Wirraway
19th Nov 2004, 14:05
Sat "Hobart Mercury"
Butler in new plane furore
By ELLEN WHINNETT
Chief Reporter
November 20, 2004
FORMER Governor Richard Butler defended himself yesterday over a new airline seating controversy -- the day after the state's new Governor was announced.
Mr Butler, who has not spoken to the media since he resigned as Governor on August 9, broke his silence to answer queue-jumping allegations.
He said he had simply followed the instructions of a Jetstar employee and that he believed past controversies were being held against him.
Three people have told The Mercury they were unhappy with Mr Butler's behaviour while boarding Jetstar flight 79 from Sydney to Hobart at 8pm on November 6.
Former Olympic champion Kieren Perkins was also on the flight, heading to Tasmania for the BMW motorcycle rally.
The three people said Mr Butler queue-jumped and boarded the flight ahead of other passengers.
One passenger, Nev Tickner, of Queensland, wrote to The Mercury, saying Mr Butler had "rushed to the front and formed a line of his own" before "thrusting his ticket hand" at an embarrassed flight attendant.
Mr Tickner said he discovered Mr Butler sitting in the exit row on board the plane, which has more leg room, and commented to him about travelling in "cattle class".
A Hobart man, who did not want to be named, said Mr Butler had walked straight up the side of the queue and, once inside, had taken a seat in the more spacious exit row.
"The guy behind me said to the Jetstar people, `I thought we were all equal', and she said, `You are but some have privileged boarding rights'," the man said.
An e-mail from Chelsi Williams to The Mercury also queried Mr Butler's behaviour, saying he "jumped the queue as if he owned it".
"Interestingly enough, there was a gold medallist on the plane, no less than Kieren Perkins, who was quite happy to wait his turn and get on the plane in due course with all the other respectable citizens of Tassie heading to the Apple Isle," she said.
Mr Butler said yesterday he saw a man watching him at the time and "thought it would end up in The Mercury".
And he said he was not surprised people had complained "given the way I have been treated in Tasmania".
Mr Butler confirmed he had been sitting in the exit row and that another passenger "I presumed to be a Tasmanian" had commented to him, "Oh dear, you shouldn't be travelling with us in cattle class".
"I replied that I do it quite frequently and I have no problem," Mr Butler said.
"He made a nasty remark to me and my response was good-humoured."
Mr Butler said he had replied that he would place his briefcase "in the feed bin" overhead, continuing the cattle class joke.
And he said he had simply been boarding the flight in line with his early sequence number.
Jetstar does not reserve seats but "pre-boards" passengers who are elderly and frail or travelling with children and need more time to be seated.
Mr Butler said he had arrived at Sydney Airport early, about 6.30pm, and had been given an early sequence number.
He said he was waiting in the lounge when a Jetstar employee approached him as he was reading his book and "hurried him along", saying it was time for him to board.
"I was following Jetstar's instructions, that's all I was doing," he said.
"As for my seat, I didn't grab the first, second, third row.
"It was about row 19 or 20, the exit row."
Mr Butler, a republican and former diplomat and weapons inspector, resigned as Governor of Tasmania after a controversial 10-month reign as Tasmania's vice-regal representative.
In a prepared statement read out on the night, he blamed a "malicious campaign" for his demise.
The first claims of controversy over Mr Butler's style and behaviour erupted when he sought an upgrade on a Singapore Airlines flight while he was on his honeymoon -- days before he took up residence at Government House in October last year.
The controversy continued to boil until Premier Paul Lennon and Mr Butler agreed to end his five-year commission in early August.
Mr Butler has since declined to speak to the media and has not given his version of the events that unfolded at Government House.
He said yesterday he was now a private citizen and declined to make further comment.
The Mercury
=========================================
Butler in new plane furore
By ELLEN WHINNETT
Chief Reporter
November 20, 2004
FORMER Governor Richard Butler defended himself yesterday over a new airline seating controversy -- the day after the state's new Governor was announced.
Mr Butler, who has not spoken to the media since he resigned as Governor on August 9, broke his silence to answer queue-jumping allegations.
He said he had simply followed the instructions of a Jetstar employee and that he believed past controversies were being held against him.
Three people have told The Mercury they were unhappy with Mr Butler's behaviour while boarding Jetstar flight 79 from Sydney to Hobart at 8pm on November 6.
Former Olympic champion Kieren Perkins was also on the flight, heading to Tasmania for the BMW motorcycle rally.
The three people said Mr Butler queue-jumped and boarded the flight ahead of other passengers.
One passenger, Nev Tickner, of Queensland, wrote to The Mercury, saying Mr Butler had "rushed to the front and formed a line of his own" before "thrusting his ticket hand" at an embarrassed flight attendant.
Mr Tickner said he discovered Mr Butler sitting in the exit row on board the plane, which has more leg room, and commented to him about travelling in "cattle class".
A Hobart man, who did not want to be named, said Mr Butler had walked straight up the side of the queue and, once inside, had taken a seat in the more spacious exit row.
"The guy behind me said to the Jetstar people, `I thought we were all equal', and she said, `You are but some have privileged boarding rights'," the man said.
An e-mail from Chelsi Williams to The Mercury also queried Mr Butler's behaviour, saying he "jumped the queue as if he owned it".
"Interestingly enough, there was a gold medallist on the plane, no less than Kieren Perkins, who was quite happy to wait his turn and get on the plane in due course with all the other respectable citizens of Tassie heading to the Apple Isle," she said.
Mr Butler said yesterday he saw a man watching him at the time and "thought it would end up in The Mercury".
And he said he was not surprised people had complained "given the way I have been treated in Tasmania".
Mr Butler confirmed he had been sitting in the exit row and that another passenger "I presumed to be a Tasmanian" had commented to him, "Oh dear, you shouldn't be travelling with us in cattle class".
"I replied that I do it quite frequently and I have no problem," Mr Butler said.
"He made a nasty remark to me and my response was good-humoured."
Mr Butler said he had replied that he would place his briefcase "in the feed bin" overhead, continuing the cattle class joke.
And he said he had simply been boarding the flight in line with his early sequence number.
Jetstar does not reserve seats but "pre-boards" passengers who are elderly and frail or travelling with children and need more time to be seated.
Mr Butler said he had arrived at Sydney Airport early, about 6.30pm, and had been given an early sequence number.
He said he was waiting in the lounge when a Jetstar employee approached him as he was reading his book and "hurried him along", saying it was time for him to board.
"I was following Jetstar's instructions, that's all I was doing," he said.
"As for my seat, I didn't grab the first, second, third row.
"It was about row 19 or 20, the exit row."
Mr Butler, a republican and former diplomat and weapons inspector, resigned as Governor of Tasmania after a controversial 10-month reign as Tasmania's vice-regal representative.
In a prepared statement read out on the night, he blamed a "malicious campaign" for his demise.
The first claims of controversy over Mr Butler's style and behaviour erupted when he sought an upgrade on a Singapore Airlines flight while he was on his honeymoon -- days before he took up residence at Government House in October last year.
The controversy continued to boil until Premier Paul Lennon and Mr Butler agreed to end his five-year commission in early August.
Mr Butler has since declined to speak to the media and has not given his version of the events that unfolded at Government House.
He said yesterday he was now a private citizen and declined to make further comment.
The Mercury
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