A&E Needs to Bring This Show Back...And We Can Thank Pete Buttigieg

Matt Vespa | May 10, 2023 3:30 PM

Air travel has become a miserable experience made worse by an inept transportation secretary who doesn't know what he's doing.

In February, Pete Buttigieg couldn't care less about a toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. His eventual visit was derided rightfully as a shameless photo opportunity. In the interim, Mayor Pete is more concerned about the racial makeup of the construction industry. These aren't serious people. Buttigieg also knew about and did nothing to get ahead of the technological deficiencies hobbling some of the airlines, Southwest specifically. It all crashed over the holidays. Southwest Airlines bore the brunt of the disaster, canceling thousands of flights amid a system glitch. It's not all Pete's fault, but he's not improving. As things fall apart, tempers are rising, which makes for great content.

I don't mean to relish or be entertained by people blowing their stack while traveling, but a great A&E show took us behind the scenes of the trials and tribulations of working at a major airport. "Airline" was canceled years ago, but it showed the endless drama working out of a central transportation hub. The series featured airport workers at LAX, Baltimore, and Chicago. And yes, the airline featured exclusively was Southwest.

Madeline covered Frontier Airlines hosting its version of "Survivor," where there was a vote from passengers to boot a troublesome traveler who was giving people grief.

"The tribe has spoken," read one caption, referencing the ongoing reality competition.