Season 6 Idol alum, Chris Sligh, was kicked off a US Airways flight yesterday causing him to miss a gig. It happened after an “intense discussion” with a flight attendant who refused to allow him to put his $4000 guitar in an overhead bin. According to Chris, after a flight attendant reported that Chris threatened to kill him/her, he was removed from the flight.
The lengthy blog Chris wrote about the incident describes a scenario that includes a pissed off flight attendant who lied to get him kicked off. Flying has become such a grueling experience for so many reasons–overbooked and crowded flights, constant delays, ridiculous surcharges–I’ll usually just opt to drive if it’s possible. Read Chris’s tale of woe below. ( Chrissligh.com)
I can’t stand flying USAirways. I have flown the airline about 30 times in the last 4 years and have not had 1 experience ever that was not bad. The airline is run poorly, the employees come across as hating their jobs and a seeming disdain for the customers, and the flights are nearly always uncomfortable. I just try – at all costs – to avoid them.
Tonight, I was to fly a red eye flight from San Diego to Raleigh-Durham where I had to rent a car, head over to Winston-Salem, play a show, then head back to Denver to lead worship Sunday.
I had a great experience at the San Diego airport (as I have the 3 times I’ve flown in and out) and got through security nicely and quickly. I got to my gate and my flight began loading. I was in Zone 4. It came time for my zone to board and as I got to the front of the line, they looked at my guitar and a guy named Jo Jo said, “You’ll have to put the guitar below in the cargo bay.”
I shook my head and said, “Man, this is a $4000 guitar…I really can’t do that, if at all possible. If I get on the flight and it doesn’t fit then I’ll put it below, but I’d love the chance to see if there is room.”
Then I turned to talk to another gate attendant who was explaining to me why I couldn’t take it on. Eventually I just said, “Look, I fly 200 times a year and don’t normally have problems…let’s just see if it fits.” They nodded and I turned and walked down the ramp.
I got to the plane and went immediately to the first class flight attendant and asked if they had a closet. He said no that I had to check it and I replied the same answer… “Let’s see if there’s room first.”
I walked down the aisle and got about ¾ of the way to my seat and I was happy to see that there were about 8 full cargo bins that were partially or completely free of bags. I took off my guitar and began to put it in one of the bins when another flight attendant came walking briskly up and said, “I’m sorry, sir, you’ll have to check that.”
At this point I almost laughed. I mean…there were 8 bins completely free of luggage. There was absolutely no reason besides blind stubbornness on their parts that I couldn’t put my guitar in the bin. We talked quietly for a short moment and she said, “Look, you can either come with me and take your guitar to the front to be put below, or you can catch another flight. It doesn’t matter to me.”
Still not understanding the attitude I was getting, I relented simply because I didn’t want to make a scene. As we walked forward I said (word for word): “I hope you know how freaking ridiculous this is. There are 8 bins free of bags that this would fit in.”
“That isn’t the point, ” she said. “You can’t put guitars on board anymore.”
So this whole time, there is apparently a new rule in place and no one mentions it till then? Um…
So, we get to the front and I’m discussing it with the first class flight attendant who, by the way, was a real cocky jerk. We discussed it more…I didn’t raise my voice, though I did talk intensely.
I said, “Guys, this is ridiculous…I mean, do you ever wonder why your airline is just tanking?”
“Well, ” he said, “When we go out of business, you can fly whoever you want.”
I replied, “Are you kidding me? I fly whoever I want now. Every time I’ve flown with you in the last 4 years, you’ve screwed something up. Lost my bags, busted up a guitar, made me miss a flight. I mean, seriously, you guys are literally the worst.”
“Well, why fly with us?”
“Because this is the only flight that I could take to get where I need to be. If there was any other way, believe me, I would’ve avoided it. And right now you guys are just proving me right. I wish you didn’t. It stinks…I really wish you didn’t prove me right. I just want to have a good flight and get to my destination without my guitar being busted up.”
“Why fly with your guitar if it’s so valuable, then?”
“Because it is my job, dude. I get paid to do this. Anyway, look, “I said, as I handed him my guitar, “If you break this guitar, I will sue the company, so please, please, please…please be careful.”
He then took the guitar with one hand, allowing it to swing and bang against the cupboard behind him. I groaned and he just walked off the plane.
“Freaking ridiculous!” I said under my breath as I walked back to my seat.
I then tweeted about how USAirways had treated me. I sat for about 10 minutes, and then Jo Jo from the gate came walking down the aisle.
“Mr. Sligh, you had the guitar below?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have any other carry ons?”
“Yes.”
“Can you grab it and come with me, please?”
“Um, sure.” At this point, I began to worry a little, but I figured they’d have me come off and talk to me about the situation, explain their side, I’d complain a little bit more (knowing it was ineffective, but allowing them to register my displeasure) and we’d move on with life (and the flight).
We got off the flight and in the breezeway, he says, “Mr. Sligh, you threatened to kill one of the flight attendants, so we have to remove you from this flight.”
I was taken aback. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! What are you talking about?!! Are you kidding me right now? Is this some kind of joke?” I looked around for the cameras thinking somehow Justin Beiber liked me on Idol and, despite my lack of fame now, decided to punk me. “I threatened to kill someone? Wait, seriously, what are you talking about.”
“I’m sorry Mr. Sligh”, the flight attendant said “you threatened to kill them so we can’t let you on this flight.”
“No, wait, dude, I have to be on this flight. I have a show tomorrow…this is a massive misunderstanding. I never said anything to anyone…never threatened anyone. Look at me…I’m a 300 pound chubby, funny musician…I’ve never fought with anyone. Let me talk to whoever I supposedly threatened…we can work this out.”
“I’m sorry Mr. Sligh, but you have been removed from the flight. You’ll need to come with me.”
“Let me talk to whoever I supposedly threatened. What did I supposedly say? I said that I would sue if they broke my guitar…but I didn’t threaten anyone…ever!”
“I’m sorry Mr. Sligh, you have been removed from the flight. Let’s go up to the gate, please.”
This went on, round and round, for a few minutes till I finally went to the gate. I was trying to control myself, but, in the moment I lost it. I definitely yelled at Jo Jo. I later apologized and asked his forgiveness…it wasn’t Jo Jo’s fault. He was put into a bad situation by another person’s lie. Instead of simply dealing with my instrument rightly and being careful with it…they decided to kick me off the flight.
They called the cops to the gate (apparently if someone gets kicked off a flight, the cops are called) and the cops talked to me and to Jo Jo. They had no proof of anything and by the time the cops got there, I was basically calmed down. They were cool and recognized me from Idol and were very very nice. So thanks to the S.D. Harbor Police…very nice guys!
Anyway, one of the cops said to me, “Man, there’s nothing we can do, there’s nothing you can do. If the airline decides not to put you on a flight they can do that. They just see a dude angry about his guitar going underneath and they don’t know if you’re gonna be a problem.”
I replied, “But, officer, I was on the plane for 10 minutes after that and nothing happened…I didn’t talk to anyone, I didn’t make a stink. I sat down and said nothing. I mean, what indication do they have that I’m gonna be a problem? I didn’t even raise my voice on the plane! It is absolutely silly.”
“It is. But some times you run into people on a power trip that wanna prove that they can do what they wanna do. It’s like any job. Some times it’s cops. Some times it’s a flight attendant. And they have the power.”
And that made me wanna throw up. Basically, a flight attendant made a baseless claim that I threatened to kill them, and lost me $3000 in the process (by me not being able to do my show this weekend). I also lost the chance to minister with one of my favorite radio stations (Winston-Salem’s Christian Station) because of this.
All anyone had to do was come to me and say, “Mr. Sligh, the flight attendant is worried that there might be a problem with you…can you assure us that everything will be okay?” if they thought I’d be a problem. My response would have been immediately apologetic. I don’t want to be a problem. I’ve had to put my guitar down below before several times and I’m sure I will have to several times in the future. I’m not happy about it and I want to make sure that the airline understands how valuable the instrument is so they take care of it…but ultimately I don’t wish anyone any ill will or harm. I just want to get to the destination safe and sound (and hopefully with guitar intact).
But no one asked me. It escalated from me saying “this is freaking ridiculous” and sitting quietly in my seat to them kicking me off a flight and affecting my life in multiple ways….least of which is the fact that I have lost anywhere from $2500-3500 in income (I have already paid for flights, already paid for rental cars, already paid my merch guy, already paid booking, etc.)
It’s ridiculous. And someone at USAirways needs to pay for this wrong. It needs to be made right. I’m researching options and will let you know how and if you can help.
