(Image source: Sky News)

BY BRICE SANDER

When flight attendants tell you turn off all electronic devices, they mean it.... Alec Baldwin.

American Airlines booted Baldwin from a flight after he refused to turn off his iPad. Baldwin’s rep says the actor was playing Words With Friends and didn’t see the problem with sneaking in a few minutes of game time before take off. (TMZ)

NBC’s Jeff Rossen talks us through the Twitter tirade that followed Baldwin’s airplane exit.

JEFF ROSSEN: “He immediately took to Twitter, alerting more than half a million followers that a ‘Flight attendant on American reamed me out 4 playing WORDS W FRIENDS while we sat at the gate, not moving. #nowonderamericaairisbankrupt.’ ... Baldwin was re-booked on a later flight, but he took to Twitter again- ‘Now on the 3 o’clock American flight. The flight attendants already look … smarter,’ ‘My words with friends user name is now #theresalwaysunited.’”

American Airlines responded to Baldwin’s tweets, saying it would look into the issue- a move the Wall Street Journal suggests isn’t helping the bankrupt company win over customers.

“Proving that no good deed goes unpunished, American’s tweet to Baldwin irritated non-celebrity customers. Regular Joes like Charlotte, North Carolina-based lawyer Brandon White tweeted at American to ask why celebrities like Baldwin seem to get direct Twitter service.”

This isn’t the first time Baldwin has gone off on Twitter -- he’s tweet-attacked a Starbucks barrista and the GOP candidates in the last few weeks. An ABC public relations expert argues-- it’s a habit Baldwin needs to break.

“And this reinforces that celebrities are entitled. It reinforces his own bad and aggressive behavior, and I really don’t like him attacking the little people -- the flight attendants, the barristas at Starbucks. I mean, these people make in a year what he makes for about two hours on a set. I’d like to see a little empathy.”

Business Week spoke with an analyst who argues the real winner here is Zynga, the company behind the game -- it’s expected to launch an IPO ASAP.

“This is phenomenal for Zynga … The problem for Zynga with investors has been that the average portfolio manager doesn’t relate to their games. This definitely helps change their perception.”

Baldwin isn’t apologizing, but there may be signs he’s feeling embarrassed -- the actor seemingly deactivated his Twitter account after the incident.