Sorry for this long story, but my friend and business-partner - Jason - the man who introduced me to getting status at UA - just told me an unbelievable story about a flight he took yesterday. A flight where he became a hero.

Jason is a very mild-mannered 1P. He never complains (even with the RCC dragons won't give him his drink chits) and usually keeps his head down. Well, yesterday, he was flying IAD-LAS in the morning on business. His flight gets delayed by 4 hours. He's thinking of rejoining the RCC anyway, so he gets in line at C17. Behind him, two young Norwegians have just gotten off a flight from Copenhagen and are looking forward to transfer to Ted (rar) to go to Las Vegas. Jason starts chatting with them and they offer to get him into the RCC as a guest since one of them is *A Gold. In the RCC, the drinking begins... and continues for hours. Jason buys a couple of rounds, but the Norwegians are 4 or 5 rounds ahead of him.

Boarding begins. Jason’s got a nice Exit Row seat – the best Ted has to offer. The Norwegians are in the back. He bids them goodbye & thanks and prepares to be dazzled by “Enchanted.” Well, no one sits in the middle or aisle next to him and right before take-off, the Norwegians head up and sit next to him.

The FAs come by and tell them they need to move back to their seats. Jason explains that they’re *A Gold and perhaps they might be able to have these seats anyway. The FA won’t have it, though. So the Norwegians leave … except right after take-off, they come back. Jason is getting slightly nervous now.

The FAs start doing drinks and the Norwegians loudly buy a round for everyone around them. The other FA who told them to move is in the front of the plane and hears some of the raucousness… and comes back and tells them they’re going to need to move.

Well, by this point, they start drunkenly arguing with her and basically refuse to move. Jason tries to be the peacemaker… but now he’s sort of lumped in with the group of trouble-makers.

The FA announces that if they do not move, the pilot will have to land the plane (!).

Jason tells the guys to move with him and he gives up his Exit Row to sit with them back in E-. Still, the Norwegians try and order even more drinks… and the FA cuts them off. Now they’re arguing with her about why they should get some more drinks.

In something out of “The Big Lebowski,” a man in a cowboy hat and boots walks back from E+ to the Norwegians and Jason and tells them, “Look fellas. If you continue this, I’m sidin’ with the lady and I will help physically remove you from the plane.”

Now it’s taken up a notch. To her credit, the FA tells the cowboy to go sit back in his seat. The Norwegians start yelling at the guy as he leaves and the FA again warns them that she will tell the pilot to land the plane in Denver and they will be arrested.

Jason – realizing that he might somehow get lumped in with these guys – begins to calm the Norwegians down. He tells them that flying in the US is no longer fun – and that we take it very seriously and that the FA’s not joking around. The Norwegians finally calm down and spend the rest of the flight talking to Jason (ps – he missed “Enchanted,” sadly).

On the way off the plane, the FA thanks him and tells him that he helped avert the plane landing in DEN.

Lessons learned: Never let a European take you as their guest to the RCC.