Jeffrey Gitomer wrote a column critical of USAirways and now rumor on the street is that USAirways has banned Mr. Gitomer from flying the airline and confiscated his miles. Word is that Mr. Gitomer says his ban is due to criticizing the airline in print.

USAirways responded at length to the editorial, intimating that Mr. Gitomer is a chronic complainer who has been abusive to the airline’s employees for years. Though the response doesn’t say anything about banning the man from the airline, if they did indeed do so another plausible explanation may be that it’s action (perhaps even long overdue) to protect its employees.

I’m in no position to evaluate the competing claims, and not all of the story has likely been told yet, but it’s a fascinating developing soap opera.

For what it’s worth, Jeffrey Gitomer has written several columns critical of USAirways. For instance, here, here, and here. On the other hand, USAirways has been known as a company that blames its customers for its problems.