The US Series Premier was tonight on A&E, featuring Southwest. I was expecting it to be a lesser knockoff of the UK original, but I rather enjoyed this version as well.

Anybody else watch?

Hmm, forgot. I should have watched it though. Damn... let me go check if there's a repeat...

Yeah I watched both episodes. It was pretty good but I'm not sure how much variation there will be in the episodes. It seems like every episode will be "Drunk/Unruly Passenger" or "I have to get on that flight!" what else could there be that they would show on television?

Although I was surprised that they left some of the cursing in, so maybe they'll show some edgy stuff. Fun show, though.

Entertaining. I most like the vignettes involving rude, demanding people. I felt sorry for the malodorous fellow.

Lots of funny stuff they'll never show... trust me

I like it. I've seen 4 episodes.

What's funny is how irrational people are. One woman got to the airport too late to catch her flight. The check-in person told her she was supposed to get there 2 hours ahead. The woman said she didn't know that - she was from San Diego. Well, she missed her flight. They didn't have any seats open on any other flights. So her summation is "Southwest ****ed me". Hmmm. No you did it to yourself by not getting there in time to check in. I felt kindof bad for her, but it wasn't SW fault that she didn't get there in enough time to go through the line to check-in.

Other times I wonder if the SW people are tying to make people angry. When people come with a large under 2 year old they say they'll have to buy a seat. They don't immediately add to that statement that if they then send a copy of birth certificate they'll reverse the charge later. Sometimes it seems like they wait for the people to get all riled up before they mention that. I think some people would have gone for that if they had known it was an option rather than standing there arguing and calling hospitals etc.

Yeah, that lady had me cracked up. She said something like "this never happens in San Diego". Yeah, I'm sure that all the SD airlines have an agreement that if you miss your flight, you get a confirmed, not standby, seat on the very next flight out of there. Right...

Those BMX kids were something else. When the passengers complained, I expected the "kids" to be like 17-18 years old. None of them looked any older than about 13. Oh well, I've seen unruly kids on airplanes before, so it can indeed be trouble.

Do you happen to work in the airline industry? I read the book Plane Insanity, and wondered if things are really like that (if you've read it). Pretty good read overall.

I'm finding the continued stupidity of the people on the show hilarious. And disturbing.

In the ep I saw last night there was a really sick woman who was going to fly. She put ALL her medicine in her check-in. She didn't make it to the plane. So her bag left without her. WHile this should not have happened and I felt sorry for her and her family, how many times does luggage get lost or damaged! You keep at least some medicine and other necessities on you, especially if you will die without them. Duh.

THen there was another woman who checked her mother out of the hospital "against medical advice" while she was still taking oxygen. The grandmother said that she knew her american rights and she was getting on the plane whether the airline let her on or not (as the airline didn't want to let her on as oxygen cannisters can not fly). SO the woman throws a fit about why would they release her at all - I don't think she understood what releasing against medical advice means. They called her doctor and he would not fax a release for her to fly to Southwest, so they couldn't go. As they walked away the young grandson announced that he was going to get a lawyer and sue everyone involved.

Oh, the good old USA, everyone has the right to fly, if you are stupid it's someone else's problem, and if someone doesn't let you do what you want, you sue them.



Edited to clarify one statement and fix one spelling error

I found this by accident, but ended up really enjoying it. It's a well-done show, very entertaining.

I'll be flying Southwest in May. Wonder if I'll recognize anybody?

Yeah, its more funny than anything else. As someone who has flown a pretty fair number of times, a lot of these people seem dumb to me. But if they don't know, I guess its not totally their fault. The guy who was pissed because he had to buy new tickets to replace lost ones, my dad said he probably would have done the same thing, knowing full well what their policy is. People say stupid things when they are stressed. I don't understand the checking of vital medication into a bag though.

I'm glad it shows Southwest in a fair light. They're not perfect, but dammit they're trying their best. Good show.

Exactly. Even though it was the woman's fault she didnt keep ANY medication with her, Southwest bought her a ticket on another airline to get her there faster.

Funny show. Amazing how many people get tanked before getting on an airplane.

I do find myself saying how pissed I would be too if SW did some of the things they are doing to these people. A recent episode had a plane full of people going to catch a cruise ship and SW over sold the flight by like 50-60 seats. Most had made arrangements months ahead of time, but they got bumped since someone had to. I would be just as pissed as those people were.

I am slighly impressed that they show mistakes SW makes too. It would be easy to just show stupid people doing stupid things and the airline never making a mistake.

I wish A&E had some schedule for this show. There is a new episode every month or two it seems like. It seems like they are showing the same 4 or 5 episodes over and over...

For me, the show really highlights the disconnect between corporate policy and those in the "front lines." Most of us can relate with the individuals who have to enforce those policies in less-than-ideal situations...not to the customers who are caught in the middle.

Obviously, the airline industry isn't the only place where this happens, but flying is almost always a high-stress situation, especially when something goes wrong.

The family with the old woman and the oxygen tank was annoying.

I like how the lady said "If something happens, it is our fault because we are her family."

Sure, I believe that they wouldn't sue if the old lady died... especially after they threatened to sue everyone in the world when they wouldn't let her fly.

There was plenty of variety in the UK version, so you can probably look forward to...

Angry man demanding upgrade.
Angry man trying to get through customs with fake passport.
Angry men in a furious rage because they cannot find their gate.
Traveller shocked to find his box of baby alligators did not survive the flight.
Angry man having difficulty understanding why his surfboard is not carry on luggage.

What you will not see...

Uproar due to dirty marks on the red carpet reserved for royalty.
Race to raise the flag for visit from Prince Charles.

Actually we probably won't see anything like this, since Southwest only has one class throughout all their planes, and they don't fly internationally. Still, there has been plenty of fodder recently.

Loved the guys running around the airport looking for Eminem, then looking totally distraught when he wasn't there. "I trust my sources."
I kinda felt bad for them though.

This show is managing to stay fresh, probably because they aren't doing the same thing every week.

Just as an FYI, but BBC's counterpart to this (Airport) is re-airing on Discovery Wings during the week. Not sure if it's still currently produced, but there were at least 6 seasons of it.