That story is completely reasonable and has probably happened many times....most of our flying is out of Seattle. You know, the home of Boeing. A lot of people here have an emotional connection to Boeing because they and/or their families has lived off of Boeing wages for a generation or more. Some people still take a lot of pride from that and flying on an Airbus operated by an airline that used to be "Proudly all Boeing" probably would strike a nerve for them. It sounds like a reasonable story to me as I have heard it myself from passengers while deadheading.

I'm an Airbus guy and I would prefer to stay on it, as I think it's a much more comfortable place to earn the same hourly pay. But I will not stay on it if there is any cost to QOL outside of work. So, I will be one of the many that begrudgingly bids over to SEA 737 as soon as possible to avoid commuting.