AS overbooks F again, pol gets to keep F...

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Jan 28, 2019, 5:47 pm

eponymous_coward

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AS overbooks F again, pol gets to keep F...

https://viewfromthewing.boardingarea...e-first-class/

Quote:

Earlier in the month Alaska Airlines needed to bump a passenger from first class on a New York JFK to San Francisco flight for a pilot traveling to a duty assignment. The passenger they downgraded to economy was John Kasich, who just finished serving 8 years as Governor of Ohio and who sought the Republican nomination for President in 2016.

Only Governor Kasich didn’t leave the first class cabin, he sat down in another passenger’s seat instead.

Overbooking F with the pmVX fleet in the mix seems to be an ongoing theme... the Twitter thread is a good read.

Jan 28, 2019, 5:51 pm

MSPeconomist

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And AS only paid for the booted passenger's flatbread during a four hour wait for the next flight with a FC seat? Disgraceful.

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Jan 28, 2019, 6:07 pm

brettsir

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It's not really overbooking in the traditional sense. Deadheading pilots may be added to the flight at the last minute so it's not as if AS is purposefully overbooking the forward cabin and hoping for no-shows. The issue might be more prominent for the pmVX flights since there are only 8F seats as opposed to 12-16F which means less upgrades available for downgrade in these sorts of scenarios. I'd be much more inclined to take a downgrade with voucher and upgrade cert if I had received the upgrade for free rather than paying out of pocket for it...

Jan 28, 2019, 6:12 pm

brettsir

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Quote:

Originally Posted by MSPeconomist

And AS only paid for the booted passenger's flatbread during a four hour wait for the next flight with a FC seat? Disgraceful.

Assuming she paid for F (which is nearly guaranteed since she was not the person selected to be downgraded and paid fares trump status upgrades), I would be willing to bet there was also a difference in fare check, credit voucher, and GGU issued as well as the food voucher.

Jan 28, 2019, 6:18 pm

MSPeconomist

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As I see it, the retired politician willingly and knowingly poached (stole) her seat and AS staff allowed it to happen. It's theft. He should make a public apology for his behavior and he should be billed for and personally pay the cost of whatever gestures AS makes to the displaced passenger, hopefully much more generous than that flatbread.

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Jan 28, 2019, 6:44 pm

brettsir

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Quote:

Originally Posted by MSPeconomist

100% I agree that the issue in this case is the retired politician refusing to be downgraded. As far as the actions of the AS staff go, I'm not sure how everything went down so can't really comment on it. It seems the pax who took a later flight was a level headed and reasonable person and may not have wanted the issue to escalate. There may have been intimidation on the part of the retired politician, or on the part of the gate team, but that's not documented. What we do know is she seemed pleased with the actions of the AS staff so it can be inferred that that they didn't force her off the plane, and instead she took one for the team, allowing the plane to leave without more interruption for the other 150 odd people onboard. How much of this was on her own accord and how much was requested by the AS staff is unknown, what we do know is that she was not upset at the staff so it should be safe to say the AS staff were not intentionally malicious in this case.

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Jan 28, 2019, 8:43 pm

eponymous_coward

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Quote:

Originally Posted by MSPeconomist

And AS only paid for the booted passenger's flatbread during a four hour wait for the next flight with a FC seat? Disgraceful.

You know who doesn’t think it’s disgraceful? The person who wrote that Twitter thread.

There is probably a joke about Catholics and the Pope we could make about FlyerTalk.

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Jan 28, 2019, 8:45 pm

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Let's also be clear that the "bumped" passenger is a professional performer and has an interest in having this story going viral--she's "pinned" it to the top of her twitter page. Has there been any corroboration that she took the bump only to avoid a fight and that the flatbread AS paid for (after she asked publicly on twitter) was the only comp she received?

Not saying Kasich handled things graciously, but there is more to this story...

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Jan 28, 2019, 8:49 pm

eponymous_coward

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Quote:

Originally Posted by NYC Flyer

There’s a Twitter post where she asks the AS Twitter team if she can get the flatbread comped. They say sure.

Inferring that was the ONLY comp is that. Inference. Maybe that didn’t get posted about.

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Jan 28, 2019, 8:56 pm

#10

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Quote:

Originally Posted by eponymous_coward

Inferring that was the ONLY comp is that. Inference. Maybe that didn’t get posted about.

Agreed. And if they continue to maintain any sense of decorum, neither AS nor Kasich's ~~campaign~~ PR team will comment further. We'll only hear from the "bumpee" and those that want to use her story irresponsibly, IMHO, for click-bait.

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Jan 28, 2019, 9:34 pm

#11

eponymous_coward

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Quote:

Originally Posted by NYC Flyer

As viral goes, 10-12 days is more like an amoeba?

It didn’t involve someone getting beaten or racism, and so far it seems pretty restrained. But OK. Shall I report to re-education camps, comrade?

Jan 28, 2019, 9:53 pm

#12

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Quote:

Originally Posted by eponymous_coward

As viral goes, 10-12 days is more like an amoeba?

It didn’t involve someone getting beaten or racism, and so far it seems pretty restrained. But OK. Shall I report to re-education camps, comrade?

Ha! I was referring to Gary. Anything reported to the FT illuminati stays within the FT illuminati...

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Jan 28, 2019, 10:21 pm

#13

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Kasich shows his true character once again.

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Jan 28, 2019, 11:51 pm

#14

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So, he fought (or at least that’s the prevailing assumption, the facts are a little vague on that point) and got to stay in F. She chose not to fight (by her own admission) and got bumped. Whose fault is that?