Kicked Off the Plane for Games

[Renegade]

Well, a caution about flying with American Airlines I suppose...

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2011/12/07/arts-baldwin-flight.html

A flight attendant was the subject of a Twitter tirade from Alec Baldwin after the actor was booted from an American Airlines plane at Los Angeles International Airport for playing a word game on his cellphone as the plane was about to depart for New York.

The 30 Rock actor was playing a game called Words with Friends while the plane idled at a gate Tuesday, said Baldwin's spokesman, Matthew Hiltzik.

"He loves Words with Friends so much that he was willing to leave a plane for it," said Hiltzik, who added that Baldwin boarded another American Airlines flight to New York.

And this just after China Airlines has come out with laptops and whatever do not pose any problems. (I forget the reference. Saw it in the news a week or so ago.)



I wonder if he'll be labeled as a terrorist...

[40hz]

From the article it sounds like a little bit more went on than him simply sitting quietly and playing a game. Sounds more like he lost it some if the airline personnel are telling the truth with their account of what happened.

Oh well. He got a new flight. The flight he was on saw him off the plane. And nobody got arrested - so no police were called in.

I'd call it even - and be grateful I wasn't on that plane. 

[Renegade]

Meh...

I'm not really all that sympathetic with the airlines.

There's zero evidence to show that playing a game on a phone will cause any sort of interference with any of the planes systems, and the airlines haven't put any effort into it. Instead, it's easier to make a rule/law/mess of it and piss people off. Heck, that creates jobs because you can employ more security and put more people in prisons... But I digress...

Air travel has become one of the most unpleasant experiences. The airlines have fed into it as well, rather than fighting bad legislation. They've taken the path of least resistance. Heck, if it's a PITA to travel with any airline, there's no competitive disadvantage for anyone and no motive or incentive to make things any better.

Sitting at a gate, and having someone repeat some idiotic drivel about how the plane will crash and the end of the world will come... god... Can you blame the guy for being pissed at having to put up with that? Especially when it really and truly is drivel?

Mind you, this is the same industry that thinks it's ok to sexually assault children... 

[f0dder]

Words with Friends kinda implies(*) it's not a single-player game. Not being single-player, it means WiFi (hardly in the plane) or cellular data traffic. I haven't got a link handy, but I recall a report that showed that while on modern planes, radio interference shouldn't be a problem, there's some serious problems on older and not so well shielded planes.

(*): no, I haven't checked.

[Stoic Joker]

There's zero evidence to show that playing a game on a phone will cause any sort of interference with any of the planes systems, and the airlines haven't put any effort into it. Instead, it's easier to make a rule/law/mess of it and piss people off. Heck, that creates jobs because you can employ more security and put more people in prisons... But I digress...

Right up there with banning the use of cellphones by a gas pump because some idiot thought they might cause a fire.

@f0dder - Yes I know you have a valid point with the older plane shielding, but iirc it was a close to a chaos theory series of events that had to fall into place before anything could be registered let alone actually affected. (that and it's more fun to rip on the airlines).

Honestly I think the electronic ban has less to do with interference and much more to do with ensuring there are no remote triggering devices on or near the aircraft.

[40hz]

I'm not really all that sympathetic with the airlines.

Neither am I. I've reached the point where I pretty much refuse to get on a plane for any reason these days.

Can you blame the guy for being pissed at having to put up with that?

Actually, yeah I can. When you're in an airport or on a flight you tend to run into improperly trained yet overly zealous individuals who are wearing the livery of some airline or carrying a badge of some sort. It's seldom worth arguing with these people since it seldom accomplishes anything other than to create an incident and cause inconvenience to everybody around you.

Not to say you should roll over and play dead. But in this particular case you have a grown man becoming angry because he's told he's momentarily not allowed to play a game which he describes as being one he's addicted to? Um...this is a rational adult we're talking about?

Dunno. I don't see any huge civil rights issue here. Or at least not one big enough to deserve taking a stand on.

The real problem with incidents like this is they get lumped in with the real and serious complaints people have about airlines and airport security. As such, it diverts attention and dialog away from the incidents that really matter. Which is really a shame. Because there have been serious issues that need to be addressed.

Maybe I'd be a little more sympathetic if I hadn't seen a few interviews with Alec Baldwin recently. Or him as guest artist on Inside the Actor's Studio which is an educational TV show where aspiring acting students at Pace University get a chance to work with various actors on improving and learning their craft.

Most guest artists on that program have been both charming and generous with their help and advice. Alec Baldwin was cranky, slightly sarcastic, and generally unpleasant. I don't know if that is his usual personality off screen. But combined with what I saw on those interviews I previously mentioned, I get the distinct impression he can be a difficult individual to deal with.

Put him in close contact with an officious flight attendant and it's pretty predictable what really went down.


----

Note: for the record, I really like Alec Baldwin as an actor. I think he's one of the better ones out there right now.

[Renegade]

Dunno. I don't see any huge civil rights issue here. Or at least not one big enough to deserve taking a stand on.

True enough. The issue to me seems to be one of douchebaggery. Something all too prevalent in some industries/companies.

The real problem with incidents like this is they get lumped in with the real and serious complaints people have about airlines and airport security. As such, it diverts attention and dialog away from the incidents that really matter. Which is really a shame. Because there have been serious issues that need to be addressed.

Very true. Molesting children in airports is a much more serious issue than not playing games while the airplane is parked.

...

In the end, I don't know if there's really any difference between attention to this and that though. They're both equally ignored. 

Like how long has there been a ban on electronics? Flying in anything but the sunniest weather with no wind is far more dangerous. It's quite ridiculous, really.


<SIDE TRACK>
I suppose that I'm beyond disillusioned at this point though... I fail to understand why it's so horribly difficult to follow the scientific method, and why people cling to voodoo and superstition for things like this.
</SIDE TRACK>


But nothing gets done... People take on faith that if you make a phone call inside an airplane, it will blow up, Al Qaeda will win, World War III will start, and the sun will supernova.

On the child molestation front, it's only ok if it's Uncle Sam. And nothing can change that, because then the "terrorists" win and the sun still supernovas.


Truth be told, the terrorists already won. And they'll continue to win until sanity returns and all these "protections" stop.

Can you blame the guy for being pissed at having to put up with that?

Actually, yeah I can. When you're in an airport or on a flight you tend to run into improperly trained yet overly zealous individuals who are wearing the livery of some airline or carrying a badge of some sort. It's seldom worth arguing with these people since it seldom accomplishes anything other than to create an incident and cause inconvenience to everybody around you.

Yeah... It's pretty juvenile to throw a temper tantrum like that. Still... I can't help but see the original condition for the temper tantrum as completely irrational. Like, if someone wants to be irrational, why should that obligate anyone else to play by their irrational rules? Well... marriage and relationships excepted.

And yeah... The staff are just doing their jobs... It's not their fault. If they don't, they'll get fired, so I certainly can't blame them for that.

It's a bad situation to start. I don't see how anyone can expect it to end well. This is just further proof.

Note: for the record, I really like Alec Baldwin as an actor. I think he's one of the better ones out there right now.

+1

He's great on 30 Rock!

[Stoic Joker]

On the child molestation front, it's only ok if it's Uncle Sam. And nothing can change that, because then the "terrorists" win and the sun still supernovas.

And after all that you gotta tell little Jonny/Sally that if they're ever in trouble they should go find a (person in uniform...) cop. Now there's a confusing message to send a child.

Truth be told, the terrorists already won. And they'll continue to win until sanity returns and all these "protections" stop.

+1 - Remember the late 40's, early 50's ... That's what a "Win" is supposed to look like - This OTOH ... Not so much.

[4wd]

Note: for the record, I really like Alec Baldwin as an actor. I think he's one of the better ones out there right now.

+1

He's great on 30 Rock!

He's even better in Team America: World Police

[Renegade]

Note: for the record, I really like Alec Baldwin as an actor. I think he's one of the better ones out there right now.

+1

He's great on 30 Rock!

He's even better in Team America: World Police

I haven't seen that yet.

But I pretty much love him in anything he does. He's one of those guys that can really make a flick shine.

[40hz]

But I pretty much love him in anything he does. He's one of those guys that can really make a flick shine

If you liked Alec, check out his brother Bill in Three of Hearts. Teaming him up with the vastly underrated Kelly Lynch was the stroke of casting genius that made an otherwise cute but "meh" story a fun little flick.

[Carol Haynes]

No problems using a Blackberry on AirTransat as an MP3 player - I asked the flight attendant and he said itw as OK - didn't even check if I had turned off mobile and WiFi networks.

Still here to tell the tale - mind you, the last 50 miles of the swim were a bugger.

[Ath]

[Fred Nerd]

Having friends who are flight attendants, I'm of the opinion that, while I agree that media players and such cause no problems (heck, I take off in my ultralight with phone on and iPod on all the time. I take phone calls while flying), but don't blame the flight crew. They have a job to do, and that's not serve meals; its to save your life if something does go wrong.
These guys get well trained in survival/escape techniques, but it all goes to nothing if everyone is used to treating them as if they know nothing.

[zridling]

According to Baldwin, the problem wasn't that he was told to turn off his phone. It was that everyone around him was playing with their phones, too. He was singled out. When he pointed to others still on their phones, the attendant got all LA COP on him. That's when he excused himself, went to the bathroom and tweeted about it. ha. F*ck the police!

[iphigenie]

is the worry around electronic devices really about interference rather than being used to send data/messages/targeting information just at take off and landing when a plane is a target? I always assumed that this is the real reason, not interference

[Deozaan]

is the worry around electronic devices really about interference rather than being used to send data/messages/targeting information just at take off and landing when a plane is a target? I always assumed that this is the real reason, not interference

It can't be about interference since many smart phones these days have "Airplane" mode and the flight attendants specifically instruct you to power your device off even if it has airplane mode.

[wraith808]

Words with Friends kinda implies(*) it's not a single-player game.

I've played it.  And you can play without being on a network, especially because some people have upwards of 30+ games going at once.  It's turn based, and if you're into those types of game, you can get into planning your move quite a bit before sending that packet off for your next turn.

[Renegade]

This is funny:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_boiiMvDoc

[Eóin]

Their plane, their rules. Seems very simple to me.

[40hz]

Their plane, their rules. Seems very simple to me.

+1

It's a commercial airline flight. Not at all the same thing as sitting on a bench in a public park that was paid for with tax dollars.

Funny though that this happened to Baldwin who's been shilling for the CapitolOne Venture Card with it's heavy airline promo theme.

[Stoic Joker]

Funny though that this happened to Baldwin who's been shilling for the CapitolOne Venture Card with it's heavy airline promo theme.

Tehehehe ... That's the first thing I thought of when the story hit. 

[Renegade]

Their plane, their rules. Seems very simple to me.

Well, yeah, but like sheesh... Can't we be moderately rational?

Would you eat at a restaurant that cranked the air conditioning so that you had to wear your coat, then they bitch at you for wearing your coat? You'd probably never go back.

There's no evidence at all about playing games crashing planes.

At some point I think it's ok to not be irrational in the airline industry.

Anyways, the whole thing is still funny, and I still feel sorry for Baldwin. Good that he stood up to the airline BS though. Maybe at some point they'll wake up and stop with the superstitious silliness.

[Darwin]

Meh...

I'm not really all that sympathetic with the airlines.

There's zero evidence to show that playing a game on a phone will cause any sort of interference with any of the planes systems, and the airlines haven't put any effort into it. Instead, it's easier to make a rule/law/mess of it and piss people off. Heck, that creates jobs because you can employ more security and put more people in prisons... But I digress...

Air travel has become one of the most unpleasant experiences. The airlines have fed into it as well, rather than fighting bad legislation. They've taken the path of least resistance. Heck, if it's a PITA to travel with any airline, there's no competitive disadvantage for anyone and no motive or incentive to make things any better.

Sitting at a gate, and having someone repeat some idiotic drivel about how the plane will crash and the end of the world will come... god... Can you blame the guy for being pissed at having to put up with that? Especially when it really and truly is drivel?

Mind you, this is the same industry that thinks it's ok to sexually assault children... 

According to an Air Canada long haul pilot, the rules surrounding cell phone use have nothing to do with navigation equipment interference and everything to do with revenue. Remember the hyper expensive seat-back phones that used to be on airplanes? He posted about this on a Hewlett-Packard calculator forum that I used to frequent a lot, but of course I cannot find the post!

Regarding Alec Baldwin and Team America - that wasn't him! He read the script and VOLUNTEERED to do his own voice but was turned down. Can't remember where I read that...

[Renegade]

According to an Air Canada long haul pilot, the rules surrounding cell phone use have nothing to do with navigation equipment interference and everything to do with revenue. Remember the hyper expensive seat-back phones that used to be on airplanes? He posted about this on a Hewlett-Packard calculator forum that I used to frequent a lot, but of course I cannot find the post!

I hate that when I can't find a reference... It's so frustrating!

But I'll take your word for it. It certainly seems "reasonable" as it sort of fit in with the whole infinite growth craze.

Regarding Alec Baldwin and Team America - that wasn't him! He read the script and VOLUNTEERED to do his own voice but was turned down. Can't remember where I read that...

Interesting... That seems bizarre...