Conservative author and controversial pundit Ann Coulter went on an extended Twitter vent after she said a Delta flight attendant moved her to another seat for no clear reason.
In a series of tweets on July 15, Coulter said she was asked to move from an “extra-room” seat she had booked in advance for an unidentified woman whose photo she snapped and shared on Twitter to her 1.6 million followers.
The Coulter photo shows the woman who got Coulter’s seat along with other passengers who look a bit caught off-guard to be photographed. Coulter also shared a photo of the flight attendant she claims made her move for no reason.
Delta told The New York Daily News that the airline was “aware of the customer’s comment and we’re reaching out directly to her to address the complaint.” The airline didn’t explain why Coulter was asked to move to another seat.
On July 16, the airline wrote a lengthy statement responding to what it labeled Coulter’s “insults.” It reads in part:
We are sorry that the customer did not receive the seat she reserved and paid for. More importantly, we are disappointed that the customer has chosen to publicly attack our employees and other customers by posting derogatory and slanderous comments and photos in social media. Her actions are unnecessary and unacceptable. Each of our employees is charged with treating each other as well as our customers with dignity and respect. And we hold each other accountable when that does not happen. Delta expects mutual civility throughout the entire travel experience. We will refund Ms. Coulter’s $30 for the preferred seat on the exit row that she purchased.
The airline further explained that “Coulter originally booked seat 15F, which is located by the window in an exit row, however; within 24 hours of the flight’s departure, the customer changed to seat 15D, which is by the aisle. At the time of boarding, Delta inadvertently moved Coulter to 15A, a window seat, when working to accommodate several passengers with seating requests.”
The airline added, “When there was some confusion with seating assignments during boarding, a flight attendant stepped in and asked that all of the passengers move to the seats noted on their respective tickets. All customers complied and the flight departed without incident. Following the flight, crew members reported that there were no problems or concerns escalated. Delta first became aware of the issue with Coulter’s seat assignment when she began tweeting on July 15 after the flight’s arrival. The airline’s social media and customer care teams made several attempts to connect with her to apologize for the seat mix-up; however, they did not hear back from Coulter until Sunday evening.”
The first Coulter Tweet started on July 15 at just before 5 p.m. on the east coast, although it wasn’t clear where Coulter was flying from or to. In her first missive, Coulter dubbed Delta the worst airline in America.
Just when you think it’s safe to fly them again, the worst airline in America is STILL: @Delta
Next, she took a stab at Delta over its union.
Next, Coulter shared a photo she said was a picture of a flight attendant telling her she “didn’t know” why Coulter was being removed from a seat she said she specifically booked.
“Why are you taking me out of the extra room seat I specifically booked, @Delta?’ Flight attendant: “I don’t know.”
Then came the most dramatic shot: Coulter posted a photo of the woman she says Delta gave her seat to in order to demonstrate the woman wasn’t tall or an air marshal.
.@Delta didn’t give my extra room seat to an air marshall or tall person. Here’s the woman given my PRE-BOOKED seat:
Several more tweets followed, with Coulter expressing great anger over being moved from a seat she says she booked in advance. She threw in a dig at Delta’s Wifi for good measure.
Hey @Delta, you mind telling me why it was an “emergency” to move someone else into the seat I had carefully chosen in advance and booked?
Also, @Delta, your wifi doesn’t work — probably to prevent passengers from tweeting from the plane about how they’re being treated.
Coulter then made a plug for Jet Blue and declared that “Delta sucks.”
There was more.
So glad I took time investigate the aircraft & PRE-BOOK a specific seat on @Delta, so some woman could waltz at the last min & take my seat.
But at least @Delta was nice @ it, summarily snatching my ticket from my hand & ordering me to move w/o explanation, compensation or apology
Two hours later, Coulter posted her final tweet on the situation.
Twitter users responded. Political critics of Coulter didn’t have nice things to say about the airline incident.
Hate to tell ya folks. Ann Coulter got exactly what she wanted out of that incident. She’s trending on Twitter.
@AnnCoulter you’ve made a career out of snatching out of people’s dignity w/o explanation, compensation or apology. #karma
@AnnCoulter @Delta It’s unfortunate you have a following. This might be inconvenient to you but why villainize an innocent person. No photo needed!
However, others came to Coulter’s defense, encouraging people to look at the deeper issue.
https://twitter.com/RoderickMcleod/status/886430455070957573