiss.
11) Southwest Airlines seems to have no problem with not ensuring the safety of children – even those who notify crew of an on-board or potentially dangerous problem.
Despite its claim of being a ‘family’ airline, at least one family is claiming otherwise: Southwest Airlines was sued last year in a claim that flight attendants put a young boy in a dangerous position – a claim that crew instructed a 14-year-old boy to be seated next to a woman making repeated sexual advances and offering him drugs. After visiting the bathroom four times for escape, and allegedly asking crew members to move his seat, the boy was forced to return to the same seat. He was also allegedly so scared that his father says he refused to get on a plane to fly home.
12) Southwest Airlines does not ensure safety in general.
The company returned a hate-filled pilot – an employee who openly expressed his hatred for gays, women, and even his own co-workers – to again fly planes. It’s a man and employee obviously filled with hate, yet charged with the responsibility of safely flying hundreds of passengers. Rest assured: Homophobic James Taylor is still responsible for your safety when flying with Southwest Airlines, and you’ll never know in advance whether he’s your pilot. Aside from his spread of hatred and discrimination, on the most superficial level he’s the guy too pre-occupied with ranting about how much he hates gays and fat women to hear clear and repeated attempts of communication from air traffic control – the people helping to ensure air safety. Those should kind of be the people a pilot should be listening to most – that is, if you don’t want the plan you’re flying on to go down. Perhaps you should worry he’s too pre-occupied, when his microphone isn’t stuck open, to notice things like plane controls or potential safety problems. Also rest assured that where there’s one, there’s more. Even if you don’t get fortunate enough to have James Taylor as your pilot, you may be lucky enough to get one just as inattentive and filled with hate. Southwest is special like that.