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Have you heard the one about the 65-year-old business traveler from Phoenix who likes to spice up his life by flying in women’s undies? He’d been flying US Airways in his skimpy attire for years, actually — until this week, when a passenger in Fort Lauderdale sent photos of his getup to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Now he’s Exhibit A in a raging debate over what sort of clothing should get you kicked off a flight, with Exhibit B being a college football player booted last week for saggy pants. Dammit, why can’t we just all agree that this guy’s actually got some pretty shapely legs?
The Chronicle broke the story this week on its crime blog after Jill Tarlow, a passenger on a Fort Lauderdale-to-Phoenix flight, sent in the pics.
A US Airways spokeswoman tells the paper that flying in ladies unmentionables isn’t against the airline’s code, as long as your junk isn’t hanging out.
“We don’t have a dress code policy,” spokeswoman Valerie Wunder tells the paper. “Obviously, if their private parts are exposed, that’s not appropriate. … So if they’re not exposing their private parts, they’re allowed to fly.”
Ahh, Valerie, but what of Deshon Marman? The University of New Mexico football player was tossed from a US Airways flight on June 15 for supposedly refusing to pull up his sagging pants. (He was on his way to a funeral, just to make matters a worse.)
Wunder wouldn’t comment on Marman’s case.
This morning, the Chronicle caught up with the lingerie-clad traveler himself, though he asked to remain anonymous. He says he works as a business consultant and rarely has issues with other passengers or the airlines about his clothing fetish.
“It has never been my intent to put people in a situation where they feel uncomfortable,” he told the paper. “I try to respect other people’s opinions. As long as my dress is not indecent from a legal perspective, and so long as the airline does not object, I have the right to wear what I wear.”
Amen, panty-clad brother. If US Airways were smart, they’d apologize to Marman for overreacting to the sight of his boxers and embrace their new image as the airline of choice for free-thinking dressers everywhere.
Just get ready for the furries.
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