A disgruntled Alaska Airlines passenger has gone viral for all the wrong reasons after he was booted from a recent red-eye flight because of a dispute over a neck pillow.
The man was filmed by a seatmate getting into a verbal argument with a customer service supervisor who had been tasked with the unenviable job of trying to convince him to deplane just before takeoff.
Guy removed from Alaska Red Eye flight for not complying
byu/sylvester1981 inAirRagers
Unwilling to give up his seat because he needed to be in New Orleans by morning or risk being fired, the man refused the offer of being accommodated on the next available flight, as it would arrive too late in the Big Easy.
His alleged crime was for wanting to use what is described as the ‘world’s best engineered neck pillow’ – a $39 neck pillow, no less, that straps to the seatback or headrest to prevent the all-too-common whiplash routine that so many travelers have to endure.
Clearly, this man wanted to get as much sleep as possible on this overnight flight so that he could wake up refreshed and ready to get to work straight away, but one of the flight attendants had an issue with the neck pillow being attached to the seat for takeoff.
While the initial interaction between the flight attendant and the First Class passenger wasn’t caught on camera, he allegedly took issue with being told to remove the pillow for taxi and takeoff.
At that point, the ground staff were called in and a decision was made to boot the passenger and book him on the next available flight.
The uncomfortable exchange between the ground staff and the passenger was caught on camera in a more than three-minute video, which was originally shared on TikTok before being reposted on other social media channels.
The man points out that he bought the neck pillow in an airport concession and had used it on multiple other flights, so he assumed there shouldn’t be any issue.
Potentially identified as the Evolution S3 neck pillow, made by well-known travel pillow company Cabeau, the device has what the manufacturer describes as an “innovative Seat Strap System,” which straps to the headrest to keep the wearer from falling forward.
In the last few years, there has been a proliferation of travel comfort devices that have come to market, although it can be hard for the companies behind these devices to get specific approval from airlines or aviation regulators for their use on planes.
This isn’t necessarily an issue, but it’s hard for airlines to keep on top of all of these comfort devices and decide which ones are okay or whether some restrictions or a complete ban need to be imposed.
One of the issues is whether a device could cause an issue in an emergency evacuation, might damage part of the plane, or restrict the comfort of other passengers.
There’s nothing to suggest that Sleeper Hold can’t be used on airplanes, but some flight attendants err on the side of caution and, like in this case, impose restrictions for takeoff and landing.
At this point, it’s often futile to argue, or you run the risk of being booted from the flight – no matter how good your argument is.
So he decides to act like a child and gets booted?? Unbuckle the damn pillow for takeoff and arrive in NO on time and with your job intact.
All passengers have to comply with crew member instructions whether you want to or not. It’s right in the rules when you buy your ticket and the make the announcement on every single flight. If he hadn’t acted like a jerk and had just waited 10 minutes to put his pillow up after takeoff, he would have been fine. But since he argued with the flight attendants like a spoiled brat they decided it was safer and more peaceful for everyone if he didn’t fly..
Without video of him being a creep about not removing the pillow, I’m taking the passenger’s side here. The staff of Alaska Airlines, particularly in Seattle, are infiltrated with karens. There are essentially two classes of folks – Karens and Karen-enablers. I experienced it last week, the gate staff requiring people to check bags when the plan had very much ample overhead space. All passengers who appealed their requirement were threatened to be banned from boarding.
Follow instructions or get off. It is quite simple.