Social media shade flies over United Airlines' dress code
Social Cues: After United refuses to let two girls board a flight because they're wearing leggings, a battle breaks out on social media.
Social Cues is our look at what people are talking about across social media.
Prepare for some turbulence on social media over the next few days, United Airlines.
The airliner is caught in the latest Twitter firestorm after it prevented two girls in leggings from boarding a flight Sunday, arguing they were violating a dress code.
The two teenagers, who planned to fly from Denver to Minneapolis, were told to change and wait for a later flight.
A young girl who was also wearing leggings was allowed on after changing into a dress, according to The New York Times.
The story broke out on social media, after Shannon Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action, watched the incident unfold and live-tweeted it.
United spokesman Jonathan Guerin said the girls were not allowed on board because they were flying under an employee travel pass. There's a dress code for passengers who are considered "representatives of United." The company spent the rest of the day handling the fashion fiasco on Twitter, telling paying customers they could wear leggings on flights, including a statement posted Monday.
United tweeted its dress code back at Watts, arguing that the airliner had the right to refuse transport for passengers who were "not properly clothed." The dress code means passengers flying under an employee travel pass can't wear spandex or lycra pants, which are pretty standard loungewear.
But, the damage was already done on social media. Rival airliner Delta jumped at the opportunity to subtweet United Airlines with a winking smile.
So far, it's been a positive move for Delta, with responses celebrating the airliner and its services, specifically comparing it to United's.
Celebrities like William Shatner, Chrissy Teigen and Sarah Silverman jumped into the mix too.
By Monday afternoon, more than 24 hours after Watts' first tweet, United was still dealing with people on Twitter to clarify its dress code policy.
A tweet from last June from United is also catching its fair share of criticism, after the airliner used a photograph of a woman wearing leggings for International Yoga Day.
While it was tweeted on June 21, 2016, all the replies to it have been in the last 48 hours.
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