With a single feisty tweet, Delta seized the opportunity of a little turbulence for competitor United to smoothly sail into the running for Troll Airline of the Year.
Over the weekend, a gate agent for United in Minneapolis forbade three girls from boarding their flight to Denver, allegedly because they were not “properly clothed.” United later tried to clarify its stance on Twitter, saying the girls were flying as part of the “company benefit travel” program, which has more strict requirements. Predictably, this only made things worse: Celebrities from Sarah Silverman to Seth Rogen all took a second to roast the airline for its seemingly arbitrary policy.
On Monday, rival airline Delta decided to get in on the fun with a sly little subtweet about flying in comfort.
Flying Delta means comfort. (That means you can wear your leggings. 😉)
— Delta (@Delta) March 27, 2017
United might’ve missed the burn as it tried to triage the rest of its DMs today, but that doesn’t mean this jewel went unnoticed by many others. Dozens replied to the tweet saying they’d be sending their business Delta’s way.
don't need sunglasses today, since Delta just threw alllllll the shade
— Andrew Poirier (@apoirier717) March 27, 2017
not all heros wear capes. Some wear red jackets.
— Morgan Phillips (@MorganPhillips) March 27, 2017
.@Delta Guess who just won my future business? YOU.
— Charlotte Clymer 🇺🇦 (@cmclymer) March 27, 2017
There are two asterisks on this victory, of course: 1) Delta’s group of premium cabin seats with additional legroom is literally called Delta Comfort+, so yes, you can always fly in comfort, but for that capital-C comfort, you might have to cough up an extra 30 bucks to do it. And 2) Delta shared its official dress code, which prohibits “unclean, revealing or lewd garments” for its Buddy Pass travelers. It is unclear from the site whose judgment deems something revealing.
We don't have an item-specific clothing policy, but we encourage no swimwear, sleepwear or underwear as your outerwear. 😃 *MC
— Delta (@Delta) March 27, 2017
This isn’t the first time the internet has rallied around the sanctity of leggings, because of course it’s not. In January, Kellyanne Conway apologized for offending “the black-stretch-pants women of America” after wearing what was functionally an American Girl doll outfit to President Trump‘s inauguration.
It turns out that women want from their airlines what they also want from their pants: a little flexibility.
H/T Huffington Post