I have been reading this thread with some interest.
I have flown with Simon on a couple of trips and bumped into him many times downroute in the 5 years I have worked for Virgin. He is a true gentleman and is well respected by the staff he comes into contact with. He also has a very good sense of humour, so I was almost certain that there was more to this story than meets the eye.
From the posting above, one of my colleagues, Terry Thomas, seems to know a lot more about the incident than anyone else who has posted over the last 8 pages! It's not too difficult to imagine who approached who to get this story into the newspapers (nice photo of the "partners in crime" in The Telegraph, all suited and booted, makes the story sooo much more credible!)
I would imagine Simon and his crew were probably briefed about the trouble this individual had caused when they arrived at the airport.
Mr. Warshaw said "Then he spoke to one of the ground crew, turned round and pointed toward me." Later in the article he is quoted as saying "But I think he singled me out because my suit and white hair made me easily identifiable."
Now I wasn't there either, but I'd imagine the ground staff were confirming with Simon that the "gentleman" that had clapped his hands and said "well done" was indeed the individual that had caused trouble throughout his delay, hence the finger pointing!
If my memory serves me right, about 8-10 years ago a Britannia Captain had a heart attack at the top of descent into their destination airfield. The Telegraph reported: "CoPilot Hero Lands Airplane!" Reading the article made me realise how little a newspaper journalist, despite writing for a broadsheet, understands about the job we do. Since then every other article I have read about industries I have little or no knowledge of, I have had to take with a pinch of salt.
It just goes to show, you shouldn't believe everything you read in the press, or for that matter anything you read in the press!
Last edited by Tags; 13th November 2003 at 23:49.