A United Airlines pilot, 51 year old Bruce Wayne Wallis, was arrested for running “a string of brothels in apartment complexes throughout Houston.”
Apparently he had “a half-dozen brothel apartments with six to 10 women in each one.” The women paid him “$400 a week to ply their trade.”
Let’s assume 48 prostitutes at $400 a week, he was taking in about a million dollars a year less expenses. That’s twice what what the flight attendant for a Gulf carrier made actually sleeping with passengers inflight. And no doubt a lot more than the Japanese flight attendants were making who were doing it to make up for declining wages at their airline.
As so often happens in these cases, 19 women were arrested on prostitution charges. No clients were arrested. No details of the ages of the women or circumstances were revealed.
However did the cops figure out it? (Not an actual photo of the apartments.)
The pilot “has been “removed from flight duties,” but currently remains employed at” United. So he’s no longer flying the friendly skies, but is out on $15,000 bond.
As for the business model, the Department of Homeland Security inspector general discovered in the secret service prostitution scandal that agents could avoid second guest charges in a room by joining Hilton HHonors. And naive people are renting out their homes on Airbnb for prostitution. The pilot, however, appears to have used fixed apartments rather than Airbnb or hotel rooms.
Despite being a pilot, it seems his was an entirely local operation. Travel costs can eat into profits. For instance former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer was only willing to pay for Amtrak’s regional train between New York and DC for women despite spending as much as $80,000 for services.
The biggest remaining question here is: What kind of ad will Spirit Airlines run?
(HT: @ExpertFlyer)
Now that could be a really ‘Flyer Friendly’ layover in Houston for someone so inclined
Something Special in the Air?
United Rising?
I thought they only break guitars
Love how you do the financial data on the operation lol
So that’s why UA pilots often send us their business cards with a “thank you” message on the back. Didn’t realize we were to call that number for “special services”. Or was it just Global Services who got those benefits, we 1Ks didn’t rate?
Wow this is pretty insane. Why even continue being a pilot with that much income coming in?
I also love the line about signing up for HHonors to get an extra guest. I feel like if you’re already being pretty discrete…why tell them you’re having an extra guest?
People crack me up; glad they’re cleaning up all these scandals.
Now we know what the airlines really mean when they say they are running revenue based programs?
“Is that a roll of quarters in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?”
“We love to fly and it shows.”
I doubt if any UA FAs are involved in this enterprise!
Yeah, most of the UA FA’s wouldn’t be involved. They’re too old for sex!
I thought this was an onion article at first, seeing that his name was Bruce Wayne!
I knew of a United Purser based in LAX, originally from Iceland, an ex Pan Am Purser who use to sell her personal services in Sydney. Then she started buying Sleeping pills, which was so called “footballs” temezepam illegal sleeping pills, also Valium, and other illegal substances, she would sell them in the US. She had a deal with the pharmacy in Sydney to buy these illegal drugs cheap and sell them. Also, she stole First Class blankets from United Flights SYD-LAX and she was suspended. She was caught by Sydney Customs with the blankets in her bag. She use to steal the Dom Perignon’s and the fancy First Class bottles and sell them to the hotel staff in Sydney and buy cig in duty free and sell them in Sydney. She felt that United ripped her off … so she had to make the money somehow. She still has her passport from Iceland as due to some legal problems she is not able to get her US citizenship. Flight Attendants and Pilots have been rising at United since the paycuts. Not the friendly skies anymore….
Valuable commentary – I was fascinated by the information , Does anyone know if I would be able to get a blank DA 2446 copy to fill out ?
Wow, this United Airlines pilot’s double life is both shocking and concerning. Running a brothel operation while maintaining a position with the airline is unbelievable. The lack of arrests for clients and limited details on the circumstances raise eyebrows. It’s unsettling to think about the potential dark underbelly within seemingly reputable industries