The mask mandate may be lifted, but poor behavior will not end, especially if airlines like JetBlue continue to struggle with delays and cancellations. Enter former Fox News personality Bill O’Reilly, who cursed out a JetBlue gate agent for a rolling delay, before blaming the Biden Administration.
Bill O’Reilly Takes Out Anger On JetBlue Employee, Biden Administration
O’Reilly was traveling from New York (JFK) to Providenciales (PLS) in the Turks & Caicos on JetBlue flight 1179 on Sunday, April 3, 2022. The flight was delayed over three hours and O’Reilly was growing impatient over the lack of updates from the gate agent.
In a video captured by another passenger, O’Reilly lays into the gate agent, stating:
- “What you’re gonna do…it’s three hours late”
- “No, no, no, You’re gonna find out”
- “You f*cking scumbag, don’t talk to me like that”
- “You’re gonna lose your job”
- “You’re lucky I don’t put my fist through it” (his name tag)
It isn’t clear what caused the delay, but the operational performance at JetBlue has been nothing short of dreadful lately. O’Reilly’s flight ultimately took off over five hours late.
Discussing the issue this week, O’Reilly apologized for losing his cool, but tried to reframe the issue as an indictment on JetBlue:
“The story is JetBlue can’t get their flights off the ground. It was crazy in the terminal.”
O’Reilly even spent an entire segment on his podcast highlighting JetBlue’s recent operational woes.
The controversial host believes JetBlue is guilty of “fraud in the inducement” because it sells seats on flights it knows will not operate or not operate in a timely manner.
O’Reilly also blamed the Biden Administration for failing to take the problem seriously:
“For some reason, the Biden administration is not big on solving problems. This is a huge problem.”
He know says the media storm about this harsh words are character assassination.
The character assassins on social media completely lying about my interaction with a JetBlue guy who misled passengers during a five-hour delay. We’ve covered on https://t.co/rryWmyXe7C. I expected this.
— Bill O’Reilly (@BillOReilly) April 19, 2022
It should be noted this incident took place two weeks before the mask mandate was vacated by a federal judge and O’Reilly also failed to wear a mask while engaging with the gate agent.
CONCLUSION
O’Reilly was justifiably angry over JetBlue’s horrific operational performance, which has stranded or delayed thousands of passengers over the last few weeks. Even so, there is never an excuse to curse out an airline employee for a delay beyond his control. Intimidating and bullying will not get your flight out quicker.
Anger management is a wonderful thing. We’ll do it live.
(H/T: One Mile At A Time)
F### it, we’ll do it live! Classic Bill.
When I saw this story posted I recalled his outburst from the old TV show; amusing that you thought to include it here. O’Reilly certainly has had anger management issues over the years. It is a problem for myself and I can relate. But there is no excuse for anyone to treat another person in that fashion.
Welcome to the MIDDLE CLASS way of being treated. It is nothing new to us.
Do you have a Labrador? THEN SHUT UP!!
Did he threaten to break-out his loofah?
Not going to excuse the tirade, but Biden and Company gave Jet Blue $1 billion of taxpayer dollars to prevent these exact situations. The administration demanded zero accountability except fore the continued fealty of the unions. It is Biden and Co’s fault.
It was Trump who signed the bailout in 2020
@rjb Knowing that the bailouts happened in 2020, when Trump was President, are you OK blaming it on him, and his administrations lack of demands for accountability?
Or is there now some extenuating circumstance heretofore unmentioned that will allow you to absolve him, and blame it on Biden?
O’Reilly might not be the most diplomatic or well spoken, but ultimately he’s right. JetBlue is an operational sh!tshow, and the sad fact is that US law and the DOT allows them to get away with it and avoid accountability. The fact that passengers get extremely angry at their employees who play a part in its scam shouldn’t distract from the real story here.
I don’t disagree, but let’s be real: B6 had operational issues way before Covid/Biden and Covid has simply magnified them. To blame the current administration is disingenuous given B6 has had performance issues through multiple administrations – none of which have done anything to protect passengers’/consumers’ rights when it comes to air travel. As far as the bailout(s), 100% agreed there needs to be accountability across all carriers as to how that money was spent (see also: Ed Bastion’s asinine comments about Delta’s receipt of funds), but I see this as B6 simply maintaining their already terrible re-Covid performance through and after the pandemic. For all of Bill’s posturing, as juvenile as it was, maybe the silver lining is that it will actually bring attention to the problem. I won’t hold my breath but I’ll cross my fingers.
(Above comment was meant for rjb)
Just another discredited, irrelevant, POS.
There is no excuse for that kind of behavior. Then again it’s NYC so who among us is surprised.
When I first read about this story in the Daily Mail yesterday, I knew it was right up your alley Matthew.
Of course! Good for Lucky for beating me to it!
I can tell you why the flight was late in 1 word ATC. that weekend Jacksonville center was under staffed by @50%. This was causing any plane that touched Jacksonville center’s airspace to be delayed by between 4-6 hrs. These delay’s causes crews to time out once they get to FL which destroys the operation. It was not JetBlue alone but because of their network they were the most impacted by the ATC delay’s.
Pick a day, any day and you will see that JetBlue’s operation is a mess.
It’s why they are consistently at the bottom (at least they aren’t dead last) of the on time rankings.
And this is 15 YEARS after their Valentine’s Day meltdown.
Covid hasn’t helped as they have let their more experienced people go (buy outs, retirements, etc.).
But maybe that’s a good thing.
The day when people like this no longer have power and influence will inevitably come, and it can’t come soon enough.
O’Reilly has been a POS for a very long time, this video simply demonstrated that to a wider audience. Interesting to note that without make-up and advantageous camera angles, he looks like just another decrepit old man. Without videotaping or tape delay, we see his true personality: “(screaming) f—- it, we’ll do it live.”
Much of these same comments are also applicable to his hero Trump. Those of us who live in or near New York City have known for 40 years what a POS he is, his presidency simply demonstrated that to a wider audience. Without his two sizes too big business suits and make up and fawning medical staff and ridiculous comb-over hairstyle, Trump is just another unhealthy, balding, obese old man. Without his public relations spin doctoring staff, Trump is just another stupid bigoted loudmouth obnoxious old man probably with a personality disorder, if not outright sociopath, in the early stages of dementia.
A lot of these white Republican men would have been choked to death by cops already if they had not been white.
The comments by Random Gawande, fka Debit, vaguely reminded me of a joke from Army Man:
BRIDE: (QUIETLY, TEARFUL) Ladies and gentlemen…I’m afraid there won’t be a wedding after all. Because, you see…my fiancé has…has died.
HECKLER FROM BACK PEW: Louder!
BRIDE: (LOUDER, ALMOST HYSTERICAL) My fiancé has died!
ANOTHER HECKLER: Funnier!
“Scumbag”? Airline counter staff may be incompetent or unhelpful but they rarely deserve blame or anger for delays.
A scumbag is an(other) entitled white male who made millions on Fox spewing hate and lies – but all in the name of God of course.
“A scumbag is an(other) entitled white male”
And this is why I don’t vote Democrat. Not that Republicans have done much to stand up against white and male bashing, but the Democrats have fully embraced it and even exported it to (most of) the rest of the western world.
Typically, working class (American) whites are Republican, even Trump voters and these “entitled” white guys sling your coffee, fix your car, install solar panels, and do all kinds of work that’s too “low class” for college graduates who want the federal government to forgive their student loans. These guys then provide for their families and take their kids to humble (minor league) baseball games rather than going to wine and cheese tastings.
That being said, this whole blog, courtesy of Matt’s often spelling and grammar challenged columns, revels in “entitlement” in getting upgrades to a “better class” of travel and being treated with respect for loyalty. I’m not knocking it. Just pointing out how white guys getting bashed for entitlement here is sublime irony.