Airline Blasts Back After Alec Baldwin's Online Rant
The star of '30 Rock' and dozens of television commercials was
recently removed from an American Airlines flight in Los Angeles,
and then got into a Twitter sparring match with the airline.
Actor Alec Baldwin was reportedly playing an online game "Words
With Friends" he says while sitting at the gate waiting for the
plane to push back. Baldwin's publicist practically tried to make
it a commercial for the game, saying in a statement that the actor
was "willing to leave a plane for it."
Baldwin, however, was more direct in his Tweets. “Flight
attendant on American reamed me out 4 playing WORDS W FRIENDS while
we sat at the gate, not moving,” he said, adding “Last
flight w American. Where retired Catholic school gym teachers from
the 1950’s find jobs as flight attendants.”
The Washington Post reports that Baldwin and his spokesperson
entered into the "damage control" after another passenger on the
flight Tweeted that the plane had to return to the gate so that
Baldwin could be escorted off the plane. "Terrible that everyone
had to wait,” the passenger said.
Then American got into the fray, posting a statement on its
Facebook page and alerting the airline's followers on Twitter.
“Since an extremely vocal customer has publicly identified
himself as being removed from an American Airlines flight on
Tuesday, Dec. 6, we have elected to provide the actual facts of the
matter as well as the FAA regulations which American, and all
airlines, must enforce.
"Cell phones and electronic devices are allowed to be used while
the aircraft is at the gate and the door is open for boarding. When
the door is closed for departure and the seat belt light is turned
on, all cell phones and electronic devices must be turned off for
taxi-out and take-off.
"This passenger declined to turn off his cell phone when asked
to do so at the appropriate time. The passenger ultimately stood up
(with the seat belt light still on for departure) and took his
phone into the plane’s lavatory. He slammed the lavatory door
so hard, the cockpit crew heard it and became alarmed, even with
the cockpit door closed and locked. They immediately contacted the
cabin crew to check on the situation.
"The passenger was extremely rude to the crew, calling them
inappropriate names and using offensive language. Given the facts
above, the passenger was removed from the flight and denied
boarding.”
And isn't it grand that, thanks to social media, we all get to
know about it. The LA Times reports that Baldwin's Twitter account
was deleted following the dustup with the airline.