Jake Tommerup, 57, of Phoenix, who was aboard flight 488, said he had been annoyed by the hour-and-a-half delay. But he also said he was stunned by US Airways' reaction to what, in Tommerup's mind, amounted to little more than a questionable fashion choice.

"When I get on a plane and see a 13-year-old girl with her whale tail" - exposed G-string underwear - "and fat old white guys with plumber's crack sitting down, and middle-aged ladies in halter tops and tons of cleavage - if you're not going to kick those people off the plane or ask them to cover up, then let's admit the hypocrisy."