There could be another side to this story.
“My guess is the guy was being an asshole.”....
I would side with you on this. I used to travel via air a lot and have witnessed a number of people over the years that played the “Do you who I am” card expecting to get their way. there are a lot of a-holes out there, just ask any airline gate agent.
There could be but air travel is much worse today then it was even 4 or 5 years ago. They are flying at capacity so any hiccup in the system causes tremendous ripple effects. The planes and airports are dirtier, more crowded and more expensive. The airlines pretty much don’t give a crap about customer service and treat you like cattle.
If you complain they’ll boot you off the plane or have you arrested in a heartbeat.