Man denied first-class seat on United! A man was denied first-class seat on United for wearing track suit saying his outfit was too casual. Armando Alvarez, an executive with Best Buy claims a United Airlines gate agent refused to allow him to take a first-class seat because he was wearing a track suit. Alvarez claims he used miles to upgrade to first class on his Monday flight from Washington Dulles to Connecticut.
Alvarez says that once his upgrade cleared, the gate agent called his name and when he walked up to the counter for his upgrade, the agent said he was dressed too casually for first class.
“I was humiliated, I was embarrassed and when some of the passengers were boarding behind me they said, ‘Hey, what just happened?’ And I said the agent just said I wasn’t properly dressed to go in first class today. And they said, ‘Was he kidding?’ I said obviously not because I’m boarding and not getting in first class.”
The Best Buy vice president who lives in Gaithersburg, sent e-mails to United Airlines Customer Service Department and the airline’s board of directors. Alvarez said he hasn’t received a response several days later.
Alvarez said he is not seeking compensation.
“If this happened to me and I’m a United Airlines Red Carpet Club member then I believe it’s happening to other people and this must stop,” Alvarez said.
Alvarez was allowed to fly to his destination aboard the flight, but he had to fly coach using his original ticket. Well obviously this man was denied first-class seat on United. What do you think?
{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
Track suit, sweets these should not be allowed in public let alone first class. People have become so lazy.
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I think Wayne’s comment is RIDICULOUS!!!!! I fly quite frequently in first class and I too am a Red Carpet Club Member and I see no legitimate reason for United denying this club member a seat. Admission to the club is not based on ones attire, rather it based on the amount of time one spends in the air and ones financial commitment to the club and it’s benefits. I have money but I do not have to dress to showcase my money or even my ability to pay to have this privilege. United should be ashamed!!!! And Wayne, it is all about comfort
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I travel in jogging outfit, they are sharp and comfortable and some very expensive.
Frist class on a Airline is just a bigger and better seat for comfort is isn’t the Ritz .
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Peopla have become much too casual in their dress. A person must dress “first class” if
they expect to fly 1st class. United is right in their decision.
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Oh come on. First class looks the same as the coach. It’s just the seats that are wider and the barrier that keeps sound out (sort of). I’ve flown it and it is nothing special. I don’t see why he couldn’t wear a track suit. It isn’t like they said he smelled nasty or anything.
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He was going to sit in first class, not gym class and should have dressed accordingly.
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I wish that more airlines had a stricter dress code and even more important than that a stricter hygiene requirement.
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His attire is okay for Southwest, but then again Southwest does not have 1st class seating. I know if I were in 1st class, I would not want to be seen beside someone who does not know how to dress the part of having Class.
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I have seen people in the airport in PJ’s! Grown adults wearing PJ’s to travel ( it’s sad when they bring there children in there jammies also!) I have seen women with very short short skirts, lower than low tops, and let’s not leave out the “thong” showing becuase there jeans are low rise! People have became lazy when it comes to apperience’s. I am not saying you need a 3 piece suite to travel in. Think people nice clean , no holes, no tears , rips, foul language . Men/boys please wear you pants at your waist , not hanging down to your knees with your boxers showing. How about a breath mint in the morning or putting on some deodarant , shower perhaps?
Would any of you really like to sit next to a person on a plane for hours , next to somebody like that. Yeah , the United agent may have made a mistake..it happens.
Mr. Alvarez is a V.P for Best Buy , has he been into any of his stores lately?
I wasn’t helped in BEST BUY becuase I wasn’t buying anything that cost BIG bucks.
The sales person just pointed the direction for the item I needed.
Will I go into BEST BUY agin? Maybe if they have what I need at the right price..who knows? United, Best Buy …they are all business. Everyone is out to make a buck!
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As long as this gentleman was clean and the jogging suit was neat. What’s the problem
Some of you making comments sound like you think you are better than anyone else becaused you can fly first class. Quit judging people by how they look and dress. After all a mass murderer can dress up real nice and fly 1st class….right next to the rest of you snobs. Trust me…Jesus is not going to judge you based on how much money you have or if you can afford to fly 1st class.
Flying coach or 1st class. . . you all reach your destinations at the same time.
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I’ll bet they would board a celebrity regardless of dress. Has United printed a dress code available to the general public? I remember when air travel was an event worthy of dress-up attire. I also remember REAL service, not surly attendants and narrow, uncomfortable seats jammed together to make another buck. On the other hand, I would not waste my upgrade for a short hop flight from DC to Connecticut.
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are you people serious?
The fact that some guy was wearing a track suit, or torn blue jeans would bother you? Who really gives a rats @$$? If that is what he is comfortable in, and his junk isn’t hanging out, so what? In some ways this is worse than kicking off a teen age girl because her skirt was too short. Is the airline now the fashion police? They shrink seats to the point where a normal sized human cannot fit in them, they charge extra for everything, and the guy wants to regain a modicum of comfort and is punished because of it? The people who sent him back to coach should be fired and he should get a public apology not only from United, but from all of you high and mighty snobs.
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It used to be that air travel was a special affair and traveling first class meant something. Nowadays, not so much. Should a dress code be instituted for first class travel? That’s up to each airline. I don’t see the harm in it and I think it could actually help the airlines. I mean, we can’t call it first class if the only difference is more leg room. The appeal of first class is not just the space, but the whole package; i.e. more attentive service, more room, more comfort, a little more privacy, AND a classier group of people (if only in appearance) who all paid a little more to enjoy these benefits.
Frank, who posted above, is dead wrong. Just because a track suit costs $100 or more doesn’t mean the track suit has class, it just means that the owner of the suit paid for a track suit that has brand name recognition rather than purchasing classy business or business casual attire. I actually witnessed a guy at my office argue with the boss in front of the team about how his track suit cost $100 and it was “sharp” looking. Track suits will never equal business attire.
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How many people have actually flown? It is uncomfortable enough getting crammed in next to someone else. When flying and flying often you care about being comfortable. Why should he have had to wear a suit and tie to sit in first class. Give me a break people think about it. His track suit was clean and a nice one. Why isn’t anyone saying anything about these idiots out there wearing their pants halfway down there a**. I don’t care to see your underwear. Also how about these women out there wearing pants so low that when they bend over we have to be exposed to their thong and butt crack and sometimes more. Lets get over the track suit and starts worrying more about REAL inappropriate clothing. The track suit was APPROPRIATE and United should be ashamed.
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United Airlines owns the plane and they can serve whoever they want. Another big boy being paid too much is now hurt that he cannot tell the Airlines what they can and cannot do.
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I wonder who’s dime he was flying on. Best Buys or his own? Yup that’s a good way to represent your employer.
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I guess that only applies to upgrades. We flew 1st class to Disney the other year, via air miles, and my kids were dressed in shorts, t’s and sneakers, and no one denied us our seats.
I’ve watched people upgrade to 1st class on transcontinental flights, and then change just before they board, into track suits. Unfortunately you have to dress for the gate agent, then once you have your ticket, it doesn’t matter what you wear.
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When were the rules for what to wear in first class put in place? Just one more in a long long sad list of air travel rules changing after the game has started. Another justification for saying “screw flying” and taking a car.
On the other hand this guy has a large share of the blame for Best Buy and so deserves all the embarassement and grief that can be heaped on him. Maybe the ticket agent had just been harassed at, even more customer unfriendly, Best Buy and was dishing out a bit of payback?
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Traveling is no longer “an event”. It is an inconvenient means to an end. Do you dress up to be inconvenienced, crammed into a too small seat, stuck on the runway with too many people who selfishly carry on too many bags, with that screaming baby in row 14 the cougher in row 8, and the sweaty guy across the aisle.
“United Airlines owns the plane and can serve whoever they want”. Yeah, a little naive statement. I am the exact opposite of a leftwing liberal nutjob who sees racism and discrimination everywhere, but if I own the airline and I don’t want to serve Latinos, gays, fat people, muslims, old people, black people, Polish people, blonds, bald people, or West Virginians - ya’ll okay with that too? (no offense meant to anyone, I fit 3 of those characteristics).
United Airlines is offering a service to the general public - even more of a general service than going to McDonalds, since air travel has fewer options. Since they are providing such a service, they do NOT have the right to enforce such criteria, UNLESS they do so openly and clearly at the point of shopping for travel options - at that point the consumer gets to choose whether or not they are going to buy for that elitism/discrimination (you snobs can choose the word).
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Why does it matter if he has on a sweat suit or not. I was always taught first class is who you are not where you sit or what you wear. I fly often 2-3 times a week & can tell you plenty of the people don’t act or carry themselves or dress in what some of you say first class behavior should be. So just remember all of you who states you should dress a certain way to sit in first class, how you dress or where you sit does not make you first class, first class is who you are, if you can look down on people just from how they dress does that make you first class? You cant judge a book by its cover. Treat people the way you would like to be treated.
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It does not matter if it was a track suit or not. He had a ticket. He was treated with disrespect and denied what was his due. This is wrong…..
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I guess there are a lot of snobs out in the world.
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The additional logic bugs the living crap out of me as well.
He works for Best Buy, so it’s okay to hate on him. Or, he works for Microsoft, so it’s okay to hate on him. Or, he works for Smith and Wesson, or for RJ Reynolds, or Smirnoff, or… pick another company you hate for whatever rational, semi-rational, or irrational reason - I hate United Way because they didn’t give me a receipt each of the last two years - let’s seat all United Way employees in the restroom! (that was sarcasm, by the way).
Try this - the guy was wearing a track suit. So f***ing what? We have global warming, an economy in the tank, rampant unemployment, wars on foreign soil, genocide in Africa, various awful diseases - and the list goes on. The guy wanted to wear a track suit in first class (the world is ending!) - if THAT is your biggest worry you are so lucky…
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I was wearing a nice pair of slacks and a dress shirt and could not get an upgrade when I flew last week! I guess I should analyze everyone’s attire prior to flying next time to see if I can get them bumped out of first class.
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What this gentleman wore for clothing is not illegal in public, in a lot of cases they are designer wear. His rights as a red carpet member were violated as well as being humiliated in a public setting by a United Airline employee.
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