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.
Omg this is insane. Kasich was asked to move to premium from first class & took my seat instead. I volunteered to take a later flight instead of fighting. @alaskaairlines, your employees are the BEST, sweetest people. And thanks, airport employees, for working without pay today. https://t.co/vmnBEIds0S
— Julie Klausner (@julieklausner) January 16, 2019
Passenger Julie Klausner agreed to take a later flight rather than engage the drama. Alaska Airlines reimbursed the cost of the margherita flatbread she purchased while waiting an extra four hours.
It’s been reported that Kasich was asked to move to extra legroom coach (‘premium’) and also to 12F which I don’t think is an extra legroom seat on any Alaska aircraft (and we know that since this wasn’t the last flight of the day on the route that the aircraft was an Airbus A320). Here’s where he sat instead.
— Julie Klausner (@julieklausner) January 16, 2019
A Kasich spokesperson “attributed the whole ordeal to confusion, though didn’t elaborate on specifics.”
Thought leadership?
He’s making noises that suggest he could challenge Trump for the Republican nomination next year. If true, this story will come back to haunt him.
The world of airlines is topsy-turvy! A pilot traveling to a duty assignment can very well sit in economy, no? I don’t get it! Why bump a customer in order for an employee to have the 1st class seat??? This is mind boggling!
This has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with consumers’ rights. Something needs to be done about this nonsense.
@Kalboz – agree! The pilot didn’t pay for his seat! damn it! The passenger did…oh…but maybe not?Yeah it has nothing to do with politics. But, I can’t control myself…this is the kind of treatment he’s ‘gonna get when he runs for Prez in ’20.
Have you ever heard John Kasich speak. He is the greatest, most moral, super agreeable, and fantastically understanding person in the universe. And every place he goes, he gets things done. Big things. Yuck.
Company had no choice as First class seat for the employee en route to work is a union guaranteed benefit. But why they chose the Ohio governor to try to downgrade is beyond me
@Charles – it was probably a hyper-liberal gate agent who recognized his name, and tried to stick it to him.
This story is odd. I fly Alaska Air all the time and I”m top tier in their frequent flyer program. I NEVER see crew in first class. They always put their top level frequent flyers in first class with the airline crews in the back in the best seat they can find. I’m not saying I would put it past Kasich to be a dick, but there’s something wrong in the narrative.
Remember, Johnny, you’re the son of a postman. A much higher station in life than a pundit.
Julie Klausner is the writer & co-star of the sitcom series “Difficult People.” (Now cancelled.) She is NOT one to go away quietly.
@Charles, I appreciate the working people and the respect shown for the CBA and its provisions. But the issue here is the airline needs to get the pilot from point A to point B. This is the airline’s obligation and passing the problem to a customer who is in his assigned seat is utter BS!
Charles, you’re correct. Saw the same thing on an SFO-JFK flight in October. Alaska paid that customer $800 to move to coach. Pilot with contract that guarantees first class seat. I was traveling with my wife and wanted to enjoy the flight with her, so didn’t even think about volunteering.
Pilots traveling go first class by contract. This isn’t up for negotiation at the gate.
Any discussion to the contrary is misinformed and/or designed to stir shit.
Maybe we should wait until we hear from both the sides before we pass judgements. Haven’t we learned lately of the consequences of passing judgements too early without ever hearing from the other side?
Let’s stop making ourselves fools.
@tyler
So if it was between you and some republican figure for the last first class seat you’d gladly give yours up?
Who cares if it’s the former governor of anything. Just because you’re a politician it doesn’t mean you should get special service.
also it could just as easily be some super MAGA person who tried to stick it to Kasich for speaking out against their Dear Leader. In all honesty most people have forgotten who this person is if they ever knew.
In getting a pilot to his next job which entails being responsible for the lives of all the passengers not to mention crew, as well rested and in as best shape as possible, flying First is certainly not too much to ask, in my opinion.
If you’re going to downgrade the passenger, you need to make it financially worthwhile – and also supply some 1st class booze and food. And also be nice about it – explain that the pilot’s seat is union-guaranteed. I would move in a minute. Was Kasich given these options?
Did I miss something? Why didn’t the airline just have the pilot said in the premium economy seat? The pilots only get the set in first class? If first class with Full then just have the pilot sitin premium economy. Problem solved.
+1 on waiting until the other side of this story surfaces. The story is plausible, but there is always another side.
Hmm. Sounds like someone who feels entitled to his seat only because he is a noted politician.
Seems pretty clear to me.
Why not make this headline news. When UA does anything like this – it is all over the news.
These airlines have to stop taking people out of their seats once they have boarded the plane. The results are bad for the passenger and airline. Offer compensation until someone accepts. This will save them a PR disaster. Airline customer service skills are simply horrible.
According to Julie, she was informed that the person bumped is whoever paid the least (she got a great deal on her ticket, but it wasn’t her).
She observed multiple people (including the gate agent) try to talk to him and explain the situation and he wouldn’t budge. She was standing with the flight attendants right in front of him and he completely ignored her.
Hard to understand why the person who the ex-gov stole a seat from only got free flatbread. Did they get other compensation, cause I would not budge for goodwill and 4 hours. Seems like one very agreeable person.
More on this, as reported by the woman who took the voluntary bump because Kasich wouldn’t get out of her seat:
https://www.cleveland.com/open/2019/01/comedian-details-full-encounter-with-john-kasich-taking-her-airplane-seat.html?fbclid=IwAR0Ug8sTiWYEiXDQe0rQF5NoaSGEJy-a8cKNVv4kiYFviJMZ7M36pyURsD0
Wow. I wish that I was so important that I could just steal someone else’s seat. I don’t give a crap what the guy’s political affiliation is or what his prior position, this guy has massive entitlement issues, and shouldn’t talk them out on some lady who hasn’t boarded yet.
If they need a seat they should first downgrade people who got free upgrades (not clear if that happened here). If the seats are all paid (which is quite possible these days) then the airline should seek volunteers. If you paid then essentially you are being IDB’d into your paid seat.
OTOH if you are told to move you don’t steal another seat. Demand an IDB and some documentation to prove what happened.
I would have lost my mind. I think they do this, just saw a crew not in uniform get upgraded on last flight rather than next MVP as we knew almost entire flight coming home from a meeting. I was Inn First and heard him get upgraded rather than next on list.
I’ve worked with Airlines for many years – I work for a group of hotels, and we have had lots of contracts with lots of airlines, so I understand some of their issues (hotels revenue management oversells, rooms go out of order, etc.
When things go wrong in Airline operations, you have a limited amount of options. The crew are all unionized, and whether you like that or not, it’s the society we live in. Those rules govern how the airlines OPERATE – if they can’t operate, the customers cannot get to where they are going. While that is not the customers fault, they will undoubtedly suffer from time to time, and should be compensated appropriately.
So all of you saying ‘the pilot should fly coach’ and AS should have been more proactive, you don’t understand the full scope of their operations as a whole, and that’s no surprise. This might have been their very last option!
But the conditions of carriage are real. He agreed to them when he ‘bought’ the ticket, and when crew tells him his options, he doesn’t get to create new ones. What an entitled fcuk, and in my opinion, this is a large problem for our society.
A bit confused here. Was Kasich the first passenger asked to move (and he declined?) After he declined, the airline then asked her to move? Just a lot of questions here and best to hear the other sides of the story (airlines and Kasich himself) before passing judgment. Would her reaction have been different if the politician was a democrat who also declined to move? Maybe instead of saying he stole her seat, she would have said I volunteered to change my flight and gave my first class seat to the Democrat politician? Just my two cents on different perspectives.
I have no problem with the pilot flying first. I think they should fly first when traveling for work given their job. I do have a problem with downgrading a paying passenger for a flight that he or she paid for and has been planning around. I wouldn’t move either. It’s not my job as a passenger to accommodate the airline’s problem. Fly the pilot on a different flight. Fly the pilot on a competitor flight (if the union contract allows). Have multiple contingency plans. Figure something out that doesn’t make it my problem as the passenger.
Many things and sides to consider. But the *most* telling aspect of this event is that Kasich used his white male privilege to the max by asserting that he is more important than some other person also seated in first class. What an arrogant self-absorbed SOB.
This sounds like fake news. The person who Volunteered to give up their seat is a liberal commedian. Hardly someone i would consider a reliable source but sure go ahead and smear the guy based on her word. It is absurd an airline is bumping passengers out of first class for one of their employees. Guess instead of travel i clicked on a TMZ wannabe website.
@joey she is a liberal commedian with an extremely obvious bias against Republicans if you look at her tweets and the other reporting. That is why we should question her version since it does not make a whole lot of sense.
Why didn’t the Alaska agents force him to leave the plane?
I don’t have a political horse in this – but he doesn’t have security escorts so why the special treatment and enabling bad behavior here?
I hope the comedian gets INVOL denied boarding comp or better
Though frankly wouldn’t have done the identity shaming – whether Kasich or a nonpublic person it’s not acceptable
Too bad Kasich wasn’t dragged off the plane.
@Greg So what if Kasich was “identity shamed”? In the words of America’s dumbest journalist Don Lemmon, by becoming a politician, shaming is something “he signed up for.”
Thanks for warning us that Alaska Airlines will bump us out of a seat we paid for so an off duty pilot can take our seat…which I have never seen happen on the thousands of flights I’ve traveled on other airlines. Now I know I will never know the experience on Alaska Airlines…because they just lost any hope of getting my business! (btw…John Kasich is The Man!..)
The best John Kasich is too entitled video.
Perhaps Kasich felt worried for his safety if he thought there might be Trump supporters in the back.
In the aftermath of the United incident, where the doctor was dragged off the plane when he was involuntarily bumped after boarding, most airlines have forbidden this practice, and some politicians have attempted to ban the practice.
https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/politics/330498-if-you-are-seated-on-the-plane-you-are-staying-on-the-plane
Where necessary, airlines are allowed to pay up to $10,000 for persons involuntarily denied boarding.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-airline-bumping-volunteer-payout-strategy-0429-biz-20170428-story.html
Any word on whether Alaska paid heed to these issues?
If she was that accommodating why didn’t she just go and sit in 12C – Kasich’s downgraded seat. Instead she asked to fly on the next flight so the plane flew with an empty Premium Economy seat. Think of the Greenhouse gases!!!
What would a private citizen Trump have done in the exact same situation?
I looked it up. After graduating from Ohio State 1974, in Kasich immediately became a researcher for government officials. He was first elected as a State Senator in 1978. In between his various stints of being paid by tax payers and lobbyists, he has worked as commentators on various networks. Since his term as Governor of Ohio ended on 1/1/19, he has been CNN commentator (no doubt doing extra unbiased commentary, nothing to see here.). So basically he has been mooching from, sorry, I mean serving the tax paying public his whole life, around 40 years.
Some people are born better than us working stiffs and somehow they all end up in the legislature. They deserve to get rewarded for their halos. According to Open Secrets dot org, Kasich was worth approximately $15,649,094 in 2014.
This is who he is. – an angry, petulant, disrespectful, entitled person who cares nothing for anyone but himself. He is not compassionate or moderate. He is the embodiment of white male privilege. I’m sorry for anyone who had to deal with him on that flight. We did it for eight years in Ohio so I feel your pain.
Assuming he was paid upfront and not an upgrade I get not wanting to leave. I get the pilot contract thing but this sounds to be yet another case of what is effectively an oversold situation from bad airline logistics which are their problem for the same reason that if I miss my flight or want to change it I don’t automatically get to change for free because of my own poor planning. Now maybe they offered him $1,000 and the next flight but I think they would have probably said that if so and I’m not agreeing it’s okay to automatically take someone else’s seat but the complaining person seems to have correctly calculated that she is getting some good publicity out of all of this and maybe will even get a new sitcom out of it. Also, as someone like him who has no doubt flown private more than I’ve flown commercial it really isn’t fair to move him to coach as he knows what he’s missing. I’ve flown private just enough that I die a little inside every time someone takes the middle seat next to me when I’m flying southwest.
@8bb8b8. How can it be be an oversold flight? Pilots free free
If this is all it takes to confuse John Kadich, he has no business being President of the US.
I guess it would depend if he had a paid for first class seat or he received an upgrade – complimentary or not. If he paid, he should get what he paid for. If he was comped, he should also get what he actually paid for. No defense of him offered. Politicians think they are gods.
While the Gov was wrong, the airline was worse; the traveling pilot should have sat on the jump seat in the cockpit, or taken a coach seat. Paying customers have become unimportant to the airlines. They forget who pays for their services. I am about to buy a jet card and stop using the commercial airlines at all. American was the best of them, but they have joined the rest in mistreating customers, especially their loyalty flyers. Too bad.
Alaska-you have got to be kidding. Give me a break. . Moving him for a pilot. Really lessens my confidence in Alaska if it terns out you buy a ticket and suddenly it means nothing. Bad on Alaska.
Last minute surprise that the pilot needed to be in this flight? If I paid for that seat, I’m sitting in it! Put the pilot in the later flight!
I always fly Delta. I always see pilots flying in economy, unless there’s something open in first class. Sounds like something else was going on.
If i paid for a first class ticket and got downgraded for a pilot I wouldn’t be happy either. Especially on a long flight. One would just hope someone of Kasich’s stature would handle this in a civil manner. Showing a little bit of class can go a long way, something neither party seems to understand.
It’s obvious that the majority of comments are from people that don’t know this is liable to happen on any airline. Just because you’ve been upgraded to first class doesn’t mean you get to keep it. Also, what you paid for the ticket, how early you checked in and employee contract are considered. Sad world when people think the are entitled or they can make this politically connected.
Most Airline pilots have contracts that state that they are to fly first class. The reasoning behind this is so that they can be well rested to safely fly the public.
Most politicians fly around on taxpayer money. Do they really need to fly first class?
Kasich did a nice job on Ohio’s budget and managing the State, but ever since suffers from crybaby Trump Derangement Syndrome and is now. RINO. He has no chance to unseat the Donald in the primary.
What needs to be noted here, is that Kasich gave up his seat, for the pilot, but took another “paying” passenger’s seat. No matter how you slice it, it’s the behavior of a spoiled over-privileged brat.
So… did you know that John Kasich’s dad was a mailman??? Yes, he told us so during the 2016 election approximately 8966 times.
Oh, and recall, he was a blip on the radar in terms of the fraction of a percent of people who wanted him to be the RINO… errr, I mean… the Republican nominee for President until all the other RINOs left the race, and then he earned a very solid 1-2% performance afterward. Then, he stayed in the race till the absolute end, months after he had zero chance for the nomination. Even today, while he regularly bashes Trump, he still thinks he’s presidential timber. No… he’s first class all right – a first class dick. This just solidifies what all of us except his similarly deluded RINO friends know and think about him.
This airline, any airline, has no right to put their dead heading staff in the best seats when they are occupied by paying, or upgraded customers. I do see this on other airlines from time to time, but it is a poor business decision when customer loyalty is at stake. I know it upsets me when I see it.
This is all about Customer Service. If Alaska Airlines thinks it’s employees are more valuable than the passengers that pay their salaries, then they should sell the company. Are you serious -this is insulting. Pilots don’t fly the plane with 1st Class Seating – go up in the cockpit & look at their seats. The Pilot should have sat in the open Coach Seat & this story is a NON issue. Wow
What else could you expect from someone who thinks he is above the rest of us. His ego is bigger than his brain and decency index.
Do all of you who don’t want a pilot to take a first class seat, do you want that pilot who is possibly tired from flying over their time limit, to fly you on your next trip???? No one knew what the reason was for the pilot to be given a first class seat. And I wouldn’t have gladly given up my seat to Kasich for any reason. He is a self centered, egotistical, whinny, Commycrat.
My husband was bumped from an overseas flight where he had a paid first class seat because they changed the equipment to a smaller plane. He moved but the gave him three seats in economy to straight out, brought him a first class meal and a voucher for $4000 to any where he wanted to go . He understood the airline had donc their best so he was nice about it. Since he flew that flight somewhat regularly the staff remembered him and his further flights were well served. Extra treats etc. You catch more flies with honey than vinegar, Mr Kasic.
Typical airline screw-up…bumping real people for pilots. Why didn’t he sit in the jump seat? What a bunch of jerks on this airline. And all they paid for was this lady’s flatbread? Duh.
No wonder airlines are the lowest rated businesses, next to the media, in America.
This is SO WRONG! Pilots are employees. Employees are lower than ANY paying customer. Stupid gate agents doing WRONG by the customer.
Once the upgrade is done TOO LATE Alaska! PLAN BETTER!!! Stop screwing the customer to fix YOUR scheduling issues. Put the pilot in COACH and be done with it. Why did the pilot need First? I bet there were plenty of business execs on that flight that had meetings and needed to be 100% up to speed too when they landed, but they were stuck in coach. Deal with it.
I have personally seen too many pilots put in FC on Alaska. They try to hide the fact, but you see them a mile away. Their fake cover stories are so obvious. I finally told one once his act wasn’t working. Too bad that Alaska employees think THEY are worth more than paying customers.
Pilots need to drop their god complex too. They are a DRAIN on the company financially compared to the rest of the millions of employees, so need to temper their beliefs.
Probably singled out by some liberal airline employee who hates Republicans. You tell me what are the odds he was randomly selected. Just another Democrat showing their shallow vindictive bias.
Since you cannot reply to comments on here, I am posting again after reading all these pro-pilot posts now.
All these pro-pilot posts must be friends and families of pilots. The reality is that a DOCTOR, a CEO, or other person making life and death decisions could be on that plane. It is OK for them to be in coach but pilots must be “fresh” in First Class? LOL….
This is Alaska First Class. Domestic First Class is NOTHING like international First Class and Alaska’s seats on the 737’s do NOT recline even on the 6 hour flights so not that much better, so these “rested” comments not based in the reality for flying Alaska FC. I will note this was an Airbus from the VX days and the seats in FC do recline.
The issue is also that some pilots choose to live in non-hub cities and then “fly” to work to start their day. They choose the last minute flight because they do not want to be to work early. In Alaska’s case their is ONE and ONLY flight a day, or most likely in this case the last flight of the day, so the pilot HAD to get there.
But this is the pilots issues. His action should not impact paying customers because he or Alaska planned badly. Yeah stuff happens, but Alaska creates a lot of their own drama by not staying on schedule and lax gate agents with the “they can make it up in the air” mentality..
I wouldn’t have gotten out of my seat for Godzilla. If Alaska can’t manage things better than this, they deserve a little push-back. Nice that the lady took a later flight, but no way is this the passenger’s problem. Perhaps now Alaska will take a look at their procedures so they can stop annoying their paying customers.
Something doesn’t sound right about this. Im a frequent Alaska flier and have sat beside several pilots in either premium or in the exit row… so? Did these pilots just take what was available or? I was unaware of the rule about pilots being in 1st class but it makes sense. What doesn’t make sense is this story – sounds like lack of preparation on Alaska’s part – doesn’t surprise me as I’ve seen a huge decline in Alaska across the board since their purchase of Virgin America.
next time pilot needs a female passenger’s seat the gate agent should tell him,”i’ll ‘ask ‘er (al as ka) rather than just unseat the passenger.Live up to the name Alaska
This website absolutely has the dumbest people on it. The pilot negotiated a contract that says he gets First Class when deadheading. He is going to fly another flight with ~160 people on it. If he gets bumped, an entire flight gets delayed. That inconveniences 160 people, not one. Math is hard for the spoiled and entitled I guess.
No one has explained. Did he purchase the ticket with his own funds? Did he pay the full first class fare or was he upgraded? People should know the full facts BEFORE expressing any opinion!
What kind of business long ago forgot the maxim, “the customer always comes first”. The airline industry – duh, no surprise! Bump a passenger for an employee. Only if really essential and don’t give him “first class”. That a prominent politician was the victim this time should be irrelevant, but sadly it isn’t.
Regardless of why Kasich was asked to move back to economy, or what the CBA does or doesn’t call for wrt Pilot seating, it has always been my experience that it is the crew’s job, when involuntarily moving passengers, that they actually take their assigned seat.
Rediculous airline policy. If airlines want to fly their employees priority over PAX, they shouldn’t sell those seats. Issue only surfaced in this case because a VIP was involved.
Doesn’t surprise me that a privleged, entitled politician acted that way. Aren’t they better than us “normal voting” people who put them into power? We should all be politicians.
Oh the politicians and specifically Progressive Politicians are CERTAIN that they are so much more important than the ‘serfs’. Will some one please revoke their citizenship and them to Venezuela or Somalia.
Why cant the pilot take the premium seat instead of the 1st class seat?
THIS VETERAN KNOWS THAT KaSHIT HATES COPS AND FIREFIGHTERS AND TEACHERS — REMEMBER SB 5
KaSHIT IS WORTHLESS
Based on the comments I read, the story leaves many questions unanswered. Did Kasich pay for the seat? If so, why was he chosen to be bumped? If he didn’t pay for the seat, he has no complaint. What gave Kasich the right to bump the lady? I’m almost 100% sure AS would not bump a full fare paying passenger for a deadheading pilot. Normally they would bump upgraded passengers first (those using mileage upgrades). If the story was complete, I’d bet this was a non-story.
Larry Lundberg hit it spot on. Did he pay for the first class seat? Of course he didn’t he paid for a cheap economy seat. When he got to the gate he put the arm on the gate agent telling them he was the former governor of Ohio
Etc, etc. and got himself upgraded to FC which I am sure he and his cronies
do on a regular basis. The pilot is entitled to that FC seat by contract. Of course the Fat Cat is not going to move he is entitled. The reason he was chosen to be moved, because he was upgraded from economy. Let’s not be stupid people….
While I question taking a seat from a paying customer to give it to airline staff, what makes you think Kasich was a paying customer? It’s more likely that he has enough miles earned by flying on the taxpayer that he will never have to pay again.
The power of fake news. One person reports that Kasich did something and of course it’s true, whether or not it actually is.
Any politician should be honoured that somebody pays their fares to anywhere except the devil kingdom
I am with the governor on this one. The airline was wrong. You don’t bounce a revenue passenger from first class for a non-revenue passenger employed by the airline. The airline employee should have been given the seat in coach. I have flown on Alaska airlines only once in 25 years, but it now has new nonstop service from my city to Seattle, and I was thinking of taking it. I do not think I will do that now.
I am amazed that people resent the people governing our country flying using our money. That is, after all, one of the reasons we pay taxes. I am sure most of us would not want to live the kind of lifestyle they live.
a deadheading pilot travels F/C because it was negotiated in their contract, Alaska had no choice….crew you see in coach in uniform are commuters traveling to from work and home
Kasich is a DICK
t
Why didn’t the woman take the economy seat instead of waiting for a new flight? I don’t understand why she had to wait?
I have read through most of these comments and probably few will read mine. I don’t care if he paid or if he used points or upgraded. Once confirmed you do NOT randomly or un-randomly move a customer. They should have asked for volunteers upfront before creating this situation. I would not have moved without an argument or discussion that is a long flight. But like all other news, we probably don’t know all the details. If he had made it through the primaries, I would have voted for him.
Poorly handled by Alaska. Handled worse by Mr. Kasich. So much for his “Man of the People” BS.
However..what it clearly shows is that Alaska is still a small-time, local, airline and has NO business in the Big leagues. When they merged, I thought, maybe I’ll give them a try. NOPE..I’ll stick with the adults. The adult airlines may have trouble but at least they KNOW the difference. Alaska needs to stick with the twin-engine OTTERS.
This story seems thin on facts; the title and body says he was downgraded, though one person says he doesn’t deserve the upgraded seat. Plenty of pilots travel coach/premium so needing to bump from FC sounds fishy but definitely void of enough information. Not that I like Kasich or respect him but if he was given a seat, upgrade or not, the airline should have handled it differently.
Apparently, the staff and cabin crew tried to explain this to John Kasich, but he did not understand and was confused (Statement provided by his PR team). Julie then decided to choose her battles and disembark to fly on a later flight. Why Julie did not take the premium seat either is not understood at this time.
So this means the pilots MUST fly first class? I don’t know which is worse, the airline or Kasich.
If Kasich paid for his first class seat why should he agree to be downgraded? Interesting how many made this political, almost all of them part of the mindless cult of Trump, by far the worst American President in my lifetime.
Guess the jump seat didn’t have food service.
Pilots are EMPLOYEES. They should NEVER be given seating-class priority over CUSTOMERS. If a pilot needs a SEAT in order to arrive in time to do his/her job, that’s fine, even if it does mean a bump. but stick them in ECONOMY.
Pilots in general are entitled a-holes. They are bus drivers, no more, no less, and in general their jobs are easier than a bus driver’s. About 99.9% of all air travel is automated and would work just fine with no pilots at all. And in the 0.1% of cases where some atypical event requires skilled intervention, studies show that the pilots make things WORSE about as often as they make things BETTER. Let’s implement 100% automation of flying of commercial aircraft ASAP!
And why couldn’t the PILOT have gone to the extra legroom seat instead of the paying customer??? What bulls…! They often fly in coach, so this sounds fishy!!
And why couldn’t the PILOT have gone to the extra legroom seat instead of the paying customer??? They often fly in coach, so this sounds fishy!!
Let’s get real Kasich showed up at the the gate with an economy ticket. Like all these entitled politicians went to the boarding agent and put the arm on him or her for an upgrade. Normally that works out fine as they always get taken care of because of who they are. In this case they needed that seat.
They had every right to return him to his original coach seat that he paid for.
What nerve to take another passengers seat that he did not pay for. The airline did everything correct, I applaud them. Who the hell does he think he is?
There have been several comments made here stating, unequivocally, that Alaska Airlines pilots have a contractual right to fly First Class on “deadhead” positioning flights. Does anyone know for certain if that is actually true? As well, others have stated that Kasich had been upgraded from Coach, and was being downgraded because of the last-minute seating issue in the F cabin, and that he was not travelling on a First Class fare. Again, can anyone say with certainty if that is true? No matter what, it DOES appear Kasich was applying the “Somebody may be losing their front cabin seat, but it won’t be ME because I’m a VIP” logic, which would be no surprise to anyone who has seen the video of Kasich screeching at length about a highway patrol officer daring to pull him over for speeding.