The Alec Baldwin story comes to us from the New York Daily News so it’s a bit hyperbolic.
The lead is that Baldwin “was bumped to coach on a red-eye home from Sundance” although reading the story he appears to have had a first class ticket but he changed flights onto one without any first class seats available.
Baldwin had been booked on a Delta flight out of Salt Lake City International Airport to Kennedy with his pregnant wife Hilaria, and their 16-month-old baby, Carmen. But according to a source on the flight, the family – who were weighed down with lots of Louis Vuitton luggage – switched flights last minute and ran into problems.
Apparently Baldwin is not a fan of Delta’s revenue management procedures.
So he and Hilaria and the baby moved back to coach. He was pissed and was overheard saying he will never fly Delta again.
United tends to fill their first class cabin before upgrades are handled at the gate, whereas American tends to hold back first class seats. As an American flyer and a top tier elite I like this because it means when I waind up changing flights such as due to irregular operations I still frequently wind up upgraded.
The former Capital One pitchman may not have been pleased but his famous temper didn’t boil over. He flew coach overnight from Salt Lake to New York and lived to tell the tale.
- You can join the 40,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign up to receive posts by email (just one e-mail per day) or subscribe to the RSS feed. It’s free. You can also follow me on Twitter for the latest deals. Don’t miss out!
You really should edit before posting. What does this mean: “United tends to fill their first class cabin before to the gate, whereas American tends to hold back first class seats. As an American flyer and a top tier elite I like this because it means when I waind up changing flights such as due to irregular operations I still frequently wind up upgraded.”
@Mark,
Granted English isn’t my native language, but I too have no clue what Gary is trying to say. I do enjoy the drunk-improv style of writing that Gary tends to demonstrate.
+1. clarify/edit your post please
Flying commercial?
The poor guy.
Why do you put a baby and a pregnant wife on a redeye? I have to believe he’s got more flexibility of schedule than the rest of us.
So I would assume he booked revenue tickets in First for this trip? If so I would think the cost would be getting into the ballpark of a private plane for someone with this influence.
Can you imagine jammed in the back of a Delta red eye and Alec comes back to sit next to you in a middle seat?
@Corky – a 16-month old can sleep anywhere, so a redeye may be perfect, and, all other things equal, be less stressful for everyone. I always used to take my kids on redeyes – yes, I was a bit less rested, but they were far happier and much less cranky at the destination. And ‘a pregnant wife’ isn’t something you ‘put’ anywhere – she’s an actual human being who knows her own preferences, and can make her own decisions. Maybe she made the reservation?
How about Alec between two young men starting out on their mission.
He’s going to run out of airlines to boycott pretty soon. He swore to never fly AA again after the “Words with Friends” incident.
All- What he is saying above is that united will hand out elite upgrades all the way to a full F cabin before day of departure/during check in… American tends to hold out on processing some elite upgrades until boarding begins to allow flight changes for F customers.
Alec is a dunce. If you switch flights, you lose your seat as most planes are packed. Also stupid for flying redeye on such a short itinerary, particularly when you can splurge for another night in a nice hotel (of which there are plenty in Park City).
I guess he is learning that Capital One points are not as good as top tier elite status.
He could always fly Spirit or Allegiant….If he doesn’t like these options then shut the @#&# up!