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Home » Law In Travel » Should This Model Have Been Denied Access To Qantas Lounge?
Law In TravelQantas

Should This Model Have Been Denied Access To Qantas Lounge?

Matthew Klint Posted onJanuary 18, 2020November 14, 2023 38 Comments

First it was ugg boots, now it is fitness attire. Qantas is in the news again over its comparatively strict lounge dress code. Does this dress code discriminate on the basis of sex? Should an American fitness model have been denied access while her husband was allowed in?

Qantas Dress Code In Australian Lounges

For its Australian lounges, Qantas has a dress code that prohibits:

  • Thongs and bare feet
  • Head-to-toe gym wear
  • Beachwear (including boardshorts)
  • Sleepwear (including ugg boots and slippers)
  • Clothing featuring offensive images or slogans
  • Revealing, unclean or torn clothing

a screenshot of a web page

On the surface, this seems like a reasonable dress code meant to preserve some level of decorum in a world that has become very casual.

But does this dress code inherently lead to gender bias in its application?

American Fitness Model Alleges Discrimination

A fitness model from the U.S. took to Twitter to complain that she was denied lounge access:

In 2020 @qantas airlines Melbourne won’t allow a woman holding a business class ticket to enter their business class lounge in active wear. My business IS fitness and an active lifestyle. Qantas prefers their women in a dress. #genderdiscrimination #qantas pic.twitter.com/j7XbvKvBrY

— Eva Marie (@natalieevamarie) January 16, 2020


And if we just look at the picture and her initial comments, I think it is easy to side with Qantas. The lounge dress code very clearly prohibits head-to-toe gym wear and she is wearing a nice color-coded outfit. While fitness may indeed be her business, I don’t think its fair to allege gender discrimination on that basis.

But then she added a twist. Her husband was allowed in wearing shorts and a t-shirt. You cannot see what kind of shoes he is wearing, but I am going to assume he was wearing closed-toe shoes or nice sandals versus thongs.

Clarification: This is NOT a dresscode issue, I support a businesses right to enforce equitable dresscode standards. However, My husband was allowed in no problem wearing this. While I was kicked out wearing this. My issue is that standards should be equitably enforced @Qantas pic.twitter.com/HSbLVc4W62

— Eva Marie (@natalieevamarie) January 16, 2020

Suddenly her argument starts to resonate. I wear exactly what her husband wears to the gym. In fairness to Qantas, men wear this sort of outfit all over town now, at least in LA.

…but so do women.

We can stretch to defend Qantas if we want to: her outfit is tight and more revealing plus her midriff is exposed.

But her point is a fair one: her husband’s clothes certainly seem to violate the spirit of the dress code and reveal more skin than hers.

Maybe it’s just my generation, but I don’t much like dress codes, which inspire conformity in the wrong sort of way (that’s a longer teleological discussion…).

That said, I think Qantas should have let them both in or denied access to them both.

CONCLUSION

There’s a certain irony to this story. Australia is burning and we are talking about the merits of business class lounge dress code. But here in the twilight zone of a luxury travel blog, we escape reality. Nevertheless, I end expressing my prayer for the people of Australia and the horrible fires that continue to ravage that beautiful land.

Should this American passenger been allowed in the lounge wearing her red attire?

> Read More: Denied Lounge Access for Wearing UGGs


(H/T: One Mile at a Time // image: @natalieevamarie Fair Use Exception)

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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38 Comments

  1. Steven Reply
    January 18, 2020 at 10:03 am

    I would amend the Qantas rules to prevent the admission of…

    1. Self indulgent instagram posting kardashian wannabe millennial “models.”
    2. Tatted up douchebags

    • Pet Reply
      January 19, 2020 at 3:30 am

      HAHA agreed

    • Nordicgal Reply
      January 19, 2020 at 9:59 am

      Yes because having a tattoo makes you automatically what? A douche/trash?
      This is 2020. People of all walks of life have ink these days…so maybe you need a reality check. This is the 1960’s

      • Nordicgal Reply
        January 19, 2020 at 10:01 am

        Isn’t the 1960’s*

        • Charles Reply
          January 20, 2020 at 5:49 am

          But everyone in Qantas lounges is a bourgeois douchebag. Greedy swine clambering for free food and grog. So noisey. I guess you need a wierd dress standard to attract the least liked people in society. Hi viz! Are they serious. Sit in an empty boarding lounge. Heaps classier and quieter. And who reads lounge access dress codes before flying business class.

  2. debit Reply
    January 18, 2020 at 10:11 am

    Visible tattoos should be prohibited. She is looking for free publicity and looks like getting it.

    Women are the biggest hypocritical drama queens. They don’t want gender equality, they want special treatment.

    • HSBC Reply
      January 19, 2020 at 2:49 am

      That seems an awfully broad statement to make about “women”, and a very myopic and misinformed understanding of the fight for equality.

      • Surfdancer Reply
        January 21, 2020 at 10:30 pm

        Indeed! He’s clueless and appears to be a misogynist as well. Shame really, in this day and age.

  3. Phil Duncan Reply
    January 18, 2020 at 10:34 am

    I’m rather glad seeing this woman that Qantas do have a dress code, I wouldn’t have wanted her anywhere near me.

    As for her whining, well, Qantas have rules and they stick to them so let her whine away, she’ll soon starve if there is no oxygen for her publicity.

    • Amanda Reply
      January 18, 2020 at 11:52 am

      Can you clarify your point, why would you not want her by you? Because of her outfit? Or having an opinion? What made you so mad?

      • Phil Duncan Reply
        January 19, 2020 at 10:08 am

        Oh dear, I’m not mad at all, very disordered thinking on your part that I was.

        I don’t think she’s suitably dressed to be anywhere, let alone a public place. That’s my opinion, swallow it down and accept that others don’t think like you do.

    • What Reply
      January 18, 2020 at 8:01 pm

      What the [redacted by admin] Phil

    • Jay T Reply
      January 22, 2020 at 9:29 pm

      Hey Phil I don’t think she wants to be anywhere near a loser like you either. Not that someone like you would have access to these lounges since you spend all your time in the dark dungeons and scroll the internet to make comments about more attractive people than you. Get some daylight!

  4. mallthus Reply
    January 18, 2020 at 10:36 am

    It’s pretty clear the rules are being enforced differently by gender, and her follow up eloquenty summed up the issue. Qantas May well have intended “no sweatsuits”, but that’s not what their policy said. Their policy said “no gym clothes” and they’re both wearing “gym clothes”, he more so than her, to be frank, as what’s she’s wearing is literally what you’ll find on half the women in any Coffee Bean on LA’s westside, but rarely in an actual gym.

    And, as always, the misogynists and Boomers came out in full force for the comments.

    • Good Grief Reply
      January 18, 2020 at 12:15 pm

      ageee 100%, this whole post agreeing with Qantas is pretty gross, and telling.

    • Adri Reply
      January 18, 2020 at 5:44 pm

      Read the rules – No head-to-toe gym clothes.
      Like the rules, or not; these are not new rules…so if you don’t like them, either follow them or fly a different airline.

  5. Paolo Reply
    January 18, 2020 at 10:55 am

    Kick ‘em both out. That said, it isn’t these ‘types’ that are the behaviour problem in lounges but rather more commonly it’s the creepy ‘I AM’ millennial men-in-suits…so many badly behaved DYKWIAs swaggering around those lounges, it’s not funny.
    Saw one yesterday in Hong Kong. Thought it was fine to have a series of loud phone calls, audible to everyone, rather than take his ginormous ass outside and be less intrusive. He did move..to the buffet…and continued the calls while stuffing croissants in his mouth. Crumbs flying everywhere. Vile.

    • mallthus Reply
      January 18, 2020 at 11:01 am

      The loud, self-important, rude, and boundary free type has always been a common site in business travel circles. It’s not generational.

      • Paolo Reply
        January 18, 2020 at 11:07 am

        You are right. But my pet dislike: people standing at a buffet and eating, is very definitely a millennial ‘thing’. You simple don’t see the boomers or old dears doing it..or at least I haven’t…

  6. Peter Reply
    January 18, 2020 at 11:28 am

    Shorts are pretty common in Australia, even when flying, so the treatment from Qantas was quite correct. He looks like he is returning to Brisbane or Gold Coast from a week of working at the mine or trading stocks in Sydney, and she looks like she’s going to the gym.

    Qantas lounges aren’t for business professionals but for loyal Qantas customers — or anyone who pays for the club membership.

    • HSBC Reply
      January 19, 2020 at 2:59 am

      They’re both wearing gym clothes. Maybe such attire is worn frequently outside of the gym these days, no argument here, but they’re still both equally wearing gym clothes.

  7. Ak Reply
    January 18, 2020 at 11:35 am

    Uncalled for. This was less gym attire and more a certain type of “look.”

    Once again, the blog’s name is “live and let’s fly.”

  8. Andy K Reply
    January 18, 2020 at 12:06 pm

    The dress code should be enforced equally (i.e., the man should be not have been allowed in.

    However the difference is that she looks like a floozy harlot, and he doesn’t.

    • HSBC Reply
      January 19, 2020 at 2:56 am

      That’s because men can’t look like that. Society has decided they think only women can be pre-judged like that.

  9. Good Grief Reply
    January 18, 2020 at 12:12 pm

    “ we just look a the picture and her initial comments, I think it is easy to side with Qantas”. Yikes. Did i just get teleported back to 1952? Misogyny alive and well in this post and the comments. Do better.

    • Matthew Reply
      January 18, 2020 at 12:15 pm

      My comment was based upon the clearly posted dress code policy, not my personal viewpoint. Do better. Please.

  10. Jerry Reply
    January 18, 2020 at 1:47 pm

    I think people who wear suits on Sunday night shouldn’t be allowed in the lounge.

  11. KK Reply
    January 18, 2020 at 3:59 pm

    Keep both of them out if they cannot read the dress code. Or let both in if you want to reduce your standards. Either way, they should have asked “can you please show me the showers to change” and confirm to dress code. If you can afford to fly long haul business class, you can afford to dress better.

    • Andrew Reply
      January 19, 2020 at 7:42 am

      It’s not a status symbol. I am a frequent flyer who travels internationally for work. Some of my trips involve multiple long flights, more than a day of air travel, and long layovers. I just want to sit down and rest between flights. The lounges are there to provide a quiet place for weary travelers who need it. Not a place to party and be seen. Since the airlines have allowed people to buy passes they are crowded with underdressed vacationing morons who don’t know the etiquette, are not tired, and don’t respect the long miles and endless hours business travelers spend earning their access.

  12. Kenneth Reply
    January 18, 2020 at 4:08 pm

    Welcome to the (ugly) New World.

    Yesterday, following a four-night stay, I checked-out of my long-time favorite Parisian hotel, the Plaza Athénée. Sadly, at a property where patrons used to make an effort to both look – and BE – nice, many of the young and entitled-acting guests from around the world lounged on sofas in La Galerie (over bottles of Dom Perignon), and breakfasted in the Alain Ducasse 3-Michelin-star restaurant, wearing sweats and t-shirts and running shoes. These outfits were ‘designer’ of course, because it’s apparently as essential to let everyone know you have unlimited funds as it is to treat gracious serving staff with mild disdain. Honestly, I’ve never wanted to ring so many necks…

    So in my present state of mind I say YES, the woman-in-red AND her slob of a husband should both have been turned-away from the QANTAS lounge. I’m at the Enough Is Enough stage.

    • HSBC Reply
      January 19, 2020 at 2:53 am

      Really, because I tend to see older people disregarding dress codes, at least as much as young people and at least in America.

  13. Jackson Waters Reply
    January 18, 2020 at 4:49 pm

    It has nothing to do with discrimination against women (of course women will take advantage of that claim like people do with race) but an overly restrictive dress code policy that doesn’t take into account that people nowadays dress comfortably when flying. Her outfit did violate the dress code because it was head to toe gym (fitness) attire and her husband wore a shirt and suitable shorts. She shouldn’t have claimed discrimination against women but called the dress code stupid and anyone enforcing it an idiot. People should dress comfortably which means sweatpants so they don’t have to change into pajamas in business class on the plane. People with money dress comfortably nowadays.

  14. Dick Bupkiss Reply
    January 18, 2020 at 8:04 pm

    This is NOT a “model”. This is some idiot seeking publicity. Screw ’em.

    • Jackson Waters Reply
      January 18, 2020 at 8:16 pm

      Maybe not a model in the traditional sense but she was a WWE Diva, featured in the E series Total Divas and her husband is a legit fitness competitor with a substantial following and vitamin/protein deal. She seems to get good jobs modeling clothes and fitness wear. She has over 3 million followers. I understand how she feels about not getting lounge access because of her full fitness attire and how ridiculous it is when some airlines give pajamas and slippers on board to wear to be comfortable when flying, but she should not have brought up a bogus argument of discrimination against women.

  15. Esteban Reply
    January 18, 2020 at 8:22 pm

    I’m an old fashion traveler.
    Most people look sloppy. Sorry.

    I’m happy when I see people well dressed.‍♂️

    • brendamarlena1@gmail.com Reply
      January 21, 2020 at 11:13 pm

      202

  16. Donald Reply
    January 19, 2020 at 5:23 am

    The age of outrage…they wouldn’t let you in….move on, forget about it……

  17. Ulysses Reply
    January 19, 2020 at 9:09 am

    It is not only the dress code in various airline lounges that the flying public should be concerned with. The way that the general public “dresses” on commercial aircraft today, is something that is disconcerting. I remember before flying was open to the masses, that men used to dress with suits and ties on aircraft, and women would also dress with their finest clothes. Today, it is a different world, as flying is tantamount to riding the NYC subway.

    I’ve seen guys get on, who remind me of bar room brawlers, with tattoos all over the place, and clothing which is fit for a hike in the woods. Women have gotten on planes with pierced navels, pierced noses, etc., wearing clothing, which is appropriate for the beach. Worse, there are some flyers who don’t know what using a deodorant means.

    I would ban cell phone use on aircraft, as there are some passengers who don’t know when to shut up, and become confrontational, when you ask then to pipe down.

    Last, the airlines like to have it both ways. They don’t want to have air rage, whereby passengers become drunk, and assault the flight crew and other passengers. Yet, they refuse to stop serving alcohol, because they make a lot of money on the sale of liquor.

    It wasn’t that long ago, when the airlines refused to prohibit smoking on commercial aircraft. It wasn’t until there was federal legislation passed,which prohibit smoking on aircraft. I remember seeing idiotic passengers lighting up in the gangway between the plane and the gate, as they couldn’t wait to have a smoke. Those were the days when smoking was still permitted at airports, even though it was banned on the plane. The airport managers also dragged their feet, about prohibiting smoking at airports.

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