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Kevin Smith Has Another Airline Horror Story For You!
By
John Del Signore
Published Dec 7, 2010
Modified Dec 7, 2010
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By
John Del Signore
Published Dec 7, 2010
Modified Dec 7, 2010
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Oh goody, it's another entertaining flight story from filmmaker Kevin Smith, who really needs to do a movie about commuter air travel, and call it I Can't Get Up in the Air (or Aircomplane?). You may recall that the husky director (or, in his words, the "big fat-ass") previously slammed Southwest as "size-ist" for removing him from a flight because he was a "safety risk." Today's story doesn't directly relate to Smith's size, but with Virgin's refusal to let him on a flight at JFK yesterday because he arrived at the gate ten minutes before his scheduled departure. In a detailed blog post, Smith explains how he flies in the wake of the "Southworst" debacle:
After Southwest did its level-headed best to alienate large passengers everywhere, I was off flying for awhile, sticking strictly to my beloved bus - the last refuge of the oversized traveler with a Jay-and-Silent-Bob-lined bank account. But in order to attend the Walter Gretzky street hockey tournament in Brandtford this summer, I HAD to fly again (we couldn’t make it in time driving, due to a previous engagement).
So I bit the bullet and got on another plane, for the first time in months. And when I sat down, the fella next to me smiled and asked “They gonna throw you off this plane too?” And the next three flights I took, it was the same. Even worse: when you fly first, you board first, sit down… and then EVERYONE files past you. And when you’re the Too Fat To Fly guy on a plane? Well, everyone stares. Then the whispering starts. A hundred people look right at you - when you’re not on a stage. It kinda blows.
But Affleck told me that when he flies, he uses a concierge service: a company that works with the airport and each airlines. Their job is to get you to the plane on time, but not when boarding begins; that way, you don’t have to play the Elephant Man for passengers passing you en route to their seats. Essentially, you board last. The entire service is designed to get you to the plane door shortly before the door closes.
Well, you might as well just read the whole damn thing on Smith's blog. The long story short is that when they arrived at the gate, a Virgin employee was closing the door and—although he saw Smith & Co. calling to him as they approached—continued closing it and refused to let them on, even though Chasing Amy is hilarious. Problematically, Smith and his wife's luggage was already being loaded onto the plane, and his wife's bag contained medication she needs to take every eight hours. But after their pleading went nowhere, Smith blogged all about it, resulting in a swift apology and refund from Virgin! See, there is justice in this world (for celebrities who aren't afraid to complain).
Tagged
air travel
JFK
jfk airport
kevin smith
virgin
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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