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Recent Comments:
Southwest Airlines decides actor Kevin Smith is "too fat" to fly with them - kicks him off plane {Gadling}
Feb 14th 2010 4:20AM I agree that normal rules shouldn't be suspended due to celebrity. I think Mr. Smith is causing a stink because of how inconsiderately he and another heavy flier on the flight were treated.
Considering he was flying on standby (as shown above in his tweets in the article), the gate attendants could have easily sized him up as possibly taking up more than one seat and told him that he would need to purchase two seats in order to fly. Instead, he was cleared to board, was in his seat and luggage stowed, and only then was he very publicly told to exit the aircraft due to his size and the safety factor that the pilot gave.
I think he recognizes that he'll get special consideration from SWA executives now compared to other heavier fliers and is willing to point out that disparity:
@ThatKevinSmith: "(1/2) @3rdVentureBro "They're only apologizing because smith has a platform to express his displeasure." Bingo. It's disingenuous as f--k. (2/2) Wait 'til you hear SMod story about the girl sitting next to me who was pulled aside & chastised for not buying an additional seat."
(Above expletive redacted by me)
Christi Day has tweeted that SWA will investigate the incident and Kate-Madonna has commended SWA for their response. My question, as I alluded to above, is would a non-celebrity receive such consideration after the fact, after being publicly embarrassed on a flight?
I don't think they would nor would they have a Customer Service VP calling them about the incident. Only after someone in a position to publicly and willingly rebuke SWA for their lack of discretion in such matters would such re-training take place.
Southwest Airlines decides actor Kevin Smith is "too fat" to fly with them - kicks him off plane {Gadling}
Feb 13th 2010 11:53PM To highlight my prior comments:
From twitter ID @southwestair
"I've read the tweets all night from @thatkevinsmith - He'll be getting a call at home from our Customer Relations VP tonight."
Would someone in similar circumstances but without Mr Smith's background and stature rate the same response from a Vice-President of the airline?
Paranoid TSA checkpoint agents arrest man over harmless Arabic flashcards {Gadling}
Feb 13th 2010 11:16PM TSA Philadelphia eh?
Could have been worse. The TSA inspector could have pulled out a bag with a white substance in it, claiming it was drugs in the passenger's bag, then say it was all a joke and that he should have seen the look on his face.
Southwest Airlines decides actor Kevin Smith is "too fat" to fly with them - kicks him off plane {Gadling}
Feb 13th 2010 10:32PM Case in point:
From twitter ID @KateHarding:
"So, @SouthwestAir now wants to make things right for @ThatKevinSmith -- how many followers does avg. fat person need to get same response?"
Southwest Airlines decides actor Kevin Smith is "too fat" to fly with them - kicks him off plane {Gadling}
Feb 13th 2010 10:25PM Funny thing is, unless you know him or know his work, he's not instantly recognizeable compared to other people in the entertainment industry. It could have been anyone of similar build.
Considering all the followers he has and fans in general, this will just tap into the groundswell of dissatisfaction the general public has against the airlines. Southwest is screwed either way. If they treat a "famous" person this way, what about the general public. If they apologize and try to make amends, the general public will say that they're just sucking up to a celebrity and wouldn't give a member of the general public the same consideration.
Breaking: US Airways flight 1549 crashes into Hudson River {Gadling}
Jan 15th 2009 4:41PM I'd like to hear Kent Wien chime in on this. Personally I never thought a plane could land in the water safely, i.e. without breaking up or exploding. How much do pilots & crew train for this kind of contingency?
I hope everyone's safe.
Flight attendant ruled too fat to fly {Gadling}
Nov 3rd 2008 6:53AM Why wouldn't it fly in the US? The article states, "The airline industry is one of the few where weight requirements aren't discrimination, but rather simply necessary."
And considering it was in his contract and he repeatedly refused subsidized medical weight loss programs before he was terminated, I think PAL is legally on safe ground, whether it be in the local courts here in the RP, or back home there in the US.
iTunes 8.0.1 is available {TUAW.com}
Oct 3rd 2008 6:30AM Anyone else notice that where previously if you had both the HD & the SD versions of the same TV Episode and they both both be separate entries, now with the update they appear as just one entry with the tag (HD-SD) on it?
What if you want to delete just one or whatever with just one version? Anyway to put back to the old way?
iTunes 8 adds podcast controls, terms of service geographic limit (not new) {TUAW.com}
Sep 10th 2008 9:10PM As I stated in my rant yesterday in the original iTunes 8 posting, I'm a US Citizen living as an Expat in SE Asia. I'm still legally a New York State Resident (Own property, Driver's License, Car Registration, Voter, etc) and have valid Credit Cards that use my NY address.
If Apple, the record companies, & the studios want to go after pirates or people using loopholes who don't have a true US address, fine. There are people here locally who sign up for a US acct using iTunes gift cards, who don't have a US address or credit card. Some have never even been to the States.
But there's a sizable population of Americans living abroad who are Apple & iTunes customers. In my condo complex, there are literally dozens of people I know who are in my same situation. That is, people who have permanent addresses in the US, who are living abroad temporarily due to work and/careers. I met with some last night and they were as PO'ed as much as I was.
Again, none of us are doing anything illegal. We're not distributing Movies, Shows, or Music. We just want to continue being paying customers without fear of having our US store accounts being suspended in violation of the ToS.
TUAW Hands On: iTunes 8 {TUAW.com}
Sep 10th 2008 12:19AM Never mind, found it under File...Library...
