Giving up an exit seat for an IT Girl....

From todays Daily Mirror:

EXCLUSIVE: THE TWIT GIRL

Lady Victoria is pushed around airport in wheelchair. Passengers moved as she gets special seats on flight When jet lands she picks up her bags and walks out

By Pete Samson
Link to story

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It leads me to some questions...
1) if you had paid extra for an exit seat, would you be happy to give it up? I "presume" they got their money back, but the story doesn't state that.
2) in these circumstances, would you have reclaimed the seat anyway?
3) How could Virgin give an exit seat to someone who arrived in a wheelchair? How can they be "able bodied"?
4)a bag on the "spare" exit seat? How?
5) is this another example of the Virgin "celebrity touch" going mad again?

Any thoughts???





Edit by mod ... cut and paste story replaced by link to comply with copyright law........ Nick

If it had been me and she had appeared 'Able' I would have told her to 'move her insignificant A*se'

Who does she think she is......she's a nothing, with money !!

Originally posted by woz099
Who does she think she is......she's a nothing, with money !!

Presumably not if she was sitting in a Y seat.

Phil FM

If I'd seen her coming towards me limping and then taking my exit seat I would have politely asked the cabin crew to move her.

I have moved seats for other passengers in the past so they can sit together and I am happy to do it unless it affects me negatively.

If this situation is correctly reported then it is not something I would have put up with - unless they wanted to give me some form of generous compensation. Although I think that seeing her sulk and squashed would actually have been more of a reward.

Jilly

[preiffer]

Never even heard of her it.

Hmm. I would have enjoyed seeing her sulk too much by refusing, I think...

I wonder what had happened at check in ? Perhaps major strops were being thrown and the check in staff just wanted to get her out of their hair and into the hands (and responsibility I assume) of the cabin crew. We'll probably never know - but anyone got any contacts[}:)] ?

It does seem odd to me that the airline would recognise a "need" for an Exit seat for "need" usually implies some form of disability and as has already been noted the Exit rows are supposed to be allocated only to the able bodied.

Paul

[Neil]

hmmm not good PR for VS. I agree with the OP, surely it is not allowed for her to be sat in a Exit Row if she has a bad leg and had to be pushed in a wheelchair!! Can you imagine what she would of been like in an Emerhancy situation, more worried about braking a nail then opening the door.

These ZZZZZZ list 'celebs' (and I use the word loosly) really get my goat, they are nobody's who want to be treated like somebody's, if she paid for Y then she should get exactly the same service/benefits as all the other Y Pax, not demand Exit Rows when they have already been taken, go in J if you want more room, Grrrrrr[V]

Neil:)

Originally posted by woz099

If it had been me and she had appeared 'Able' I would have told her to 'move her insignificant A*se'

Who does she think she is......she's a nothing, with money !!

Totally agree with Woz099, i have been on the receiving end of these so called celebrities at check in and could tell you all a few stories (but wont!).[}:)]

Well its really simple & easy to be a "celebrity" these days just go out and find a footballer or pop star then **** them and sell your story![:I]However if it was me and i met Bruce Willis then i wouldnt kiss & tell (promise[:I])

Sorry folks for that just a wee "ger" moment there![:o)]

Not very good pr for Virgin i must add[:(]

I move for people who are pregnant, old etc i would not move for as preiffer but it, IT!

Originally posted by motherger
and could tell you all a few stories (but wont!).[}:)]

Oh go on! You know you want to really. Spill the beans!

I sat next to a middle ranking celeb in UC (older J2000) coming back from Miami in January. But she was the model celeb. No heirs and graces or tantrums (that I saw/heard). Wish they were all like that!

[Neil]

oh this could really go OT onto a "I was on a flight once with...... and they were.......", down to earth celebs are by far the best.

[Decker]

Please continue this (if you wish) here. Ta

Originally posted by radar

Originally posted by motherger
and could tell you all a few stories (but wont!).[}:)]

Oh go on! You know you want to really. Spill the beans!

As Decker suggested i have spilt some beans in the "met anyone famous in the Clubhouse" topic!

If she wanted a better seat, she should have paid for it - self-importance[V]

VS.

Disgusting they were even asked to move seats for this random, arrogant scumbag - however it does show a certain amount of low assertiveness that they caved in and gave up an exit row.

Originally posted by VS045
If she wanted a better seat, she should have paid for it - self-importance[V]

VS.

Yep, but from what I hear, many of these celebs are the worst for expecting everything for nothing. It stinks.

[Decker]

In fairness this is a newspaper story. For all we know the gate person (or someone else) was so overawed at having a "name" on board they took it upon themselves to try and affect the change.

I have no axe to grind either way - just seems funny that she'd waste a strop on a move within Y.

To be frank I find the whole story hard to believe. The thought that someone in a wheel chair would be allocated an exit seat (at the expense of someone who had paid for it, let alone against FAA and CAA rules) seems implausible to me. And someone on VS giving a lady special treatment because of their title seems equally implausible - I used to travel often with a knight, and the only 'special treatment' we got was pax or crew asking for his autograph. Not once did we receive increased service.

As if to emphasis the implausibility, I see the story is in the Mirror - it tends to remind me why I have not read a paper in so many years.

I'd just like to see anyone from Virgin explain why they put a physically impaired person in an exit row seat. This must be bordering (if not in) on the illegal, surely???

If I knew of the correct channel I'd raise it officially with VAA.