Southwest Airlines appears to be going through some growing pains. They have made the switch from a smaller low-fare airline associated with the young cost conscious traveler to a major carrier. Apparently with their growing success, they haven’t maintained a handle on their public relations. Advertising has always been geared towards a younger audience, due to its humorous nature. This has given them the appearance of a laid back airline, so naturally the people were confused when the incident of dress code and traveler Kyla Ebbert losing her seat on the plane became public. There was no company policy regarding dress code on the plane, and even if there had been one in place, it would be a highly subjective issue. What is obscene or distracting to one person could be perfectly acceptable to the next. In my opinion if no body parts were exposed, then there it’s simply an issue of taste.
In this case a public relations department must make absolute sure that everyone employed by the company is aware of policy, and understands that rash decisions based on taste cannot be made. These instances are unavoidable at times, but when they do occur there must be a timely and sincere apology to the victim. The apology from Southwest was infuriating. It was insincere, late, and did not offer the any solution. They relied on the same humor present in their advertising to laugh off the incident, when in actuality a person was violated and embarrassed.Sunday, October 14, 2007
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