You can’t drive drunk. You can’t operate heavy machinery on NyQuil. And you can’t fly angry. At least according to US Airways. Consumerist picked up a story of a traveler who was hoping that US Airways would price match a ticket that he had purchased to the new, lower price. US Airways informed him that they couldn’t match the lower fare. When he expressed his true feelings about the airline’s inability to be polite corporate citizens, he was told that angry is the new al Qaeda.
Just check out this exchange from his conversation with customer service (CS):
CS: “Did you say you were going to be angry on the flight?”
James: “I totally did. If I know that the guy sitting next to me spent $150 less for his seats than me, you better believe I’m not going to be happy.”
CS: “Well, if you’re telling me you’re going to be angry I’m going to notify security.”
A representative from US Airways Executive Relations later reiterated that James had said that he was “going to be angry, and that’s one of the words we look out for.”
I’d love to know what other words get you added to the watch list. And is it just for security? If I say that I’m parched, do they warn the bartenders in the airport lounge? If I mention that I’m horny, are the flight attendants put on high alert (sorry Heather)?
So add vocabulary profiling to the list of airline security techniques. And the worst part? Now real terrorists know not to tell their customer service reps that they are angry. Beware of the happy man with a one-way ticket.
Who else got into trouble in the skies?