Miles and MacCraig Warren were booked to fly from Denver to Phoenix after attending a family funeral. Their tickets were for first class on an US Airways plane. Before they were able to board, however, the brothers were told they would be forced to sit in coach if they did not change their clothes: remove their baseball caps, change their shirts to button ups, and change their jeans to slacks. After changing their attire and finally being seated, they were shocked to see a white passenger and Asian passenger wearing hoodies and jeans in first class.
US Airways insists that this is “company policy” and not discrimination because of the types of tickets the brothers had. They received buddy passes from a family friend, and the airline insists that travelers who fly using these types of tickets are required to dress business casual. According to the airline, passengers flying on these tickets are “representing the airline that offered the pass.” The Warren brothers were not made aware of the policy ahead of time.
The Warrens now have a federal discrimination lawsuit against US Airways and are also suing for emotional distress. Miles commented, “An apology would be nice.”