On Joe Sugarman's Bad Air Day: What She Said She Thought He'd Said

The not-so-sweet Sugarman saga continues:

I will take a lie detector test. The LEO factor

If you’ve been following this bazaar [sic] tale when United Airlines kicked me off a flight because a flight attendant thought I was a security threat. (see the previous blog for details).

United Airlines contacted me and shed more light on the situation. In their investigation of the incident, they learned that the flight attendant thought I said, “Is there a LEO on board.” LEO is an abbreviation for Law Enforcement Officer. “I actually said, will you be serving a meal on board.” I asked all my friends and family if they knew what a LEO was and the only thing they would come up with is that it is an astrological sign.

Although “meal” and LEO could be mixed up, she further said that she then asked me to clarify my request. She did not. That was an absolute lie. And I’m willing to take a lie detector test to prove that she made her statement about security and then walked away. There was no clarification, no questions—nothing. I had also never heard the term LEO before in my life.

Indeed. How many people other than those, for example, who read the Travel Safety/Security Forum in Flyer Talk, actually are aware of that L.E.O. abbreviation?

While one of Brian's favorite sayings is "Even paranoids have real enemies," this sad incident is shaping up as one more example of paranoia in the name of security. Anybody else remember the plane diverted when somebody noticed "BOB" scrawled on an airsickness bag and deduced it might stand for "Bomb On Board?"