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Comments (5)
Print
Save/ShareYou know something's big when Saturday Night Live decides to take a crack at it (no pun intended). Last weekend, SNL poked fun at the infamous Southwest Airlines incident in which a 5–foot hole opened up in the fuselage, forcing the Sacramento–bound plane to make an emergency landing in Yuma, Arizona.
The video features SNL icon Kristin Wiig as a Dallas–based flight attendant sharing her hair–raising experience on The Weekend Update. Check it out below:
In the days following the incident, Southwest took precautionary measures by grounding 300 flights, inspecting all 79 planes for cracks. According to an article by the Los Angeles Times, all but six have since been cleared for take off.
Technically, Southwest is not the only one using the Boeing 737–300 model—they have also been used by both Continental and United Airlines—so this incident could have happened on any airline.
Although the butt of a lot of jokes lately, Southwest still ranks high among its customers for its excellent customer service and “Bags Fly Free” policy. In fact, Southwest is currently in the lead as favorite airline in our Readers' Choice Poll—cast your vote by April 15th!
Southwest has not always been a victim of negative publicity. Back in January, the airline was praised when one of its pilots held the plane in Los Angeles for an extra 12 minutes so that a grieving grandfather could make the flight to Denver to say goodbye to his 2 yr-old dying grandson. According to this USA Today article, the pilot and other Southwest employees offered their condolences to the family and assured him they would get him there in time.
I'm sure you've seen plenty about the Southwest incident in the news lately. What are your thoughts about the SNL sketch? Do you think it's too soon to be making fun of this or is it okay since the plane landed safely and no one was seriously injured? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.
— Kaeli Conforti
MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL:
Southwest waters down its Rapid Rewards program
My love/hate relationship with in-flight movies
Hilarious new safety video from Air New Zealand
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You need a little humor to be able to deal with the things life throws your way. Sure it was a scary event but things ended up just fine so why not poke a little fun at it?
Posted By Aleida on April 12, 2011, 9:07 PM
United Airlines does not fly any model of the Boeing 737 currently. Get your facts straight.
Posted By AA on April 12, 2011, 10:23 PM
Great article, Kaeli!! A little humor never hurts!
Keep up the great work!!
Posted By Lauren on April 12, 2011, 10:27 PM
United does fly Boeing 737, they got them when the bought Continental. Like 240 of them.
Posted By SW on April 14, 2011, 3:06 PM
SNL takes on Southwest Airlines
Posted By Donna Birdwell on April 23, 2011, 10:04 PM