The idea that one hand washes the other is about as old as time itself, but usually this is not something that you choose to broadcast so publicly. When an American Airlines ticketing agent recognized a pastor heading to New York, she upgraded his ticket to first class on the spot.
Pastor Scores Free Upgrade On American Airlines
Pastor John MacArthur (he’s not the only pastor that shares that name) is based in New York and was in Indianapolis for a conference. He runs an organization called True Gospel Ministries in Brooklyn.
When checking in for his flight back to New York, the American Airlines check-in agent identified as Ms. Kim Jackson recognized him…and proceeded to upgrade him to first class immediately.
Makes you want to go into the “ministry,” doesn’t it?
Here’s how he described it on Instagram:
Traveling back home from Indianapolis and out of NO WHERE, keileenj says Wait You’re PASTOR JOHN… 😮
Oh no, upgrade now.
Every Delay is in your FAVOR‼️‼️‼️‼️
You NEVER know who’s watching you and watching how you live & what you post.
Thank you Ms.Kim. I love you & YOU MATTER‼️
Here’s the video:
View this post on Instagram
MacArthur says “God is amazing” and also that “it pays to be nice to people.”
Based on the video, I have a hunch about what happened. It appeared their flight was delayed so Jackson put them on a different flight. Perhaps there were only first class seats left, which would allow her to justify placing them on that flight.
At least I hope that is what happened, because if she just upgraded them on the spot because she liked them that would undercut her employer’s upgrade program…and place her job in jeopardy.
I will say that there is some good advice here: it pays to be nice to employees because you never know when they will upgrade you. Wearing nice clothes or presenting bottles of wine or chocolate won’t help, but sweet-talking could work (it worked for me on Emirates).
CONCLUSION
A pastor was recognized by an American Airlines check-in agent in Indianapolis and, in his own words, immediately upgraded to first class. A delay throws into question whether the agent found a way to twist protocol to upgrade them or broke policy to do it. In any case, you might want to ask Ms. Jackson for an upgrade if you ever find yourself flying AA out of IND.
image: jdmgrp / Instagram
Did this pastor receive an upgrade over an elite flyer? If the answer is yes, that would be terribly disappointing.
sorry, this is complete bs. It appears, that she upgraded the man because he was a pastor. Would she have done the same for a Rabbi, an Imam, an Atheist? She doesn’t need to be fired, but it should be made clear giving upgrades to people on the basis of their religion or b/c you like them isn’t acceptable.
She didn’t upgrade him because he was a pastor, she upgraded him because she was a ‘famous’ pastor.
Athletes, Celebs, Politicians, notable businessmen etc get these kind of perks all the time. If it was just Johnny Jesus from the strip mall chruch, no upgrade would have been given.
It’s a very good point.
So what was the point of this article. I’m a frequent flyer- I’ve watched many gate agents upgrade people. So are you calling her out because she and the pastor are black?
That’s the vibe your article is giving.
LOL.
I’m calling it out because it appears to be wrong.
Nothing to do with race…so sorry to disappoint you.
Everyone is out to get you; you’ll always be a victim if you want to think that way!
O, look everybody: a racially over-sensitive woke-tard has arrived!
(Lately, you can set your watch by it…)
Oily Jesus salesmen come in all colours and are considered celebrities exclusively by stupid people regardless of race. You are the one with the preconceived notion that Black people are more vulnerable than others to such exploitation. I assure you there are gullible morons of every ethnicity, allowing grifters to profit handsomely off of every religion on Earth.
fine…would she have upgraded him if he was a famous Imam? i kind of doubt it, in which case she is at least partly basing it off his religion, which is wrong.
Is she upgrading all famous people or famous people that she likes? Famous Republicans or Famous Democrats? Why should “fame” be a category for an upgrade anyway.
She would have to recognize him first
So USA Today will come out soon with an update to its annual, “How to Get Upgraded to First” article. Adding, “Dress like a Pastor” to its hilarious advice.
My thought exactly
So it seems “preferred religion” is a category for upgrades. The sycophancy around these evangelical grifters is laughable. I doubt Jesus would be flying first class and boasting about it on Insta. I guess this pastor skipped the passage about humility coming before honor …
This pastor is slumming it flying commercial. I remember that pastor from a few years ago who urged his congregation to help buy him a private jet.
Looking at his luggage as well he’s clearly living like his people….
Funny, I just watched the movie “Leap of Faith” this weekend.
A couple of thoughts:
– How would you feel if you are an elite member and doesn’t get upgraded because the pastor got your place?
– It is nice to see a pastor checking in a Louis Vuitton bag. I wonder who are the idiots that fund this guy.
But remember: “It’s God’s will!” At least that’s usually what the state’s witness quotes the pastor as saying when testifying against them…
I had people ask to have bag fees waived, ask for upgrades, etc., because they were a pastor. And yes, 100% of the time they weren’t the kind wearing a dog collar or a hair covering.
The people funding him are the ones who don’t believe Jesus. Remember what Jesus said about how it was easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to make it into heaven? Dude and his ilk – and the suckers they fleece – must have forgotten that when they claim to be Christians.
I had this happen to me a few years back. LAX-LHR with one last upgradable seat left and I was watching it like a hawk. A flight attendant walks up to the counter with some dude in tow, talks with the gate agent and poof, the seat was gone. Just before boarding I went up to the same gate agent who knew I was first in priority, and he lamely explained that the upgrade must have come from somewhere other than the gate. He knew he was busted and just wanted to rub it in. In the end I was still in the back.
Did you report him?
Would be nice to know if there was ANYONE on the upgrade list that didn’t get upgraded. Rare in todays AA world of free upgrades that there isn’t a long list so anyone at the top of the list that didn’t get upgraded has a legitimate claim for compensation.
I have a friend who work at AA corporate with revenue management & sent the story. Their team is going to look into this to make sure it did not violate any policies or would’ve undercut other passengers.
Good.
Great to see the pastor spending money on important things like Louie V luggage. You gotta be seven kinds of stupid not to see through this scammer
Just remember, It’s the money from the people’s church donations.
This might be the only time I’ve ever seen Billy Bob and Santastico be in agreement. Nice to see a unifying story here!
Yes indeed!
I was on an AA flight last night DFW-LCH and the plane went out with 2 empty seats up front. Fortunately my upgrade had cleared, but there were 6 people on the upgrade list. Someone (I think an FA) even told some other F pax that they could move to one of the empty seats if they wanted to. The flight boarded on time, and went out on time. There was no apparent delay, it just seems that the GA wasn’t interested in clearing upgrade pax.
Yes, DFW-LCH is a very short flight, but if I were 1 or 2 on the UG list, I would have been pretty upset. Is there anything you can do other than just report this?
If gate agent was smart? She’d keep her mouth shut and up grade him with a note attached. I recognize you , enjoy the flight. Please give this note back to me. Too many people need attention these days.
Completely inappropriate on the face of it. (again, just like the author, that might have been the last seat on an alternate flight, but unlikely) .. Clearly the person was familiar with this pastor who is known for taking from those who may or may not endure a hardship for it, and asking for an awfully lot of worldly goods. Also, it seems to me, he had no regard or respect for that agent by making it public without a thought how it might affect her job position.. just really thoughtless and probably a great sign of his entitlement he didn’t think, and truly inappropriate and possibly job threatening for her to be overcome by the cult of personality and celebrity..
It depends on who you talk to; either you get KICKED OFF the plane, or you get a free upgrade. Or nothing.
Forgetting for a moment that this is absolutely wrong, I imagine the reactions might have been slightly different if she had broken the rules to upgrade a Satanist or a Santeria priest or whatever the Scientologists call their alien talkers.
Yeah, don’t get excited about the Louis Vuitton bag. Counterfeit more likely thank the real deal. Fake LV is rampant
But yeah, I have a special dislike for pastors fleecing the flock.
It is obviously fake. Real LV luggage never has the logo cut by a seam or piping. Never. That is how you spot the difference.
Someone probably “gifted” him the fake LV as well. Question I wonder if Joel Osteen or Franklin Graham had been in his place would she have upgraded them? ……my guess is NO.
Time was when you’d be in trouble if you DIDNT give up your seat for a man of the cloth… in today’s topsy turvy world it’s an offense
Sorry but absolutely no respect to pastor with LV luggage using God to score upgrade. Disgusting and stupid people give this individual donations.
Ms. Kim should be fired. That was some “OG hook-up” bull-shizzle.
Name any other religious group that wouldn’t be excoriated for that kinda graft.
“every delay is in your favor”
“that’s a word!”