Members of Congress often use weekend plane trips back to their districts as a way to unwind after a hectic bout of lawmaking. Which could explain why Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) demanded a whole row of seats to herself on a recent Continental flight from Washington to Houston. Jackson Lee usually gets first-class upgrades from the airline. But on this particular flight first class was full. After cabin attendants delivered the bad news and showed her to the coach section, Jackson Lee exploded, said one witness.
“When she saw that she had to sit with other people, she started shouting that she was in Congress and worked hard. She was really loud. Everybody in the plane could hear.”
Frequent flyers say that such outbursts are common whenever Jackson Lee is on board. The Continental crew seemed to take the whole situation in stride. Attendants scurried around to find her other accommodations, and once Jackson Lee got her own row of seats she quieted down. Later in the flight she even paid a friendly visit to the people she had refused to sit with. According to a nearby passenger, Jackson Lee “handed out her business cards and invited them to stop by her office.” The Hill