No Shirt, No Shoes, No Flight: Spirit Airlines’ New Dress Code

(Bloomberg) — Spirit Airlines has updated its passenger dress code with new restrictions on lewdness, building on efforts by the discount US carrier to shake off its image as a downscale brand. 

On Wednesday, the company expanded its definition of being ‘inadequately clothed” to include being barefoot, wearing “see-through clothing,” having “exposed breasts, buttocks, or other private parts” or having clothing or body art that “is lewd, obscene, or offensive in nature.”

The rules are listed in the company’s contract of carriage, right alongside restrictions on boarding a Spirit flight while “carrying an infectious disease” or appearing to be “intoxicated or under the influence of drugs.” The company didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on the new rules.

Spirit, which filed for bankruptcy in November, ditched its bare-bones business model last year in an effort to go more upscale, offering fares that include extra leg room and free checked bags to take advantage of growing consumer demand for premium travel. The carrier hired what it described as a “world recognized” advertising agency as well as a brand adviser to help it shed a reputation that’s lingered for years as one of America’s most disliked airlines.

That legacy was fed in part by the carrier’s ultra-discount strategy revolving around offering cheap fares while charging for items such as coffee, bottled water, carry-on bags and printed boarding passes. A poor on-time performance, lack of customer service and little legroom onboard added to the reputation.

The airline has been among discounters punished in recent years by the adoption of basic fares at similar prices by larger carriers like Delta Air Lines Inc. and United Airlines Holdings Inc. that have allowed them to lure away passengers. Spirit filed for Chapter 11 after a federal judge nixed its planned merger with JetBlue Airways Corp.

Spirit is on track for a first-quarter emergence, Chief Executive Officer Ted Christie said recently. A bankruptcy court judge on Jan. 29 will consider whether to approve the company’s reorganization plan.

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