The United passenger who had her first-class seat handed over to a Democratic congresswoman said her gripes about it had nothing to do with race. Jean-Marie Simon, a Washington, DC, teacher, was outraged when the airline booted her from her cushy seat, which she had booked in advance, and gave it to Texas Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee
Simon called out Jackson Lee on social media — and the veteran Houston lawmaker responded by lashing out at Simon, suggesting that the Texan was an “easy target” because she is African-American.
But Simon, in an interview with Fox News, shot down the racism allegation.
“That could have been Donald Duck in my seat,” Simon told the network Thursday. “I could not see who had boarded the flight. I didn’t even know who she was.”
At first, Simon didn’t know who took her seat on the Dec. 18 flight as she argued at the gate.
United eventually reseated Simon in the economy plus section and gave her a $500 voucher.
Simon wrote on Facebook that another Texas congressman informed her that a fellow member of the delegation was in her seat — and “regularly does this” to passengers.
United claims Simon lost her seat because she canceled her flight via the app — which she denies. And Jackson Lee inflamed matters by attributing Simon’s discontent to racial animus.
For now, Simon is focusing most of her energy on dealing with United, not Jackson Lee, but told Fox News: “The only way she is relevant is that she has a documented history of demanding first-class service.”
Asked for comment, Jackson Lee spokesman Rucks Russell said in a statement: “The congresswoman regrets any inconvenience that her travel may have caused to any passenger, however the issue in question involves the passenger and United Airlines.”
