LegalTender

Talkradio boilerplate is hardly on point. Watson previously tweeted atta-boys praising SWA employees he named - to which the company gratefully responded. He and his two kids already were in their seats.

Contriving a "safety" issue over an unfavorable tweet is harassment.

Tanic

Not anymore. Family boarding (sic) last night at FNT was after A15 and before the A listers. Why would anyone buy EBCI from this company? Their employees make it worthless. No wonder the cheaters feel empowered.

Bonanza36

I continue to be amazed with the subculture of airline passengers and their relative status, from A listers to gate lice to Kettles.

I don't fly Part 121 very much, maybe enough to justify my PreCheck status.

But the social pecking order of FF programs, from the top all the way down to the Kettles is rather interesting to watch. There is a dynamic set of social mores, rules and customs that any Sociology professor would have a field day studying. It seems many folks define themselves by their standing.

Apparently this guy felt entitled due to his status, and it backfired on all parties.

ursine1

They guy was entitled due to his status. Entitlement is the primary benefit of loyalty programs. Programs created by companies because they recognize and reward their highest value customers. With entitlement.



He's entitled, by Southwest, with special privileges.

Was he entitled to board his kids with him? Absolutely not. At least according to the letter of the rule. But it's understandable to me why he may have thought he was.

To me, it seems odd to complain about "entitlement," but support the company who creates and grants the entitlement in the first place. If they didn't exist, there there would be no pecking order by with to define ones self.

Tizzette

Once people see incidents of boarding enforcement that differ from the written rules, it is human nature to try to go with version that benefits you.

rove312

It's been a few years, but I'm pretty sure that I've seen an Employee say on this board that they would let children too young to board alone board at the parent's A-list position. It may well have happened on previous trips with this pax.

Dr. HFH

When an employee wears a nametag in public, then as much of the name as appears on the nametag (first name, first name and surname initial, first initial and surname, etc.) is fair game. If someone wants to be completely anonymous, then s/he shouldn't be in a job which requires the wearing of a nametag.

DiscHandler

Exactly! That's why it becomes somewhat threatening when a customer becomes insistent and upset when a service rep refuses to divulge her last name. He already had her first name and initial. Why is he asking for her last name?

WindowSeat123

How do you know he did? If the news are reporting on this, don't you think they will dig a little more and would have found out if there was actual threat of violence?

In any case, while this guy may come off as a bit of an ......, it does not mean what this GA did is all fine and dandy. This tweet poses no threat, any person with common sense can see that. So he publicly named her on tweet. So what? Is some crazed guy gonna suddenly jump down from the terminal ceiling and shoot her in the head? Come on. Just because he may have come across as somewhat of a snob does not mean the GA is entitled to abuse her powers.

Bottom line, in her line of work, she should have known what to expect when she got this job. There will be the occasional .......s and dick passenger. Not all the time thankfully, but you will get some from time-to-time, that is simply the nature of the job. Yes, they are not easy to deal with, and I suspect quite a few GAs or FAs has dreamed of doing exactly what this GA did. But just because you want to do something does not mean you should. That is what separates a mature and responsible adult from a little kid.

I agree with one of the earlier post: Two wrongs don't make a right.

travelingchumley

funny how Duff didn't use Tonya's last name

ursine1

He didn't use Kimberly's last name either.

CarolinaCoopers

I wonder if Duff is true to his word?

ursine1

Southwest later apologized to him, and Gary Kelly, on national TV, called him a "great guy." There's no info about what they may have ultimately given him in compensation (although I suspect they did give him something substantial), but check the date on the tweets posted earlier. He's apparently accepted the aplolgy and is flying Southwest again.

genotonda

468 Twitter followers. I wonder how many he had before this melee?

FindAWay

Exactly my point! Neither I nor the specific posters to whom I replied knew either way. There had been no real information from WN on this incident at the time of that posting; however, the specific posters to whom I posed the question made a statement of fact based on an assumption (which, I agree, seems likely now that more of the story has been made public). We seem to agree but you post as if I made some sort of statement. I asked a question.

By now, yes. Back when the post you quote was made, WN hadn't made much/if any response. We had a single news report from a paper local to the passenger's hometown.

Read my other posts in this thread that preceded your post - we're pretty much on the same page. I simply didn't rush to judgment based on the passenger's initial account.