American Airlines staff member seen challenging passenger to a fight

originally posted by: LadyGreenEyes

originally posted by: SeaYote
a reply to: infolurker

Having traveled with baby and stroller -- in the U.S., the stroller is supposed to be checked at the gate & airlines have it ready for you in the jet-way upon arrival. It's a safety issue. What did she want it on the plane for? From the audio, she has a European accent, perhaps she didn't understand this.

With that said, clearly the rough tough American Airlines dude has no people skills and should have calmly and politely explained this to the mom.

I traveled with a small child and a stroller, and another child, some years back. Smaller stroller, and flew within the U.S. for part of the trip, ad overseas for part. Every single plane, the stroller went on the plane with us, and a flight attendant stowed it in a closet on board. No hassle, no complaints, very helpful. The ONLY issue we had on those trips was before boarding, when they allowed people to push past, to board, at a time it was supposed to be people with small children. That wasn't the cabin crew, though. Checked "at the gate", in our case, meant rolling it on board, removing my son, and having the flight attendant stow it. Now, this was some years ago, as the son in the stroller is now in his twenties, but it wasn't a big deal then, so I don't see why it would be now. If she was allowed to bring it aboard, then she can't be blamed for doing so. The time to tell her someone else would need to would have been before boarding.

weird she was told she could bring it on board. strollers being one of the things being banned from the passenger cabin since at least 9-11. but no matter what, it seems she was told she could IF there was room (who knows if that is true, or not). yet it also appears she was unable to find a place for it. and so would have been told it would have to be put into the cargo hold regardless. just as they do for any carry on, that there is no space for it to fit. (a severe problem the last several years since airlines reduced the amount of luggage you can check for free. as well as people to lazy, or in too much of a rush to pick up baggage at the carousels. so people bring and for some reason are allowed to bring on huge bags, and i am talking about duffel bags and military packs that take up entire overhead compartments by themselves. and multiple bags, taking all the space). it's quite likely she refused and started yelling like seems to happen so much with entitled mothers these days. and almost always happens when people are told their carry on will have to go into the hold. and we even have witnesses saying the lady "acted strongly" when told they wold have to take the stroller. go figure for these entitled mothers. i have argued myself, but in a fairly nice manor, trying to keep civil. something all too rare these days. as for her almost getting hit in the face. there is not much room on an aircraft, in fact the isles are only 14 inches wide. especially as people are boarding or deplaning, and trying to deal with their carry-ons. so just because of lack of room the stroller probably had no choice but to be near her as they tried to take it off. who knows, they may have even accidentally hit her in doing so. it seems they had to forcefully take it away from her which makes it more likely to happen. i know i have hit people and been hit all the time getting on and off since there is no room. it is rather tight space after all. you can't even pass people in the isle as they try to put things in the overheads. so there was no reason for her to carry on like she did, or for the idiot to threaten the crew.

but you know i wonder how much from the lady, the idiot and the flight crew is due to the wrongfully blaming the airline and crew for that issue a couple weeks ago? tempers on both sides of the problem were likely already flaring due to that BS. and this lady might have even seen a way she might make some money out of putting on a show. just like that moron suing from the other incident. and it did work at least partially, she got herself a free upgrade, that is worth a lot of money, literally thousands of dollars for an international flight. perhaps that was her aim all along.

originally posted by: Tempter
I had a chance to fly from Beijing to Chicago, first class. I was, dare I say, treated with dignity.

The whole time I was wondering why this wasn't normal passenger treatment.

So here's a novel idea, if any airline would dare (Richard Branson, ever check out ATS?) :
Charge $50-$100 more per seat and in return:
- Don't over book aircraft.
- Take the Southwest Airlines model of a fleet of all the same aircraft (easier/cheaper maintenance, pilot training, etc.)
- Outfit the entire plane with more leg room, nice seats, plenty of luggage storage -- basically a step above cattle class - step below first class --- no separation of the "classes"
- Train the heck out of every employee for good customer service & problem solving.
- Give gate agents the authority to change tickets, offer higher reimbursement if something has to change to the detriment of the traveler.
- Clearly communicate the rules of passenger behavior and enforce the consequences with calm authority if someone crosses the line.

I'd be willing to pay more for a better, safer, more respectful flight!

So all the hitting of the customer must be in clip that wasn't posted. Why play the lottery anymore

originally posted by: Willtell
a reply to: LadyGreenEyes

Of course I’m not really advocating violence; just being tongue and cheek. You dealt with it admirably

Oh, with that doc, there would be violence if she and I ever met. The woman on the plane wasn't worth it.

originally posted by: generik

originally posted by: LadyGreenEyes
weird she was told she could bring it on board. strollers being one of the things being banned from the passenger cabin since at least 9-11. but no matter what, it seems she was told she could IF there was room (who knows if that is true, or not). yet it also appears she was unable to find a place for it. and so would have been told it would have to be put into the cargo hold regardless. just as they do for any carry on, that there is no space for it to fit. (a severe problem the last several years since airlines reduced the amount of luggage you can check for free. as well as people to lazy, or in too much of a rush to pick up baggage at the carousels. so people bring and for some reason are allowed to bring on huge bags, and i am talking about duffel bags and military packs that take up entire overhead compartments by themselves. and multiple bags, taking all the space). it's quite likely she refused and started yelling like seems to happen so much with entitled mothers these days. and almost always happens when people are told their carry on will have to go into the hold. and we even have witnesses saying the lady "acted strongly" when told they wold have to take the stroller. go figure for these entitled mothers. i have argued myself, but in a fairly nice manor, trying to keep civil. something all too rare these days. as for her almost getting hit in the face. there is not much room on an aircraft, in fact the isles are only 14 inches wide. especially as people are boarding or deplaning, and trying to deal with their carry-ons. so just because of lack of room the stroller probably had no choice but to be near her as they tried to take it off. who knows, they may have even accidentally hit her in doing so. it seems they had to forcefully take it away from her which makes it more likely to happen. i know i have hit people and been hit all the time getting on and off since there is no room. it is rather tight space after all. you can't even pass people in the isle as they try to put things in the overheads. so there was no reason for her to carry on like she did, or for the idiot to threaten the crew.

but you know i wonder how much from the lady, the idiot and the flight crew is due to the wrongfully blaming the airline and crew for that issue a couple weeks ago? tempers on both sides of the problem were likely already flaring due to that BS. and this lady might have even seen a way she might make some money out of putting on a show. just like that moron suing from the other incident. and it did work at least partially, she got herself a free upgrade, that is worth a lot of money, literally thousands of dollars for an international flight. perhaps that was her aim all along.

When I took a stroller, it was well before 9/11. No idea about current regs, but if she was allowed to board with it, that's still on the flight crew. If the airlines don't enforce their own rules, it's not really fair to blame the passengers. People will do what they are allowed to do, and take advantage of lax enforcement. That said, I don't think it's fair to call her "entitled" with no evidence. being a mother doesn't mean one automatically has a sense of entitlement. She was, n fact, allowed to bring the stroller onto the plane, and the flight attendant could have assisted her, instead of fighting with her. All indications are that he was aggressive, and nearly struck one of her children, as well as actually striking her. Even if accidental, that's too much. She was very upset, too, and not at all showing the mannerisms of someone feeling entitled. Parents have a right to be able to fly with their children, and small children do require some extra equipment. She had not one, but two small children, and a stroller is a necessity for moving them around. When traveled with a stroller, I had the one small child, and another, older one, and we did have a lot of bags (they were allowed then), due to traveling overseas for a military move. No stroller, and I'd have had a real problem!!

Just because some carry on to get money doesn't mean every issue is of that sort. I'd still like to see more video.