While the first part is not recorded and the situation is different .the flight attendant is removed from his job and the passenger upgraded to first class on another flight.and american airlines repsonded to this faster than a speeding bullet.
http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2017/04/22/american-airlines-investigates-reported-confrontation-between-crew-member-mother.html
Really could not believe that American Airline employee was poking his finger at a passenger, yelling “Come on hit me! Hit me!” glad American took care of the situation
not for nothing but the macho passenger should have been removed from the plane. i know the airlines post united will ignore pretty much any behavior. but he was pumped up and aggressive and he would have made me nervous. before the united situation he would have been tossed off the plane and banned for life from flying with the airline.
there is a place in between beating passengers,banning passengers, being nasty and rude…and ignoring everything short of a terrorist attack. it was what I do at work everyday…find the “happy” center point to keep things flowing as best as we can. it is not rocket science. it is psychology 101.
Saying United response is kinda confusing?
WTH is wrong with these airline personnel???
“United response”…meaning what occurred with the dragging over a refusal to give up seat. that response was at the height of the pendulum swing. …post 9/11 where the airline employees felt empowered to do what ever they wanted because it was all loosely veiled in safety and security and they got some special status that no employee in any other job would get. (same with the TSA) no matter how silly,nasty, vile, absurd it was all ok.
Took me forever to understand it was post-United, not that they were posting United’s response to some incident. But I concur with your opinions on it …
Just seemed like no one was taking control of the situation. Everyone was simply standing there blocking the entrance to the plane while the woman sobbed. Am wondering if that was the pilot who was standing at the front with the woman. He never said one word - not to her or anyone else. Would it have been permissible to let her de-board and sit in the lounge until the whole thing was resolved? That might have helped defuse the situation.
Hard to draw any conclusions without seeing the whole interaction – I did hear the stewardess tell the male passenger that it was an “accident.”
I disagree. The procedures after 9/11 has made passengers into sheep, tolerating all kinds of indignities and abuse when it comes to airline travel.
But passengers are very capable of understanding the difference between airline staff making decisions for safety reasons vs. being abusive. And they are simply stating that they will no longer tolerate abuse.
The “macho” passenger as you called him, showed empathy for someone being abused, something that should be admired, not condemned. He did not hit anyone despite provocation. If he had, then I would support your suggestion of removal from the plane.
I don’t see anything wrong with what the male passenger said. If had had taken the employee up on his offer to hit him then I would think differently. That employee needs to be fired. It doesn’t matter what took place before the video started. He should NOT be in customer service.
The stewardess was trying to calm everyone but I don’t understand why the male employee wasn’t falling over himself to apologize to the woman he hit. Even if it was accidental, it seems to have been brought about by an aggressive sort of impatience that you shouldn’t direct at any passenger and certainly not at someone holding a baby who has just come out of the stroller.
hebegbe he was hyped up and ready to fight. had he shouted from his seat something…sure …but he crossed the line for me. and he made the situation about himself… and was escalating very quickly towards a violent confrontation.
^^^Agree. On the flip side, I thought her crying at the end sounded fake and forced.
I think it’s important to note that the women had two babies with her, twins that she was dealing with. Not sure why she wasn’t pre-boarded.
From what I can ascertain from reading the reported witness accounts the woman actually had 2 children with her. Think they are twins. Apparently she wanted to board with a stroller and claims she was told by someone at check-in that she could look for space in the overhead bin, otherwise she would have to check it at the gate as is customary.
According to one witness she was attempting to stuff the folded stroller into an overhead bin. She was encountering some difficulty and I assume holding up the line of passengers behind her. She was approached by the male attendant who told her she had to check it at the gate and she told him she was told she could try to get it into the overhead bin. He apparently decided it wasn’t going to fit and attempted to take the stroller from her. She resisted resulting in a tug of war over the stroller where he prevailed but in the process she was clonked in the head.
So yes, it appears he was wrong in escalating the matter in that way and engaging in the tug of war. Seems like everyone these days just resorts to brute force when things aren’t going their way.
I also have no problem with the man who stood up to the attendant – the woman did not appear to be able to advocate for herself at the time and everyone else was just standing around doing absolutely nothing. Good for him for telling the attendant he was out of bounds.
The male passenger was trying to get the employee’s name. He was angry but imo not belligerent, though he was clearly provoked by the airline employee’s manner and words (which were unacceptable no matter what). And I am a little gobsmacked that someone would say the woman’s crying sounded ‘fake’ by the end. Wow.
All of these incidents-- they could be de-escalated so easily, it seems. And are, probably many times over, on most flights that we hear nothing about because the trouble was averted by professional-acting staff.
Well, the airline staffer certainly didn’t help calm the situation by provoking the male passenger. It was a sucker’s play. The airline staffer was certainly hoping the passenger would smack him, thereby minimizing the atrocious behavior by the airline guy himself. Sad to say, the airline employee held all the cards and the authority in this event.
I was the one who said I thought she sounded fake at the end. Why is that so bad? Do I feel the entire situation was a big mess and the airline attendant is totally an ass? Yes I do. But I also don’t know how she was behaving before then. I thought her loud crying sounded over the top at a certain point.
I can’t understand why the airline employees don’t display a name tag or a badge with an identifying number. I think the male passenger was too aggressive—but I think the airline staff should have provided the name or ID number of the flight attendant who struck the woman in the head when FIRST asked. They didn’t. When the male passenger asked again, he said “You don’t know the whole story.” The female attendant says “It was an accident.”
I think the male passenger was too aggressive, but…even if you think you’ve acted 100% correctly, when you are asked for your name or that of a co-worker who is accused of acting wrongfully, you give it up immediately. Refusing to do so just pours gasoline onto the flames. People tend to believe that if you WON’T ID yourself it’s because you know darn well you acted wrongfully an/or you’re a bully. The male passenger only got too aggressive–IMO–when his two requests for the male attendant’s name were refused.
Plus…if you really can’t carry a stroller on a plane no matter the circumstances, some airlines employee should have taken it away from her BEFORE she boarded the plane.
jonjri…if I am not mistaken flight attendants do have a photo id like hospital staff…but like in most hospitals it is purposely flipped over so nobody can read it. I think employees in both hospitals and other places you need to wear a photo ID it should have a number and not a name next to the photo.(a little privacy is ok but you should be identifiable) the end result of this case united and some other recent situations is…no more calling police or security and no more saying anything. the lady has a stroller fall on someone during the flight to bad not my problem. avoid any possible confrontation at any costs. at if something happens like an in flight injury the airline will be sued not the flight attendant. if you get caught on a video like this flight attendant forget about your job you like have a scarlet letter on you and everyone will know it is you. no escaping the tar and feathering for years.