AA Employee Accused of Hitting Woman with Stroller

[Jester]

http://jalopnik.com/american-airlines-employee-allegedly-hit-woman-with-str-1794552514

When did White House spokesman, Sean Spicer, start working for AA as a blue shirt wearing Manager?

 

[WeAAsles]

http://jalopnik.com/american-airlines-employee-allegedly-hit-woman-with-str-1794552514

When did White House spokesman, Sean Spicer, start working for AA as a blue shirt wearing Manager?

That FA or Agent who didn't remain calm when the male passenger challenged could be in serious trouble employment wise? He should NOT have challenged the passenger to hit him since that is inciting violence and could have led to an altercation placing other people's safety at risk.

He'll probably be fired and the Union will have to argue for his job back which if they're successful will probably include sensitivity training or anger management classes?

Just glad I work downstairs with bags myself

 

[luvthe9]

"Going for Great"

 

[cltrat]

That FA or Agent who didn't remain calm when the male passenger challenged could be in serious trouble employment wise? He should NOT have challenged the passenger to hit him since that is inciting violence and could have led to an altercation placing other people's safety at risk.

He'll probably be fired and the Union will have to argue for his job back which if they're successful will probably include sensitivity training or anger management classes?

Just glad I work downstairs with bags myself

if you or any of your friends come to CLT you'll be taking those strollers upstairs along with what ever valet bags they are

 

[swamt]

Quick question for you crew members. Shouldn't the passenger have been removed for the threat he made towards the F/A right in front of the Captain? Not saying he was totally wrong as I never saw what the F/A did to get such a threat from a by-stander, but still. If this is a long tenure AA F/A he may get sent to training classes with the suspension, if he is a rookie then maybe AA will cut ties with someone with that kind of attitude working so closely with the public passengers. Not sure about this passenger as he placed himself in the middle of it and all the while the Captain was doing some fact finding, I say he should have let the Captain do his job and handle it as it appeared to me that the Captain was not at all happy with the F/A in question, just going by body language. Serious question for the flight crews as I have no clue of the regs when passengers make a threat.

 

[FWAAA]

I'm surprised that the male passenger was permitted to stay onboard but I'm also surprised that the flight attendant was also permitted to remain. The captain shown in the video appears to be the most passive pilot I've ever seen. I would have expected the captain to eject both the FA and the aggressive male passenger. Of course, that would have likely cancelled the flight, a result nobody wanted.

I recognize the flight attendant from previous flights. He's not well-gifted in the art of calmly getting along with everyone. Perhaps some time at the re-education camp in Fort Worth will do him some good.

 

[WeAAsles]

if you or any of your friends come to CLT you'll be taking those strollers upstairs along with what ever valet bags they are

We do that on the TWU side too. If something is too heavy to carry it goes on the nearest elevator.

 

[Albert]

I'm surprised that the male passenger was permitted to stay onboard but I'm also surprised that the flight attendant was also permitted to remain. The captain shown in the video appears to be the most passive pilot I've ever seen. I would have expected the captain to eject both the FA and the aggressive male passenger. Of course, that would have likely cancelled the flight, a result nobody wanted.

I recognize the flight attendant from previous flights. He's not well-gifted in the art of calmly getting along with everyone. Perhaps some time at the re-education camp in Fort Worth will do him some good.

Hard to say how one would react if someone got in one's face that's why I wouldn't be quick to judge. But I think you are right both were wrong here.

 

[FWAAA]

Hard to say how one would react if someone got in one's face that's why I wouldn't be quick to judge. But I think you are right both were wrong here.

Don't read too much into my earlier post - my post didn't assume or imply that the passenger was in the wrong (he may have been wrong, but I don't know. I wasn't there.)

My post was really just expressing surprise that the captain was willing to transport the FA and the passenger after watching the two get in each other's faces like that. The captain restrained the FA by the shoulders. He is possibly the most easy-going captain at AA, as I've seen passengers booted by pilots for much less. Most pilots I've seen would take the conservative position of "I don't want any possibility that those two will go at it once we're over Arizona so I'll offload them before we take off."

 

[WeAAsles]

This was written by another passenger on the flight and posted to comments on a GMA article (https://gma.yahoo.com/american-airl...-captured-073006084--abc-news-topstories.html):

I was on this flight directly across the isle from the woman filming the video. This is what I observed: 1.) woman gets on the plane pushing a car seat type stroller with one child in it, carrying a second child on her hip and dragging behind a very large folded stroller that was too big for the overhead bin or to go under a seat. 2.) the flight attendant shown in the video approached from the back of the plane and informed her in a calm manner that there was nowhere to store the stroller. The woman immediately escalated the situation and within about 30 seconds was screaming at him at the top of her lungs. 3.) the flight attendant evidently decided she was not fit to be on the flight (in my opinion the correct decision) and started to move her and her children towards the front of the plane. 4.) when they got to the from of the plane the woman decided she was not going any further. The flight attendant picked up the stroller and lifted it over his head to try and move past the woman. As he was doing this she pushed him and the stroller fell a bit and struck her in the face. She began crying loudly and dramatically. Shortly after this is where the video begins. 5.) The first class passenger then inserts himself into the drama with his faux chivalry but clearly has no idea what has transpired in the back of the plane since he was in a window seat in the first class section of the plane and could not have viewed the incident from his seat. 6.) after another 10 minutes or so the woman exits the plane only to be returned about 5 minutes later and taken to her seat. We wait another 30-40 minutes while various flight and ground crew come and go speaking to the woman. After about 40 minutes she deplanes again this time telling all of the passengers, who are now becoming vocal in support of the flight crew, that all she wanted was an apology from the flight attendant. Evidently that's what the 40 minute delay was all about. Then we waited another 10 minutes for the ground crew to find and remove her luggage from the belly of the plane. 7.) the flight finally leaves and arrives in Dallas an hour or so late. American representatives are waiting at the gate to speak with the first class passenger who made the threats. What I heard was a very apologetic tone coming from two American employees, as if the airline had done something to upset the first class passenger. 8.) when I entered the bag claim area the first class passenger was right in front of me and as soon as he made it through the revolving door there was a camera crew waiting for him on the other side to interview him. That's about as factual of an account as I can provide and I realize there may be other parts of this story that I do not know about or did not witness. From what I saw: a.) if anyone from American should have been punished it should be the ground crew who somehow letting this woman on board with a full size stroller. The flight attendant was put in a horrible situation by a passenger that most passengers in my immediate area thought seemed unstable. She escalated the situation, not him. b.) in my opinion, the first class passenger should have been removed. Had the flight been in progress he might very well have been arrested upon landing for threatening a crew member. Additionally, he could not have seen any of the back of the plane antics of the woman based on where he was seated. c.) I agree the flight attendant may have reacted too harshly in responding to the threatening customer in first class, but his actions with the woman in question were professional throughout the ordeal. I am disappointed American has chosen to punish him.

 

[FWAAA]

APFA releases a statement via twitter:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C-C2Vo1UwAAC5Lu.jpg

 

[MetalMover]

I'm surprised that the male passenger was permitted to stay onboard but I'm also surprised that the flight attendant was also permitted to remain. The captain shown in the video appears to be the most passive pilot I've ever seen. I would have expected the captain to eject both the FA and the aggressive male passenger. Of course, that would have likely cancelled the flight, a result nobody wanted.

I recognize the flight attendant from previous flights. He's not well-gifted in the art of calmly getting along with everyone. Perhaps some time at the re-education camp in Fort Worth will do him some good.

I agree...The Captain should've booted the male passenger's ass right off the aircraft. The FA should have been removed as well.
People need to realize the price of an airline ticket does not include the right to abuse employees.

 

[Birdman]

After several minutes of the uncontrollable sobbing, with no apparent tears, she lost me. Perhaps the airlines should consult the National LUnatic DaTabaSe to screen passengers....and crewmembers.

 

[swamt]

I too noticed the no tears and of course the "drama" crying. And now after reading another passengers side of the story it sounds as if this may get all turned around at least a little if the story is true. Even if the drama passenger sort of brought all this on I still think the male passenger should have been removed at a minimum. Could it be just another passenger looking for $$$. We will see soon. Wonder if any attorneys were on board and are bum rushing the lady to represent her. I really hope this is not the beginning of something going forward, please God no.

 

[FWAAA]

The crying passenger is no longer part of the story. AA refunded her tickets, gave her some vouchers and put her (and her kids) in First Class for their trip home to EZE. The hothead flight attendant, on the other hand . . .

Parker said this to employees:

Dear Team,

By now many of you have seen the news regarding an unfortunate incident that happened last evening on one of our aircraft prior to departure. Situations like this are not easy for team members or customers, and it is important for us to take responsibility when we don't handle things well. In this case, we accept that responsibility completely. This doesn’t mean we don't support our team members who were involved; it means that we acknowledge we did not put our best foot forward. We are going to gather the facts calmly and treat all team members involved with compassion and in a fair way.

While yesterday’s event was an outlier, it is a reminder that our frontline team members have very tough jobs. Emotions during travel are extraordinarily high. Managing a difficult situation is one of the hardest things all of you do. It is also one of the most important aspects of your jobs. Our job is to support you and make sure our training efforts deliver all the support you need and that there are appropriate steps we can take in real time to help de-escalate these types of incidents. At the end of the day, we are people serving people. And we know our job is to serve all of you so you can take care of our customers. This is more than just one team member; this is also about us making sure we have all of you set up for success by supporting you.

Our team takes care of hundreds of thousands of customers a day. And all of you do a phenomenal job. We are proud of the work you do and appreciate the care you give each other and our customers.

Thank you.

Doug