Ann Coulter Delta Airlines Feud

Overview

Ann Coulter Delta Airlines Feud refers to tweets sent by conservative political commentator Ann Coulter at Delta Airlines after the airline had moved her from her pre-booked, extra leg-room seat on a flight. Coulter's incessant tweeting at Delta and shaming of the woman who was given her seat prompted a response from Delta which was celebrated online.

Background

On July 15th, 2017, Coulter began tweeting^[1] angrily about Delta Airlines after she had been moved from her seat.

Coulter was on a flight from New York City to West Palm Beach, Florida, when she was moved from her seat with extra leg room that she had booked in advance. Coulter escalated the situation by tweeting a photo of the woman who was given her seat, shaming her for not being "an air marshall or tall person."

Developments

Coulter continued tweeting at Delta over the course of the following several days. On July 16th, 2017, Delta responded on Twitter saying they would refund the 30 extra dollars Coulter spent on her pre-booked seat (shown below, left). Coulter responded by saying that the time she spent choosing the seat was worth $10,000 (shown below, right).

Delta released a statement^[2] the same day about the incident, apologizing to Coulter but also scolding her for posting a picture of the woman who took her seat. The full statement reads:

"We are sorry that the customer did not receive the seat she reserved and paid for. More importantly, we are disappointed that the customer has chosen to publicly attack our employees and other customers by posting derogatory and slanderous comments and photos in social media. Her actions are unnecessary and unacceptable.
Each of our employees is charged with treating each other as well as our customers with dignity and respect. And we hold each other accountable when that does not happen.
Delta expects mutual civility throughout the entire travel experience.
We will refund Ms. Coulter's $30 for the preferred seat on the exit row that she purchased."

Delta's tweets about the incident were celebrated on Twitter (example shown below).

Online Reaction

Some on Twitter supported Coulter in her plight, but the majority of posts about the incident mocked Coulter and supported Delta. Notably, actor Chris Evans mocked Coulter's "$10,000" tweet and gained over 12,000 retweets and 73,000 likes (shown below, left). Others mocked Coulter for having such an aggressive reaction to the inconvenience when she has claimed minorities overreact to systemic oppression. A tweet by @TariqNasheed^[4] pointing out the hypocrisy gained over 22,000 retweets and 66,000 likes (shown below, right). The story was covered by multiple news outlets, including Daily Dot,^[5] Time,^[6] and the New York Times.^[7]

Search Interest

External References