Ted Cruz Flies United Home To Face Angry Texans, As Everyone Else Gets Upgraded But Him

Senator Ted Cruz left the country on Wednesday, flying United Airlines with his family to Cancun, as millions of Texans were without power during a once-in-a-generation weather event and near collapse of the state’s power grid. Many more (including me) are without water.

While there’s arguably little he could do as a federal officeholder to help state regulators, the state’s power grid, or local utilities, his departure was controversial. On the way out, he didn’t get the upgrade. (His family doesn’t seem to appear on the upgrade list.)

Some folks were imagining this is what was happening down in Cancun:

However it appears that Cruz turned around and flew home to Texas today on United and it looks like everyone else on the upgrade list cleared while United left Cruz in back.

It’s possible that Cruz always planned to fly his family down to a resort in Mexico to wait out the unpleasantness that the rest of Texas was in the middle of, returning back to the U.S. right away. Does it matter if his absence from the U.S. was only a day, and that he wanted his family not to have to endure the cold others are facing?

Either way, missing his upgrades, Cruz or his staff probably needs to pay more attention to how much easier United is making it to earn higher levels of status in 2021.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. Jeff come back we need more right sided thinkers on this left sided blog!!! Rust and Scott good job
    I do not remember seeing much about the Democrat Mayor Of Austin Texas-Steve Adler took himself and 8 friends on a private jet to Cabo–Mexico. .While there he issued a Stay in Place SIP order via a PSA made from his villa in Cabo…. Nice the Hypocrisy of the left…

  2. Dee,
    You got the story all wrong. Cruz blasted the Austin Mayor in December for doing that and it was big news despite the fact that the Austin Mayor has NO national profile. Then Cruz, being a hypocrite, boarded a plane and did the same thing during a natural disaster and pandemic. Gavin Newsom in CA did the same thing with his French Laundry dinner and he is facing recall prospects. I hope the same is true for Cruz. Whether a Democratic mayor in Austin, Democratic Governor in CA, or Republican Senator- once you tell your electorate to eat cake you should be politically beheaded.

  3. YoYoPedro: What’s the matter, did I offend your membership in the “Gary Left wants to be a real journalist, but the real media won’t have him so he writes trash political exposes on a travel blog” fan club? Sorry if the truth hurts there little moron, but it’s for your own good if one day you ever decide to wake up and use the power to think that we are all born with and you and Gary choose to ignore.

    As long as this crap continues to be tossed into the world, I will continue to call who/it exactly what it is.

  4. Would anyone even have noticed he was gone if he had flown private? I assume he could afford it, it’s not to long of a trip from Texas to Cancun. He could have avoided this whole scandal…

  5. Well not going to defend ted Cruise but I hold the state legislature of Texas responsible because they have had snow before they’re just not as bad the problem is we have big power companies that control people’s lives and nothing’s being done about it from solar to water to gas in the world till we decide to control those big companies it doesn’t matter who’s in office Ted Cruz Jimmy Fallon whoever and right is on the power companies they knew way in hand that heavy snow was coming and they neglected to put or get outside of help to support the grid blame people doesn’t help people that’s the problem . They should have learned when hurricane and floods happened but they expect NFL players and others to do their jobs. God put us all here but yes I feel sorry for all who lost power but keep in mind of homeless that are out in cold every year with out power or blankets or food. Not supporting ted but my question is who paid for his travel the tax payer not him? Also he is not the first and won’t be the last government person people need to learn people u put in office care less about u and your families.

  6. Wouldn’t you have done the same for your family. He is neither an engineer, electrician, nor plumber. So stop the griping. He made a family decision and I applaud that.

  7. Cruz, Cornyn, Abbott just don’t care for common suffering people! GOP is al about me, me, me and for Rich

  8. Did the writer of this “article” work for the Cruz PR team? If it’s about aviation, then talk about aviation. If it’s political, then at least get both sides.

    When did view from the wing turn into the Republican monthly journal club?

    I’m here for aviation, not for pro Ted Cruz, anti-fact political BS.

    Why even try to defend someone who leave regular people who voted for him in a literal disaster to party at the Ritz-Carlton hotel where he went?

  9. Cruz is the one who politicized all previous disasters and blamed Democrats for leaving town. When he throws a glass stone, and does as he said others shouldn’t do, all these people on here say we shouldn’t politicize it? Are you guys joking? He’s the one who’s politicizing it. The real question is why do you think Ted Cruz shouldn’t live up to the standards that wants all other politicians to live up to? Why is he immune from his own criticism?

  10. Ted is a Republican and that’s all it took to start this madness. I myself would like to say thank you to the man that has been working hard for this country and made the decision to take his family on vacation. If we could afford it we would be doing the same thing. So sorry for all Texan’s during this time of trouble, God Bless you all.
    Btw, I’ll never fly United again.

  11. “By the way, “VIEW FROM THE WING’ IS TRASH AND OBVIOUSLY SO ARE YOU SO I’M DELEATING BOTH!”

    #ByeFelicia

  12. Evidently again the loudest mouths come fromt the liberals that can’t slam Trump. They had power to text and complain instead of trying to help their neighbors.
    What was Cruz to do if y’all could have left you would have.
    GET A LIFE and get something accomplished.

  13. Ted was ‘Cruzin away from his responsibilities to his constituents. Hope the good folks in Texas remember this come election time.

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