First it was cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, who expressed his anger at the British Airways for an unpleasant experience with them as they failed to recognise him. Now, another famous cricketer has had a bitter experience with an airline carrier. The cricketer happens to be England outcast Kevin Pietersen and the carrier this time is Qantas.
A furious Pietersen, who was travelling to Australia from South Africa after finishing RamSlam assignment, took a swipe at the carrier, calling them “muppets” after he was refused entry to an airline lounge for wearing flip flops. The star batsman was fuming after the incident as he travelled to Australia to play for the Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League. Following is the sequence of his tweets and the reply he got from Qantas.
I suggest you tell Platinum, First Class fliers that they not allowed in your lounges with flip flops before they fly, @Qantas! Muppets!
— Kevin Pietersen (@KP24) December 14, 2015
And BTW, @Qantas! Thongs are an institution in this great country! GET A GRIP! Tired, jet lagged & just wanted to chill! #Muppets — Kevin Pietersen (@KP24) December 14, 2015
Qantas replied Pietersen with their regret tweet, making him aware of certain rules. Their tweet went like this:
@KP24 It must have been disappointing Kevin. Changes from earlier this year: https://t.co/oiCgy2V1jR. Hope to welcome you back again soon.
— Qantas (@Qantas) December 14, 2015
An airline spokesman told AFP Tuesday that “we reached out to members early in 2015 to remind them of the dress standards and had a grace period up until April this year”. “We completely understand that being declined at the door isn’t a great experience, so this is a good opportunity to remind those wanting to use our capital city lounges of the dress code that applies,” he added. Pietersen soon finished the chapter and expressed happiness over reaching to one of his favourite countries, Australia.