I hesitate to post this because it will seem like the standard inside the Beltway excuse of "everybody does it." However, I will because I hate hypocrisy. Yes, Queen Sheila completely sucks and is a gerrymandered tyrant. Along the same lines (except for the gerrymandered part), Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison lives just 2 blocks from the Russell Senate Office Building, where she works. She is also ferried via a leased car driven by a Senate employee to and from the office. Although not as nasty and demanding to airline employees, she has done and continues to do very similar things to what Queen Sheila has done. I'm not quite sure how comparable the Senate Ethic rules are, so I'm not sure if she would be nailed on this. It seems that many of our female lawmakers are like this - I've seen firsthand the Hutchison treatment, and I've heard horror stories from Mikulski, Landrieu and Boxer staffers.
Now before you rake me over the coals, please note that I have voted for KBH in every election she has ran in, and would probably work for her again if given the chance. But, that doesn't mean I agree with her behavior.