Man Racks Up 120 Free Flights Disguised as Flight Attendant Before Being Caught

From the “God forbid a man have hobbies” file, the Department of Justice announced this week that a gentleman who posed as a flight attendant and scored more than 100 free flights over the course of six years has been convicted of wire fraud and entering into a secure area of an airport under false pretenses.

In a plot that frankly doesn’t seem that wild if you watched the most recent season of Nathan Fielder’s “The Rehearsal,” 35-year-old Tiron Alexander allegedly managed to secure flights that were supposed to only be available to pilots and flight attendants. According to the Department of Justice, Alexander was able to book the flights by falsifying employment information and providing badge numbers that apparently allowed him to bypass the security of the online booking options for airline employees.

Alexander’s primary victim was a single airline, through which he allegedly booked 34 different flights. He submitted documentation showing that he worked for seven different airlines and reportedly provided more than 30 different badge numbers over the course of his bookings. He was also able to duplicate the process that let him fly for free as a faux employee across three more airlines, ultimately booking a total of 120 free flights between 2018 and 2024.

NBC News reported that, according to court documents, Alexander does (or did) work for an airline—one that is headquartered in Dallas, which would include Southwest Airlines and American Airlines on the passenger side and Ameristar Jet Charter and Flexjet on the cargo/charter flight side. He reportedly started working there in 2015, but at no point was he a flight attendant or a pilot during his time at the company.

The Transportation Security Administration was involved in investigating the case that was eventually brought to court, according to the Department of Justice. None of the airlines that got caught up in Alexander’s scheming were mentioned in the announcement, which is not surprising, as they are likely pretty embarrassed about the whole thing. It doesn’t exactly speak highly of the security protocols they have in place. Of course, neither does the fact that Nathan Fielder was able to get people to follow airline employees around for days to study their behavior for a comedy show, so, not exactly a banner year for the airline industry. We also keep having communication blackouts at air traffic control centers around the country, for what it’s worth.

While he has been convicted, the man is still waiting to see what his penalty will be. A judge will rule on Alexander’s sentencing on August 25.