Flight attendants protest AirTran swimsuit plane

By Kelly Yamanouchi

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A revealing image on the runway has some AirTran Airways flight attendants fuming.

Orlando-based AirTran, which has its largest hub in Atlanta, has adorned one of its Boeing 737 jets with the image of a swimsuit-clad woman in heels, as part of a partnership with Sports Illustrated for the magazine's swimsuit edition.

The promotion is ending and AirTran will remove the image from the plane soon,  spokesman Christopher White said.

The AJC has learned that the Association of Flight Attendants at AirTran voiced its objections in a message to members.

"It is our feeling that this is not only contrary to the family image that this company tries to promote, but also potentially offensive to their female employees, the majority of their flight attendants who will have to work on this aircraft," the union said, adding that it "creates a potential for verbal abuse by male passengers."

White insisted the airline's swimsuit decal is "subdued and classy," in a World War II pinup style.

"We have the highest respect for all of our crew members, male and female," White said. "We also went to great lengths to ensure that the image that we put on the side of our planes was very tastefully done and very much a family-friendly image."

Last year when Dallas-based Southwest Airlines had the partnership for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, it put a giant picture of a lounging model in a bikini on one of its planes. Southwest and other carriers like Spirit Airlines have a history of using risque marketing tactics, from revealing flight attendant uniforms in the past to racy references in advertising campaigns today.

Patricia Friend, international president of the Washington-based Association of Flight Attendants, plans to send a letter to AirTran management on the swimsuit plane, spokeswoman Corey Caldwell told the AJC.

"As a union, we have fought hard and we have come a long way to bridge the gender discrimination gap," Caldwell said. She said a marketing campaign that features any "lewdness" is "a step backward in this progress."