Southwest 'Cover' Girl Is Still Angry
Passenger says Southwest insults her again with ad campaign.
Sept. 15, 2007— -- The woman who was singled out by Southwest Airlines for wearing an outfit deemed too skimpy by a flight attendant says she's been victimized a second time by the airline's new ad campaign.
Kyla Ebbert was reacting to Southwest's new "skimpy fares" ad campaign, offering lower prices to for a limited period.
"They are exploiting me again by using my traumatic experience as a marketing ploy," Ebbert told ABC News.
Southwest Airlines spokeswoman Marilee McInnis says the campaign makes light of an incident that was an embarrassment for the airline.
"Southwest Airlines has no official dress code and has never wanted to be in the position of fashion police," McInnis said. "We certainly are sorry she had such a bad experience."
In fact, in the 1970's Southwest used the slogan "The Luv Airline" and its stewardesses, as they were called then, wore hot pants and go-go boots.
"We've always been able to laugh at ourselves," McInnis said. "Southwest has never been a stuffy, prude company and we don't want to start now. This is a way to say sorry to our customers and poke fun at ourselves as well."
But Ebbert doesn't see the humor. She said she was initially asking only for an apology, but is now considering legal action against the airline.
Ebbert did get an apology on Thursday from Gary Kelly, CEO of Southwest, who issued this statement: "Kyla, you are a valued customer, and you did not get an adequate apology. We could have handled this better, and on behalf of Southwest Airlines, I am truly sorry. Our company is based on freedom even if our actions may not have appeared that way."
Southwest offered Ebbert two free round-trip tickets. But Ebbert said she felt the apology was "back-handed" and "two months late."
On July 3, Ebbert, 23, was flying from her hometown of San Diego to Tuscon, Arizona. She checked in, passed through security and boarded her flight without incident.
But then Ebbert says she was escorted past all of the passengers to the front of the plane where she was asked to change into a less-revealing outfit. She says the flight attendant humiliated her in front of the other passengers.
