Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
Couldn’t pass this up, from an anonymous loyal reader of Ashvegas:
Resident celeb Andie McDowell was flying on a Continental Airlines from Newark to Asheville this morning when she saw an opportunity to let off some steam. When told that she would have to check her bag (actually check it plane side), she repeatedly claimed it could fit in the overhead bin. When the male flight attendant told her firmly that she would have to check it, “There is simply no room,” she began to argue vociferously – at which point the attendant said he would escort her off the plane if she did not check the bag (which she eventually did – though it looked like she grabbed a 17-inch Mac laptop out of it first – and there actually was plenty of overhead space available at the time).
Her next eruption was during the beverage service where she very loudly chastised the attendant for his “rudeness,” which he, in this traveler’s opinion, deflected well enough (though, to be fair, I think this was the point when he first realized he had chastised a movie star).
The final act was, on landing, where two older beefy men from New Jersey began egging her on, “That guy showed you no respect,” to which she responded to by launching into a diatribe about the sad state of air travel today, uttering Andieisms like “You used to look forward to flying, it used to be fun,” “Maybe everybody is so mean these days because of their financial situation,” and “I’m the victim here, I would fly another airline, but what good what that do?”
The last this traveler saw of Ms. McDowell was her standing at the gate, surrounded by (male) airline workers, as she likely took the first steps to getting our hapless attendant fired. Who says it isn’t any fun to fly these days?
Bulldog makes a couple of good points.
Interesting and insightful points all. However, after much thoughtful consideration, I’m sticking with Great Rack.
Who Cares: Who ever said the news you find at Ashvegas has to be "important"? Ever heard of the word "fun"?
The trick is to speak out and not lash out.
Why is this "important" news…..
Hey Dean. If she wants to be left alone, she should stop doing hair and make-up commercials and lock herself inside her house. Andie doesn’t even act in films anymore, so I think that makes her a pseudo-celebrity.
Hey Flyer. If you want the airline industry to improve I suggest writing angry letters to CEOs demanding better service and refunds/free miles. Beating-up on the ticket counter folks and flight attendants is not the way to do it. It makes no sense attacking the poor employees who are as frustrated as you and me. Like I said, "oh please!"
I used to see her at the gym. Gum-chewer. Great rack.
She used to frequent the Corner Kitchen restaurant in Biltmore Village. An employee told me was known as being difficult, especially if she ever had to wait.
We all love seeing her though, don’t we? I was on a flight with her a few years back out of Greenville. She was dating the Auto Advantage owner fellow at the time and she was reading a relationship self-help book entitled "Respecting Boundaries in Relationships." He was with her and she kept reading through the book and then nudging him to read through what she had just read. Since then, she’s been nothing but 100% human in my book. I ran into her at Earth Fare South one time in the parking lot. She was driving her Prius and I asked her how she liked it…
Typical behavior from Mrs. MacDowell unfortunately. During my stint at some older jobs I used to have in customer service, I dealt personally with her on a few occasions. She was always rude, standoffish and demanding. Such a shame…
If we don’t start demanding quality service on the airlines it will just get worse.
You go Andi, tell them how it is.
Will you take her back to Asheville from Jackson County if we ask you real nice?
I saw her a few years back laying into the poor attendant at the fish counter at Harris Teeter in South Asheville. Berating this poor woman because they were out of whatever it was she wanted. It was like watching a train wreck…very disturbing, but you couldn’t look away. She definitely can be full of herself.
Sigh. Leave her alone.
I was in Athens, GA back in the day. The boys of REM and occasionally B52’s among others would venture out into the "real world".
Happily they were left alone.
Then again, they never played airs with anyone.
Maybe she’ll get it someday. Maybe not.
But we should leave her alone.