Kennedy lobbies for VIP service

MSNBC.com ^ | 11/22/02 | Keith L. Alexander

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

US Airways has laid off thousands of employees and eliminated hundreds of routes as it slashes costs and prepares to emerge from bankruptcy. But it was the jobs of two women that caught some special senatorial attention.

THE TWO employees worked for the airline’s Executive Services, which zips important travelers (including some lawmakers) through Reagan National Airport, minimizing the hassles faced by other travelers and providing a secluded waiting room, away from the masses — and from business travelers, for that matter.
       That service was canceled Oct. 29, but it was reinstated almost two weeks later, after a telephone call from Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), a beneficiary of the three-year-old service.

US Airways wouldn’t say whether Kennedy’s call was responsible for the about-face, only that it had heard complaints from customers.
       Kennedy called US Airways president and chief executive David N. Siegel — not to save his perks, but to rescue the jobs of the two women employed there, according to Kennedy spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter.
       Many of the nation’s largest airlines offer similar perks from their major hubs. But at National, US Airways is the only carrier that provides this special VIP pampering. The Arlington-based airline is the major carrier at National.
       
ELITE OF THE ELITE
       US Airways is a bit mysterious about how travelers get on this elite list. Flying tens of thousands of miles a year won’t do it, according to spokesman David Castelveter. “We have to be very selective in how we go about choosing the people,” he said.

Click here for the complete article.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Must be nice to get all the perks of royalty. Not having to associate with the rabble and all that.

[shiva]

Well, well, well. They pick and choose, huh? Only the elite, huh? Guess that leaves me out.

[Stingray51]

The recipients of this star treatment should be taxed on it. Clearly, they are receiving something that has monetary value, probably equivelent to several times the cost of being a member of one of those airline "red carpet" clubs. Also, it should be considered a donation for campaign finance purposes.

Hey, I don't support either the income tax or campaign finance limitations, but if that's the law, these liberal potentates should have to live by it.

[Bodacious]

I'd like to see T. Kennedy and ALL the other Congressmen, beaureacrats and "vip"s", stand in the ticket lines and carry their own bags, just like us poor snuffies.

[aristeides]

To judge by the Washington Post article, most members of Congress don't get this service, but Kennedy, Hillary, Schumer, and Edwards do. I wonder how it's decided whether somebody in Congress is on the list or not.

[pikachu]

"Ask not what you can do for your country, ask what you could do for Teddy Kennedy! And start with a scotch and soda .. on second though, hold that soda."

[unixfox]

Did the two women bow to the knees of the Kennedy royalty for saving their jobs ?

[razorback-bert]

I want to see TK subjected to a strip search by a broken english 300 pound woman like the ordinary man, he claims to repesent.

On second thought, I pefer just to hear about it, not see it.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

I want to see TK subjected to a strip search...

Whoa there! I too would rather read about it as well.