Relax, Celebrities: Your Secret is Safe with American Airlines

March 30, 2010 | Posted in: Airfare News,Airline News,News,Passengers

I saw a story today about actor Jim Belushi’s alleged “in-flight altercation” with an American Airlines flight attendant, but I think the real story is the discretion and good sense of the airline so as not to add to the drama – or acknowledge a celebrity customer.

The whole thing supposedly started, says TMZ, when a flight attendant tried to wake Belushi up as his LA to Las Vegas flight was coming in for a landing. Per the tabloid, the actor supposedly made a scene and Vegas cops were called but there were no arrests or anything like that.

And American, per another media outlet, wasn’t commenting because its “passenger privacy policy” prohibits that. In fact, they don’t even acknowledge Belushi was on that flight (nor will the carrier say if Sandra Bullock took an AA flight from Austin to LA this week, as some sites reported).

I suspect most airlines are similarly discreet – and that’s a good thing. Although it begs the question: how did TMZ hear about it?

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5 Responses to “Relax, Celebrities: Your Secret is Safe with American Airlines”

1. Boston says:

   March 31, 2010 at 11:59 am

   Gee um, hmm, let’s think for second. HOW DID they hear about Mr. Belushi? Could it be that there were a couple hundred other people, not involved otherwise nor employed by American Airlines, sitting on that same flight where an obvious celebrity was making a childish scene on a commercial plane while in flight, and therefore creating a potential hazard in the air? It is enough to alarm anyone. I suspect this scene could have made the news even if a celebrity were not involved. Any moron knows the rules and standard of etiquette required on airlines for the public’s safety, especially these days. Possibly any one or more of the innocent bystanders, in this year of 2010, could have freely Tweeted or emailed away the exact scenario at the moment of landing? Yes, that’s it! Your begging question wondering how TMZ found out about this has been answered.
2. Rick Seaney says:

   March 31, 2010 at 1:55 pm

   Boston,

   And here I was, assuming that those hordes of camera-wielding TMZ kids were everywhere…

   Regards,
   Rick
3. Bill S. says:

   April 1, 2010 at 4:30 am

   Hey, anyone else would have been arrested and taken away to jail! So, the elite celebirties can get away with it! Sounds to me like a double standard!
4. Rick Seaney says:

   April 1, 2010 at 8:30 am

   Bill,

   I don’t think we have all the details to warrant that kind of speculation; you could be right, but, it’s possible the airline overreacted.

   Signed,
   Non-celebrity Rick
5. Sharon says:

   April 1, 2010 at 1:14 pm

   “Jim’s rep told us, “American Airlines could not have handled the situation better to ensure his safety. Next time he wants to take a 40-minute nap, he’ll be booking American Airlines.”

   His safety? What a tool. How about the safety of everyone else who might have been harmed by the ridiculous behavior of a (non) celebrity?