Delta Airlines needled United Airlines Monday after its business rival temporarily barred two girls clad in leggings from getting on one of its flights the day before.
“Flying Delta means comfort,” the company tweeted, adding, “(That means you can wear your leggings.)” to make the dig at United clear.
{mosads}A witness tweeted Sunday that a United gate agent stopped two girls from boarding because they were wearing leggings while using the company’s employee passes, which come with a dress code.
Twitter user Shannon Watts, who was on the same Sunday flight as both girls, reported that the duo were asked to change or “put dresses on over” their leggings before entering United’s aircraft.
“A @united gate agent isn’t letting girls in leggings get on flight from Denver to Minneapolis because spandex is not allowed?” she tweeted.
“She’s forcing them to change or put dresses on over leggings or they can’t board. Since when does @united police women’s clothing?”
Watts tweeted that the girls were ultimately allowed to board after putting dresses over their leggings.
United’s Twitter account spent much of Sunday defending the gate agent’s actions, following backlash over the incident on social media.
In a statement Sunday, the company worked to clarify the incident.
“When taking advantage of this [discounted-ride] benefit, all employees and pass riders are considered representatives of United. And like most companies, we have a dress code that we ask employees and pass riders to follow,” it said.
“The passengers this morning were United pass riders and not in compliance with our dress code for company benefit travel. We regularly remind our employees that when they place a family member or friend on a flight for free as a standby passenger, they need to follow our dress code.”
“To our regular customers, your leggings are welcome,” it added.