Oh crud, msbelle, what a bunch of asswipes.

Oooh, the judge on People's Court just said "I can read, AND I have a Georgetown Law Degree." Reality TV snap!

Yes, I'm waiting for the end of People's Court before I go get my in-laws.

Frankly, I had no idea that the captain had UNLIMITED discretion on an airplane. Aren't there guidelines?

Doubt it.

OTOH, one could wish the flight attendants had shown a little discretion in what they chose to bring to the pilot's attention.

But the whole "asking my name is akin to making a threat" reminds me of the "filming the police is automatically a violation" trend we're seeing. Waving authority around for it's own sake.

But the whole "asking my name is akin to making a threat" reminds me of the "filming the police is automatically a violation" trend we're seeing. Waving authority around for it's own sake.

Especially since they announce the captain's name at the beginning of every flight! It's hardly a secret!

I trust that James Fallows will get to the bottom of this: he's very good, and he knows tons of people.

Looks like Consumerist has picked up the story and has contacted United as well to see what their side of the story is. [link]

I believe the pilot in command has final say in what happens in and with the plane while s/he is flying it. I also believe the airline has final say in whether they think the pilot was full of crap and can fire his or her ass if they think the pilot is making too many dickheaded, not to mention expensive and embarrassing, decisions while PiC. Plus or minus whatever power the pilot's union might have and might choose to exercise.

Timelies all!

Happy Birthday Tom!

Sorry about your work situation, msbelle.

Suzi,

you are very evil. There is a certain person I would LOVE to send that package too.

Yah, there was a guy recently who got kicked off a flight (also united, I think) because he was taking a picture of his seat (he was a massive status frequent flier on international first class, as well as a blogger) and the attendant told him its not allowed (not true, per their own rules--you can't take pics of the crew, but personal pictures of the plane or food or whatever are explicitly allowed) and he said ok and stopped taking pictures, but tried to explain "I'm a travel blogger, this is my first time on this palne's version of first class, blah blah, I'm not a terrorist". So the flight attendant reported him to the captain and kicked him off the flight (this all happened before the flight) because the flight attendant "didn't feel safe, seriously here, people?

Not totally related, but talking about airplanes reminded me: last time I flew, there was a college-age girl in front of me at security who started crying when they told her that she couldn't take her full-size shampoo and conditioner in her carry-on. The security person was quite polite about it, and told her (repeatedly) that she had plenty of time to go check her bag, but she just kept crying, "But I don't know what to do!" They went through several rounds of "Go over to the desk and have them check your bag." "I don't know what to do!" before she finally realized that she should just follow the instructions and check her bag.