Celebrities who fly Southwest

Last week Al Gore was on Jimmy Kimmel Live, pretending to be a regular Joe. He talked about flying Southwest and getting bypassed by Group A d-bags. Al Gore flies Southwest without special privileges. How very Kate Middleton.

We all saw the private jet on “An Inconvenient Truth,” so his PR person must have had a lot of fun concocting that anecdote. Celebrities who do actually fly Southwest include Brad Pitt, Lady Gaga, and Mr. Yeezus himself, Kanye West.

Mike Tyson is apparently also a Rapid Rewards member. This weekend I flew to Las Vegas for a conference. My flight was out Sacramento and when I arrived at the gate, there was a huge group crowded around someone, snapping photos. I made my way closer and instantly recognized the face tattoo – it was none other than Mr. “I’m going to eat your children.”

I snapped a few shots and took in the scene for a while. He took a photo with every single person who asked (there were a lot of people), and seemed to be in good spirits. I imagine with his perpetual downward spiral, he was happy to still be recognized and admired by people.

Sure enough, he was in boarding Group A. When I passed him on the way to my seat, he was smiling and almost giddy. I imagine the enthusiastic reception raised his spirits. It was an uneventful flight and people pretty much left him alone, myself included.

I have no idea what Mike Tyson was doing in Sacramento of all places, but he definitely livened up an otherwise sleepy airport.