EXCLUSIVE
Southwest Airlines has found a way to turn the tables on its recent bad publicity over tossing off lesbian kissers, loose-trousered rock stars and corpulent movie directors from its jet planes.
The Dallas-based air carrier is allowing cameras into its midst for a reality show. The cable network TLC has ordered 13 episodes of a new reality show focused on the trials and tribulations of a modern American airline company.
Also read: Kevin Smith: 'I'm Too Fat to Fly Southwest?!'
The as-yet untitled series -- which producer ITV Studios America will put into production starting this weekend at airports in Baltimore and Denver-- promises to take viewers "behind the scenes of the modern air travel experience, sharing the large-scale operations and personal customer stories at Southwest Airlines," according to a TLC statement.
Also read: Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong Kicked Off Flight for Saggy Pants
Southwest attracted a huge amount of negative publicity when a flight attendant made director Kevin Smith get off a plane for being overweight. Smith tweeted his righteous rage, a campaign against the airline that went viral in 2010. The airline had similar recent snafus in ejecting a pair
of women kissing along with rock star Billie Joe Armstrong for wearing "sagging" pants.
"Air travel has become incredibly accessible, and as a result, millions of travelers navigate the challenges of the airport, especially during the upcoming holiday season,” said TLC general manager Amy Winter in the statement. “Southwest is a beloved brand, and their customers and employees will reveal the passion, commitment, and fantastic payoff of 'getting there' that helps keep us all flying.”
Also read: Airsickness to Addiction: I Was a Real-Life Pan Am Stewardess
Southwest has been showcased on an ITV reality television series before -- its operations were the subject of "Airline," which ran on A&E for three cycles from 2004 - 2005.
The series follows a recent trend of airline-focused shows: ABC unveiled the 1960s drama "Pan Am" in September, and CW aired the short-lived "Fly Girls," about Virgin flight attendants, last year.
