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Too pretty to fly?
Tampa Bays10 ^ | 02/22/08 | Janie Porter

Posted on 02/22/2008 2:57:05 PM PST by MotleyGirl70

Tampa, Florida – Prejudice against pretty?

That's the claim from a pair of 18-year-old best friends from Oldsmar who were escorted off a Southwest Airlines plane.

USF student Nisreen Swedberg and friend Sarah Williams claim the flight crew was rude to them from the moment they stepped onto the plane at Tampa International Airport on February 14.

Swedberg said she asked a flight attendant for a bottle of water and was told she could wait until the rest of the flight was served.

“And I patiently waited and then when they came around with water, they skipped me,” Swedberg said.

At one point, Williams had to use the plane's bathroom. She saw another passenger in it, and when he hadn't come out 15 minutes later, she knocked on the door.

When he came out, Williams says the man came over to her seat and yelled a profanity at her. Williams admits she yelled a profanity back at him but was puzzled when she says the flight crew only questioned her.

“I think they were just discriminating against because we were young decent-looking girls. I mean, nobody else on the plane looked like us except us,” she said. “[The flight attendants] were like older ladies. We were younger. Who knows, they could have been just jealous of us because we were younger.”

Southwest defends the incident, saying the women caused a disruption on the flight.

When the plane landed in Los Angeles, the women were escorted off by four uniformed police officers and later questioned by the FBI.

Nearly two hours later, the women were released. No charges were filed.

Still, Williams and Swedberg say they were banned from all future Southwest Airlines flights, including their scheduled flight home to Tampa.

Swedberg spent $419.50 on a one-way return ticket and arrived at TIA on Monday. Williams is still in Los Angeles trying to find a cheaper flight home. She hopes to be back to Tampa by Saturday.



TOPICS: Society
KEYWORDS: southwestair; swa
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“I think they were just discriminating against because we were young decent-looking girls. I mean, nobody else on the plane looked like us except us,” she said. “[The flight attendants] were like older ladies. We were younger. Who knows, they could have been just jealous of us because we were younger.”

They sound like conceited brats who have much growing up to do.

When the plane landed in Los Angeles, the women were escorted off by four uniformed police officers and later questioned by the FBI.

Nearly two hours later, the women were released. No charges were filed.

Overreaction by SWA of course.

1 posted on 02/22/2008 2:57:05 PM PST by MotleyGirl70
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To: windcliff

ping


2 posted on 02/22/2008 2:59:09 PM PST by stylecouncilor (I'm a loner Dottie; a rebel.)
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To: MotleyGirl70
Not "brats", simply inexperienced at flying.

If they were more experienced they'd had the aisles tied up with guys trying to force their water bottles on them.

3 posted on 02/22/2008 3:00:11 PM PST by muawiyah
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To: MotleyGirl70

Their daddies called them ‘Princess’ - and they believe that’s what they are...


4 posted on 02/22/2008 3:01:01 PM PST by Keith in Iowa ( <<<Ann Coulter for McAmnesty's VP!!!>>>!!! <<<Life's a bitch, don't elect one President.>>>)
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To: MotleyGirl70
Sounds like we are definitely hearing the 5% of the story favorable to these two. I fly Southwest once a week and have never seen a flight crew treat anyone badly. I expect Spoiled Princess Syndrome is once again at work here. ;)
5 posted on 02/22/2008 3:01:05 PM PST by Mr. Jeeves ("Wise men don't need to debate; men who need to debate are not wise." -- Tao Te Ching)
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To: MotleyGirl70

Not Guilty and receiving extra punitive award for the trouble!

6 posted on 02/22/2008 3:05:09 PM PST by mnehring ("Ronald Reagan has made Jimmy Carter look like a conservative..."- Ron Paul)
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To: MotleyGirl70

Not Guilty!


7 posted on 02/22/2008 3:06:46 PM PST by buccaneer81 (Bob Taft has soiled the family name for the next century.)
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To: MotleyGirl70
"I mean, nobody else on the plane looked like us except us,” she said."

That's probably why no one ever got confused about who was being disruptive.

8 posted on 02/22/2008 3:08:10 PM PST by spunkets ("Freedom is about authority", Rudy Giuliani, gun grabber)
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To: MotleyGirl70

I never see women like that on my flights.


9 posted on 02/22/2008 3:10:18 PM PST by Perdogg
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To: MotleyGirl70

This is not the first time Southwest has discriminated against pretty girls.

Anyone remember these fun threads????

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1893386/posts

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1896626/posts


10 posted on 02/22/2008 3:12:53 PM PST by Responsibility2nd (John McCain. 2008’s version of Bob Dole.)
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To: MotleyGirl70

Yep, both your comments are likely dead on. The idea that the FBI would waste time talking to these women when there are actual crimes to investigate is revolting. The idea that the SWA crew singled out these women does not pass the smell test.


11 posted on 02/22/2008 3:14:29 PM PST by JLS
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To: Responsibility2nd

And this one too.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-backroom/1896012/posts


12 posted on 02/22/2008 3:15:04 PM PST by Responsibility2nd (John McCain. 2008’s version of Bob Dole.)
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To: MotleyGirl70
Williams had to use the plane's bathroom. She saw another passenger in it, and when he hadn't come out 15 minutes later, she knocked on the door. When he came out, Williams says the man came over to her seat and yelled a profanity at her. - How did he know she was the one that knocked?
13 posted on 02/22/2008 3:16:57 PM PST by SF Republican (Conservatives wanted all or nothing, and they got it.)
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To: Responsibility2nd

IMO, these two had planned this all out. Maybe hoping for Penthouse or Playboy to call.


14 posted on 02/22/2008 3:17:10 PM PST by DCPatriot ("It aint what you don't know that kills you. It's what you know that aint so" Theodore Sturgeon))
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To: MotleyGirl70

Aren’t those the girls that stole the cookie money from the Girl Scouts?


15 posted on 02/22/2008 3:17:22 PM PST by Uriah_lost (This space closed for a respectful mourning period...)
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To: MotleyGirl70

They need a good spankin.


16 posted on 02/22/2008 3:23:27 PM PST by Dysart
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To: DCPatriot
these two had planned this all out. Maybe hoping for Penthouse or Playboy to call.

We have a winner here! A little free publicity to get the media's attention.

17 posted on 02/22/2008 3:24:02 PM PST by Tax-chick (If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't shoot! It might be a lemur!)
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To: Dysart

Well, if you insist, . . .


18 posted on 02/22/2008 3:25:52 PM PST by SmithL (That's my story & I'm sticking to it!)
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To: MotleyGirl70

Not Guilty...

19 posted on 02/22/2008 3:41:23 PM PST by Old Sarge (CTHULHU '08 - I won't settle for a lesser evil any longer!)
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To: MotleyGirl70

” Williams had to use the plane’s bathroom. She saw another passenger in it, and when he hadn’t come out 15 minutes later, she knocked on the door. “

Yuck. If someone’s in the bathroom for 15 minutes on an airplane, I don’t want to go in after them.

These two are idiots trying to get some attention. I guess it’s working.


20 posted on 02/22/2008 4:10:16 PM PST by coop71 (Being a redhead means never having to say you're sorry...)
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