Aprons promoting beer and television commercials using sexually suggestive double entendres have prompted some workers at Spirit Airlines to make a formal complaint to management that the ads are offensive and inappropriate.
The union that represents flight attendants wrote a letter to Spirit executives this month saying that the requirement to wear aprons with a Bud Light patch would turn staff into “walking billboards” and would send the wrong message to passengers.
They also took offense at acronym-heavy TV ads that promise DDs (deep discounts) and MILF (many islands, low fares). Both acronyms have alternate sexual connotations which we will not explain here, but can easily be found on the Internet.
The head of the Association of Flight Attendants claims the ads are demeaning to women and harken back to the early days of flying when “stewardesses” were more valued for their youth and looks than their professional skills.
The Airline Pilots Association joined the flight attendants’ union and condemned the campaign on Wednesday in a public statement which likened the airline to a fraternity house.
Spirit Airlines management responded by claiming that they consulted with union members last year about the ads but got no objections to either the ads or the aprons. They added that the beer logos on the aprons are “small and tasteful” and that there are no plans to pull them.
The apron logos are part of a push by Spirit to generate revenue by adding advertising throughout their planes.
The TV ads, some of which have been running for more than a year, are, according to the carrier’s management, very popular with customers and have been effective at boosting the budget carrier’s business during a time when financial problems and layoffs have plagued other airlines.
Spirit has used off-color ads in the past, some of which have not been as well received by customers as the current crop. In 2006 an ad campaign that poked fun at the search for Jimmy Hoffa’s remains was pulled after complaints from the public.
Related links: Associated Press, Biz Journals
By Karen Elowitt for PeterGreenberg.com.
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Related PeterGreenberg.com links: Ask Peter: White Christmas, Ticket Changes and Spirit Airlines, Air Travel Complaints on the Rise, Travel Detective Blog: On Affordable Destinations and Northern Iraq, When Airlines Go a La Carte
