Media Review: “On the Fly”

Reporter and Reporter

Grade: A-

Airports are hell on Earth.

So imagine being in charge of helping fliers who miss their connecting flights, receive damaged bags or even pee their pants.

Oh, yes. Working customer service at Southwest Airlines is a unique calling. For those of us who don’t have airport tenacity, TLC’s new series “On the Fly” presents bizarre, desperate and – well – wet moments to raise our eyebrows this summer.

Who needs the Kardashians when you can watch a screaming old lady miss her flight? It’s hard to decide whose voice is more annoying: Kim Kardashian or this bickering granny.

After about an hour, grandma is rebooked and out of Baltimore with help from Zaneta, an excellent customer service supervisor.

She’s so excellent that it’s easy to detect a sense of propaganda for Southwest’s customer service. She took all kinds of abuse to look good for Southwest. For her sake, I hope they’re sliding big bucks under the table. I was waiting for a voiceover asking me to “Sign up now!” for Rapid Rewards points.

In one of the most blatant moments of propaganda, Crystal – a customer service rep – plays a Southwest Airlines trivia game with customers whose flight has been delayed.

“What year was Southwest Airlines created?” she asks, giving away a $10 travel voucher.

Off in the distance, an angry woman could care less about the airline’s founding fathers.

“She’s just making a commercial for Southwest Airlines!” she bickers to the camera.

Thankfully, these passengers are keeping it real.

Not every moment involves screaming and/or urinating personnel. Some passengers have been blessed with patience, while one calms down with a few too many beers at the airport bar.

A delayed college student has a good time in the Denver airport as he ties a $5 bill to a string and “fishes” for people to try and pick it up.

I doubt that the grandma in Baltimore would find that very funny.

Like Delta’s Biscoff cookies, “On the Fly” is a light, tasty treat to soar you through summer.