Thursday, February 12, 2009

South by Southwest

What do these two women have in common?


Kyla and Bar

They have both been on a Southwest plane.

But Kyla, well, she was deemed to be dressed a little too skimpily to be allowed on Southwest's family friendly airplanes back in 2007.


Jump forward in time with me...


Now it's 2009, and, well, something has changed.

Because Southwest recently had an unveiling for their latest plane: The SI One.

Yes, that stands for Sports Illustrated--presumably the "Swimsuit Edition" because Ms. Refaeli is sprawled across the side of the plane in what would best be describe as "skimpy apparel."


Bar and Her SI One Plane

How does one spell "hypocrisy"?

Perhaps it is S-O-U-T-H-W-E-S-T....

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

24 comments:

Julie said...

ridiculous. Maybe someone w/a spray can will paint an outfit on the plane. That'd be way cool graffiti!

Anonymous said...

I can't believe that Southwest is doing this. Weren't they supposed to be family friendly?

Sheri said...

Interesting-seems a lot of this hypocracy is going around. Do they think fellers will be more likely to book a flight that uses that particular plane or what? Not cool. Thanks for pointing that out.

Sheri said...

Hmm, spell check said "hypocracy" was ok, and you spelled it "hypocrisy" so I dunno here..your brain is younger and less damaged by time, so I am sure your spelling version is correct. I just didn't want ya thinking a HS mom couldn't spell, after all that is why we (I)
use spell check in the first place...to double check against our aging gray matter.

Unknown said...

THis is ridiculous, I had no idea they have done that. Now we have to cover our eyes boarding a plane even!

Grateful for Grace said...

Unbelievable. Astounding even. I hope that they hear plenty about it. I'm off to find out how to contact them.

Grateful for Grace said...

My call was well received. Vince (the public relations employee) was kind and apologetic. I wonder how many calls they have gotten since I couldn't find a way to contact them via email. It was better to do 'in person' anyway. I suggested that they mean what they say, either way. Either apologize for the plane and take it down OR apologize to the poor woman who was a media frenzy for some time. Interesting story, Luke. Thanks!

JanMarie said...

I found you thru Karen's hopelessly ordinary blog. I've read back through some of your recent posts and I really enjoy the way you express yourself. Thanks for bringing the Southwest situation to light.....shame on them!

KarenW said...

I think Kyla should sue!

Tammy ~ Country Girl at Home ~ said...

There's not much that seems to be surprising me these days! It's becoming increasingly harder to find many family friendly places and businesses. Thanks for bringing this to our attention!

Tammy

DyessFam said...

I'm thinkin' money was definitely involved somewhere. That seems to change companies perspective easily enough. Relenting on one's stance doesn't seem to hold up to the "almighty dollar". They should paint some clothes on her anyway. Don't they know how cold it is up there?!:)

Jenn said...

Wow. Ugh. We received a postcard in the mail today.....from PLAYBOY!!!! I was furious. It was covered in barely-covered gals. My pre-teen son brings in our mail! It shocks me that such things are so blatant and without shame. I guess I must be terribly naive.

Working Through said...

Just what we need more ! Although I see that much skin from teenagers at our local mall all the time. SAD !

Oh, and you have been tagged.

Amanda said...

Great post, Luke! Very interesting and worth contacting SW about.

Farrah said...

I didn't know about the new plane! That's horrible!!

Z said...

Is that for REAL?

Well...WHAT HYPOCRISY...anything for a buck. How SAD.

I have friends who still take their 3 yr old to the airport to "Let's watch the planes, Daddy!" Not anymore!

Luke Holzmann said...

Julie, <smile>.

Karen, they were/are. They've gotten some flack for this.

Sheri, I'm not sure exactly why they did it, except as a publicity stunt... and it sure got them publicity <smile>.

Full of Joy, the images are everywhere.

You are most welcome, Grateful for Grace! Thanks for the followup information.

Jan, I hope to see you around these parts often <smile>.

Karen, it definitely wasn't a good situation, that's for sure.

Tammy, you are most welcome. Thanks for reading <smile>.

Jenn, totally got the same postcard, I think <smile>.

Jana, true. And that's for the tag... but I don't know when I'll ever get on top of things and actually follow through. I'm a bad blogger like that <smile>.

Amanda, I thought it was interesting too <laughing>.

Farrah, crazy stuff.

And, yes, Z, there is more to be careful about <smile>. May your plane watching be child friendly.

Thank you all for commenting!

~Luke

Lana said...

How pathetic! In our local airport, you can't even watch the plane land because of security changes, the only people who see the planes on the ground are the airport workers.

Angie @ Many Little Blessings said...

Oh my goodness! This is just crazy! I'm not even sure what to say. Geesh!

Kristin said...

As surprised as everyone is about Southwest "doing this" -- I'm more surprised that you posted the photo on your blog. I hope you will remove the photo and report only the facts. It's never right to do wrong (post a photo of an almost nude woman) in order for a chance to do right (denounce it).

Bethany Hudson said...

Wow! I didn't even hear about this. What a riot.
~Bethany

The RockStar said...

Ridiculous. Do we really need that on the side of a plane. Is anyone noticing at 10,000 feet?

When I was young ... my mother would let me have the SI Swimsuit edition "for the articles". She would rush to the mailbox, snip out all the pictues and leave me with the rest to "read".

Luke Holzmann said...

Lana, now that's funny! Talk about a failed attempt at advertising <smile>.

Angie, I think you said it well <smile>.

Kristin, hopefully we'll get to know each other better as we interact on the blog here, but <looks around cautiously> I posted the image because I don't have too much of a problem with it. This post isn't about how bikinis are wrong, but more about how Southwest has changed their tune... dramatically. Granted, I have posted images on a few of my blogs that have gotten a bit of a response now and again, so I probably need to grow in this area a little more. Thanks for the encouragement, and I'll continue to consider my motivation and heart as I move forward.

Bethany, yes <smile>.

Brian, that's funny <smile>. And, no, I don't think this stunt did much more than that initial launch photo op...

~Luke

Andrea said...

Oh my WORD! I did not know about this and it is distrurbing....