Kevin Smith Has Airline Trouble Again

 Kevin Smith Has Airline Trouble Again

Since having issues with Southwest airlines back in February over his being too large for their seats, thing have been pretty quiet for Kevin Smith – until recently. The actor/director blogged about his terrible experience with Virgin airlines on Monday.

Kevin and his wife were scheduled to fly from JFK to San Francisco, so they checked in and waited in a departure lounge with a “paid concierge” (someone paid to escort travelers to board their flights on time.)


He blogged:

“Boarding started at 11:15, and we arrived at the gate at 11:35 – a full 10 minutes before scheduled departure,” Smith wrote in a blog post on Monday. “But as we reached the gate, we saw a man closing the door … We told him we were on the flight and he told us it was too late; the flight was closed. It was 11:36.”

Even though they were booked for first class seats, they were told there was nothing that could be done, including retrieving their bags from the plane, which contained Kevin’s wifes’ medications.

“They didn’t even TRY to call someone about getting the bags off,” Smith wrote. “And still, the plane sat right there at the jetway still attached. Our bags could’ve EASILY been removed in the time that the jet remained parked at the gate (or we could’ve been permitted to board).”

He did explain why they waited until 10 minutes before departure to attempt to board the plane:

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.”

Kevin did share that Virgin has tried to correct the situation with:

“lovely, apologetic email, full refund for flight, free tix offer – all before I’ve landed. I appreciate the gesture/effort.”

Wow. I’ve honestly not heard anything bad about Virgin before – only people who gush about the great service, etc. Have you had any experiences with them?

Photos by WENN