KATIE COURIC PULLS STRINGS IN COCKPIT

Moonie · Post by **Moonie** » July 31, 2006 10:03 pm

http://www.nypost.com/seven/07292006/go ... agesix.htm

July 29, 2006 -- KATIE Couric had fellow passengers aboard a New York-bound jet on the warpath this week when, as their plane was about to taxi to the runway, she got out of her seat and begged the pilot to allow one of her late-arriving producers to board.
"It was like, 'Who the hell does she think she is?' " fumed one passenger who observed Couric's diva-like antics. "If you or I attempted something like this, we'd be cooling our heels at Guantanamo."

The witness told Page Six that attendants on Wednesday's 6:30 p.m. Delta Shuttle flight out of Washington, D.C., had already closed the door and passengers were buckled in, when the soon-to-be CBS News anchor raced up the aisle with a cellphone to her ear and told an attendant she had to speak to the pilot right away. Couric was then allowed into the cockpit and convinced the pilot to delay the flight and reopen the door for her producer, Nicola Hewitt.

"One flight attendant rolled her eyes and told me, 'This is only the second time I've ever seen this happen - the other time was a sick passenger,' " the witness said.

A spokesman for Couric confirmed the perky newsgal intervened, but insisted, "Katie only spoke to the pilot after receiving permission from the flight attendant." He said Hewitt had been delayed from getting on the shuttle behind Couric because of an extended security check. Then, trying to put a positive spin on the tale of Couric's chutzpah, the flack added that another late passenger who was also about to be stranded was also able to make the flight.

Delta spokesman Anthony Black said Couric got no special treatment. "The airlines get unusual situations that happen every day, and the crew is trained to make decisions on a case-by-case basis," he said.

Black added that when Couric made her request, the pilot determined that favorable tailwinds would not delay the hourlong flight - and even with the brief delay taking off, the flight arrived at La Guardia 10 minutes ahead of schedule.

Still, our witness - a high-powered public-relations executive who rides the shuttle regularly - said he and fellow passengers were not impressed at the behavior of TV's top news personality, who got a whopping $60 million contract to jump from NBC's "Today" show to CBS.

"Using your celebrity in the post-9/11 age to stop a flight is diabolical," he raged.

SchoolGirlHeart · Post by **SchoolGirlHeart** » July 31, 2006 10:06 pm

this really p*sses me off......

jackiesic · Post by **jackiesic** » July 31, 2006 10:13 pm

SchoolGirlHeart wrote:this really p*sses me off......

me too. glad i was not on that flight!
after re-reading the post it was a shuttle flight for srying out loud! he could have come on the next one about an hour later. gee whiz.

SchoolGirlHeart · Post by **SchoolGirlHeart** » July 31, 2006 10:14 pm

jackiesic wrote:
SchoolGirlHeart wrote:this really p*sses me off......
me too. glad i was not on that flight!

me, too..... I might have ended up in jail....

Lightning Bolt · Post by **Lightning Bolt** » July 31, 2006 10:33 pm

Much ado over nothing...

The fact that she's an über-celebrity MAY have played into it, but if she'd thown a hissy fit, you KNOW they would not have held the door.
They hadn't started the engines, that's an absolute cut-off right there (I know this!!

)
When you throw in some politeness and a "please" you always get a little more.

To reduce this to class warfare kinda comes off as petty & a little jealous, doesn't it?

SchoolGirlHeart · Post by **SchoolGirlHeart** » July 31, 2006 10:43 pm

Lightning Bolt wrote:Much ado over nothing...

The fact that she's an über-celebrity MAY have played into it, but if she'd thown a hissy fit, you KNOW they would not have held the door.
They hadn't started the engines, that's an absolute cut-off right there (I know this!! )
When you throw in some politeness and a "please" you always get a little more.

To reduce this to class warfare kinda comes off as petty & a little jealous, doesn't it?

But they didn't *hold* the door... they *reopened* the door. And I honestly believe if any of us common folk had run up the aisle demanding to speak with the pilot because our co-worker missed the plane, there's a good chance we'd have been arrested and almost certainly would have been removed from the flight. So I don't think that anyone is being petty; fact is, she got away with delaying a flight because she's famous and they caved....

If true that she was allowed in the cockpit, that's just out of bounds. That cockpit door should NEVER be opened. At the extreme end of the scale, someone could be holding her kids hostage and telling her to make sure she got into that cockpit so they could follow behind. Viola, now "they" have control of a plane....

This is wrong on *so* many levels....

I don't think this is being reduced to class warfare..... I think she threw her celebrity weight around inappropriately, and the common folk called her on it....

Lightning Bolt · Post by **Lightning Bolt** » July 31, 2006 10:56 pm

SchoolGirlHeart wrote:
Lightning Bolt wrote:Much ado over nothing...

The fact that she's an über-celebrity MAY have played into it, but if she'd thown a hissy fit, you KNOW they would not have held the door.
They hadn't started the engines, that's an absolute cut-off right there (I know this!! )
When you throw in some politeness and a "please" you always get a little more.

To reduce this to class warfare kinda comes off as petty & a little jealous, doesn't it?
But they didn't *hold* the door... they *reopened* the door. And I honestly believe if any of us common folk had run up the aisle demanding to speak with the pilot because our co-worker missed the plane, there's a good chance we'd have been arrested and almost certainly would have been removed from the flight. So I don't think that anyone is being petty; fact is, she got away with delaying a flight because she's famous and they caved....

If true that she was allowed in the cockpit, that's just out of bounds. That cockpit door should NEVER be opened. At the extreme end of the scale, someone could be holding her kids hostage and telling her to make sure she got into that cockpit so they could follow behind. Viola, now "they" have control of a plane....

This is wrong on *so* many levels....

I don't think this is being reduced to class warfare..... I think she threw her celebrity weight around inappropriately, and the common folk called her on it....

Fair 'nuff, I'll hear your side,
but I'll raise you one more...

Look at the source of this story... Page Six of the Post?
If that isn't a gossip rag section looking to beat the bushes for the last speck of dirt, then
than the National Enquirer must be the Bible!
They take what may be facts and try their best to spin them into a tornado.

I've seen the doors re-opened when the airline calls in, so I'm hardly fazed by this.
This was not an anti-American, pro-terrorist act.
It was a simple act of consideration. I say... let it be, let's move on.

prrthd1987 · Post by **prrthd1987** » July 31, 2006 11:00 pm

This is just plain stupid... the crew should be punished for even allowing this to escalate to this level... they should have just told her to sit down and her producer can get on the next flight just like they would have done to any of us pee-ons

Moonie · Post by **Moonie** » July 31, 2006 11:23 pm

GOOD GRIEF...lb

you p*** and moan about the rag it was reported in and then I see where you've posted a thread about Mel Gibson...

WTF's the deal, you don't think it's all gossip...

No one said it was pro or anti anything...

they opened the friggin cockpit!

SchoolGirlHeart · Post by **SchoolGirlHeart** » July 31, 2006 11:26 pm

Lightning Bolt wrote:
SchoolGirlHeart wrote:
Lightning Bolt wrote:Much ado over nothing...

The fact that she's an über-celebrity MAY have played into it, but if she'd thown a hissy fit, you KNOW they would not have held the door.
They hadn't started the engines, that's an absolute cut-off right there (I know this!! )
When you throw in some politeness and a "please" you always get a little more.

To reduce this to class warfare kinda comes off as petty & a little jealous, doesn't it?
But they didn't *hold* the door... they *reopened* the door. And I honestly believe if any of us common folk had run up the aisle demanding to speak with the pilot because our co-worker missed the plane, there's a good chance we'd have been arrested and almost certainly would have been removed from the flight. So I don't think that anyone is being petty; fact is, she got away with delaying a flight because she's famous and they caved....

If true that she was allowed in the cockpit, that's just out of bounds. That cockpit door should NEVER be opened. At the extreme end of the scale, someone could be holding her kids hostage and telling her to make sure she got into that cockpit so they could follow behind. Viola, now "they" have control of a plane....

This is wrong on *so* many levels....

I don't think this is being reduced to class warfare..... I think she threw her celebrity weight around inappropriately, and the common folk called her on it....
Fair 'nuff, I'll hear your side,
but I'll raise you one more...

Look at the source of this story... Page Six of the Post?
If that isn't a gossip rag section looking to beat the bushes for the last speck of dirt, then
than the National Enquirer must be the Bible!
They take what may be facts and try their best to spin them into a tornado.

I've seen the doors re-opened when the airline calls in, so I'm hardly fazed by this.
This was not an anti-American, pro-terrorist act.
It was a simple act of consideration. I say... let it be, let's move on.

Fair enough on the dirt-digging gossip rag.

I could live with the airline calling in for opening the door, though I still disagree.

And no, it wasn't anti-American or pro-terrorist in any sense, but if indeed the crew opened that cockpit door, that's a breach of security that should not happen. Period.

The producer could have caught the next flight.... Not like it was the only flight of the day....

We may have to agree to disagree on the severity of what happened....

If nothing else, though, in accomodating Couric's request, the airline seems to have p*ssed off a lot of folks who may well look to other carriers in the future.... not the wisest business move....

SchoolGirlHeart · Post by **SchoolGirlHeart** » July 31, 2006 11:27 pm

prrthd1987 wrote:This is just plain stupid... the crew should be punished for even allowing this to escalate to this level... they should have just told her to sit down and her producer can get on the next flight just like they would have done to any of us pee-ons

bingo.

Moonie · Post by **Moonie** » July 31, 2006 11:31 pm

It was a major breach of security...

the cockpit has become sacred territory, and the door should have never been opened, certainly not for Couric...

I sat on the runway in Dallas for over 4 hrs..just as we were about to back out the runway was shut down...

we were told if we deplaned we'd have to go through the same procedure as we did before we got on the plane,

and when I flew out of DC...we were told not to get out of our seats, for any reason until after the flight was in the air for 30 minutes...

Elrod · Post by **Elrod** » July 31, 2006 11:35 pm

SchoolGirlHeart wrote:If nothing else, though, in accomodating Couric's request, the airline seems to have p*ssed off a lot of folks who may well look to other carriers in the future.... not the wisest business move....

... or a lot of folks that might be someday live in a Nielsen household.

ToplessRideFL · Post by **ToplessRideFL** » July 31, 2006 11:45 pm

prrthd1987 wrote:This is just plain stupid... the crew should be punished for even allowing this to escalate to this level... they should have just told her to sit down and her producer can get on the next flight just like they would have done to any of us pee-ons

so blame it on the crew and not katie.....

not a fan..... per se.... but if we could ...anyone of us would have done the same thing!

prrthd1987 · Post by **prrthd1987** » July 31, 2006 11:57 pm

ToplessRideFL wrote:
prrthd1987 wrote:This is just plain stupid... the crew should be punished for even allowing this to escalate to this level... they should have just told her to sit down and her producer can get on the next flight just like they would have done to any of us pee-ons
so blame it on the crew and not katie.....

Quite honestly, I think both the crew AND katie are to blame... Katie, for causing the stir, and the crew for tolerating it.

Moonie · Post by **Moonie** » August 1, 2006 12:05 am

No, actually I would not have done it...

we were told NOT TO LEAVE our seats after the hatch was secure...DC is the only city I was told that...

attendants have a lot of things to secure just before take off and don't have time to deal with...prima donnas..or wannabe prima donnas...

I flew about 25,000 miles year before last...I respect the jobs the attandants do..

ragtopW · Post by **ragtopW** » August 1, 2006 12:22 am

Moonie wrote:

attendants have a lot of things to secure just before take off and don't have time to deal with...prima donnas..or wannabe prima donnas...

Not only that ,but In my eyes.. We are told be at a set time before
the flight is scheduled to leave. and that time Allows for
a little tardyness. it seems to me that the people
involved did not seem to think that they should follow those rules.

Tequila Revenge · Post by **Tequila Revenge** » August 1, 2006 12:25 am

At least it gives Letterman and Leno some good stand up for a few weeks

Nice way to put it- not a Katie fan

Mr Play · Post by **Mr Play** » August 1, 2006 12:27 am

I've missed a couple of flights within minutes and had to reschedule - it's not the end of the world. I don't blame her for trying, but the standards really need to be the same for everyone. Maybe it's time for her to look into getting a private jet.

ragtopW · Post by **ragtopW** » August 1, 2006 12:30 am

Mr Play wrote:I've missed a couple of flights within minutes and had to reschedule - it's not the end of the world. I don't blame her for trying, but the standards really need to be the same for everyone. Maybe it's time for her to look into getting a private jet.

dude I would stop the plane for you WAY before I would for her..