Gotham Gossipist: Alec's Apology
American Airlines messed with the wrong celebrity when they kicked Alec Baldwin off of a flight Tuesday for playing Words with Friends.
Baldwin, you see, is a regular contributor to The Huffington Post, and used the site as a platform for a not-so-apologetic apology on Wednesday.
Baldwin starts off with an apology to his fellow passengers, but quickly changes the tone of his blog to that of berating the airline (perhaps all airlines) for their treatment of passengers. The '30 Rock' actor insists that he was singled out while countless other passengers used their phones to Tweet, text and conduct business, "It was never my intention to inconvenience anyone with my 'issue' with a certain flight attendant."
"I was singled out by this woman in the most unpleasant of tones," he said. "I guess the fact that this woman, who had decided to make some example of me, while everyone else was left undisturbed, did get the better of me."
Baldwin continued his "apology", noting the financial hardship airlines face, and implying that airlines now use it to justify sub-par service, "I believe carriers and airports have used that as an excuse to make the air travel experience as inelegant as possible." He continued on to compare air-travel with that of Greyhound bus service.
Reminiscent of a better, classier, time in air-travel history, Baldwin said the level of service on U.S. carriers has deteriorated "to a point that would make Howard Hughes red-faced." Including, he wrote " "Filthy planes, barely edible meals, cuts in jet service to less-traveled locations."
Howard Hughes saved his own urine. I'm not sure he'd be all that upset about you not being allowed to play Scrabble on your phone.
That was quite an apology, Alec.
For it's part, American Airlines took to Facebook to defend the actions of their employees and claimed that Baldwin was disrespectful to the staff of the flight and not compliant to air safety regulations.
