American Flight Attendant Grabs Stroller, Nearly Hits Baby, Wants to Fight

Yesterday an American Airlines flight attendant grabbed a passenger’s stroller and reportedly nearly hit her baby in the process.

The altercation may have happened because the passenger, from South America, might not have understood the flight attendant’s initial instructions, that she couldn’t store the stroller in the overhead bin.

A passenger started taking video on American Airlines flight 591 yesterday from San Francisco to Dallas as the woman cries asking for her stroller back.

A different passenger approaches and asks the flight attendant’s name, presumably so he could file a complain about the man’s behavior towards the mother. Passengers tell other members of the crew that this flight attendant “grabbed the woman’s stroller.”

As the video approaches nearly two minutes in the man who asked the flight attendant’s name has watched all he can, gets up and intervenes. The flight attendant flails at him and orders “you stay out of this.”

AA Flight attendant violently took a stroller from a lady with her baby on my flight, hitting her and just missing the baby. Then he tried to fight a passenger who stood up for her. AA591 from SFO to DFW.

The passenger who took the video wrote on Facebook that the airline “in-voluntarily escorted the mother and her kids off the flight and let the flight attendant back on, who tried to fight a passenger.”

American Airlines has suspended the crew member and shared this statement.

We have seen the video and have already started an investigation to obtain the facts. What we see on this video does not reflect our values or how we care for our customers. We are deeply sorry for the pain we have caused this passenger and her family and to any other customers affected by the incident. We are making sure all of her family’s needs are being met while she is in our care. After electing to take another flight, we are taking special care of her and her family and upgrading them to first class for the remainder of their international trip.

The actions of our team member captured here do not appear to reflect patience or empathy, two values necessary for customer care. In short, we are disappointed by these actions. The American team member has been removed from duty while we immediately investigate this incident.”

If nothing else, the United Airlines incident where a passenger was dragged off and bloodied by police after refusing to give up his seat for a crew member has taught airlines better crisis communication — not to apologize for having to re-accommodate customers as United CEO Oscar Munoz initially said in that instance, but to disavow the behavior immediately.

That said, the claim that “patience or empathy, two values necessary for customer care” are things that we can expect across the board from the airline’s crew is — to put it mildly — a stretch (though hardly unique to American).

Ron Lieber has a great New York Times piece this morning on flight attendant training to manage conflict. It’s a good long-ish read on the verbal judo it takes for crew to deal with myriad passengers from all different backgrounds and the situations they face. He opens with the increasingly conflict between passengers and flight attendants.

He shares some stories of successful management of difficult situations, offering up one where a passenger sitting next to me brought her own wine in a to-go cup from an American Airlines club.

But ultimately I think the most important point is that training of individual flight attendants is helpful, but the culture and airline instructions that have developed over the past 16 years have led to an escalation of passenger customer service challenges to potential security threats.. quickly. And he allows me to make that case.

Mr. Leff has been vocal about how airlines have watered down the definition of potential security risks — and not in a good way. “They’ve created a space in which you’re asking crew to evaluate what constitutes a threat,” he said. “Which could include refusing instructions, whatever those may be, which gradually gets interpreted as talking back to a crew member or just being rude, which may be unintentional.”

Here, he points to another blogger who was asked to leave a flight for taking pictures of the seat back in front of him. His eviction was based on a very loose reading of a no-photographing-the-crew rule and a reportedly false accusation that he did not comply with a flight attendant’s order to put down his phone camera.

Mr. Leff also has a friend, he said, who ran into a flight attendant recently who threatened to summon law enforcement when the friend asked the flight attendant to be careful of the delicate items she had placed in the overhead bin.

…Mr. Leff was quick to note that he does not know precisely which borderline passenger behaviors should be declared removal-worthy. “But I also think that airlines have allowed consideration of the question to take a back seat,” he said, “where they are too quick to tell people to call law enforcement and don’t draw a line in the right place or invest enough in the customer-service element.”

Airlines have placed flight attendants in impossible adversarial roles with passengers. But Lieber’s piece ends on a hopeful note — the example of Delta empowering flight attendants to award miles on the spot for customer inconveniences (hardly a new idea as any recipient of United’s kits that led to various levels of compensation can attest). Giving flight attendants more tools to diffuse situations is a good start, any given effort may not be successful, but airlines need to experiment, evaluate results, and iterate to shift from a mindset that leads to so much conflict with customers.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. Gary, do you think this reflects the current corporate environment at AA? It might not seem like it to the passenger, but AA and USAir are still not integrated. There’s some concern with US Airways cabin crew that when FA ops merge, they will get the crappy end of the deal.

    Additionally, have you seen the Reddit post claiming the mother initiated the altercation? Any thoughts on the wanna-be-hero?

    Also my post: http://travelupdate.boardingarea.com/american-airlines-flight-attendant-allegedly-hits-woman-stroller/

    Thanks Gary,
    -Max P.

  2. I could not make out the conversation going on at the front of the plane right before the other passenger tells the offending flight attendant that he would knock him out if he tries that with him so I’m not sure if the passenger initiated the second confrontation simply because he was still upset about the situation or what he witnessed or he overheard something that was being said presumably about what happened but at least everyone got the benefit of the FA’s attitude being recorded.

    I think you make an excellent point about airline and airport employees abusing their power by resorting to claiming all manner of things security risks. I saw a lot of posts with stories of this nature after the United incident. Passengers can be difficult at times to put it mildly and resorts to threats or use of force should be a final resort. Give people a little power though and some become their own little tinpot dictators.

    The downside of improved yield management and smaller seats is that people are more on edge. Combine that with the TSA security theater and things seem to be slowly reaching a boiling point.

  3. Gray, great job! You called out the current U.S. flight-attendant culture as being one of entitlement and self-importance without actually using those exact words.

    Yes, some passengers exhibit those same attitudes — but it’s the flight attendants’ job to DE-escalate those situations, not make them worse!

  4. @Max – With regard to your post, I would not put much stock in the fact that no one else seemed to be backing the other passenger up. The flight was boarding and people may not have seen what happened. Plus, the sad reality is most people are not willing to get involved when something bad happens although I’m not saying the guy necessarily reacted completely the right way.

    BTW, it seemed to me that when the guy asked for the name of the flight attendant, presumably to file a complaint, he did not appear to receive an answer. I find it unlikely that the flight crew did not know.

  5. The adage about acting like a baby doesn’t apply in this case. The baby was the only person behaving well. Pacifiers for all.

    The video does not show the incident that started the whole mess so I can’t comment on that. The FA did not show good judgment in the way he told the officious intermeddler to butt out. That guy should be charged with assault for the way he charged at the FA threatening to knock him out.

  6. The flight attendant should have backed off! Period! AA has security – let them deal with the situation! Flight attendant made the problem even worse with his attitude! He’s very Lucky that a person with nothing to loose didn’t take him out! Calm is what was required – not a Hitler figure! Poor pilot just wants to fly the plane – shut the cabin door and leave! Now he’s being upset by all this nonsense, and still has to fly the plane in a calm – professional manner – keeping his mind on his duties of flying the aircraft safely – as for me – I would have got off and caught a different plane or different airline. Flying is stressful enough without all this stupid nonsense!

  7. We are aircop, say something we don’t like inside our airplane, we dare you. This is what happens when you give people authority, they’ll eventually abuse it. Domestic air service has always been crappy. I would assume almost all readers of the blog have at least flew with one international carrier, the different in in-flight service is night and day.

  8. It’s easy for many posters to auto lay fault with the FA’s but if your flying as much as I am 50K domestic so far I can tell you these planes are packed and frankly most passengers are not listening to FA’s like the past. I had a three hour delay out of IAD Thursday packed plane, 50 Jr HS’rs returning to Montana from spring trip plus a lot of tired business like me. The FA’s did a great job as did the pilots in making us aware of what was going on (weather) and joking. It cut the tension down and I commented to the crew during flight how well they did. Alaska Air.

    Having said all this there is a word today that frankly makes me mad and it’s call ‘Entitlement’ seems like everyone is entitled these days.

    As we go into summer I fear it’s getting worse. and flying is getting less and less appealing.

  9. Slow down. I have not seen the video as it is almost irrelevant since it doesnt start at the beginning. Also, since others did not intervene, there may be some doubt. Full investigation is appropriate. What is relevant is that passengers do not control the plane. When they do, I am finding alternate travel arrangements. Nothing against fellow passengers, but I did pick them when I bought my ticket.
    Boarding is supposed to be low drama, and stress triggering events minimized. Successful takeoff is the goal, not on time performance. After that, landings are important.
    But I digress.
    In this case, the airline is again to blame. Either inadequate signage (no strollers), slow flight attendant reaction (to the stroller rolling down the aisle), and only one flight attendant handling a customer altercation (two minutes into the video).
    Again I haven’t seen the video.
    Add to that “on time push back” demands and the flight attendant cannot win.
    My advise to airlines.. slow down. Passengers want successful takeoffs and landings. They want theit luggage to arrive at their destination. And they don’t want a lot of drama that the pilots haven’t simulated a million times over.
    Message to Southwest Airplanes (arguably not really an airline), reserved seating reduces drama.

  10. So it seems like the woman brought a stroller on board which I do not believe is allowed on AA. I can understand why the FA would try and get her to gate check, but his way of doing it was HORRIBLE.

    So I think it is well established that American’s operational goal of D0 seems to trump any situation. How many stories have we read where D0 seems to be a deciding factor in how an AA employee handles a situation? My question is, if lets say this situation didn’t escalate to the point it did, but left 30 minutes late due to the woman fighting the stroller being taken, does the flight attendant or gate agents receive any sort of “demerit” or repercussions? Now obviously there isn’t one excuse that makes this FA’s actions okay. But at some point, when a company’s culture and policies become so stressful for all those involved, maybe they need to reassess what is really important. I don’t EVER condone the type of reaction the flight attendant displayed, but if they are constantly under pressure to prioritize D0 first and the customer experience second, these types of negative interactions will occur.

    While AA’s response was handled much better than UA’s last week….it’s all lipstick on a pig if the airlines don’t actually take real steps to address and fix the issues. This is where these morons in the board room/exec offices need to finally earn their ridiculous bonuses. Come up with ways to improve the customer experience while also running an operationally sound airline. I don’t think any of accountant’s in CEO’s cloths can actually do that and these incidents are going to be on the rise. The public is at the tipping point with airlines i think.

  11. I really don’t care what precipitated the event – Mr. White Knight Hero needs to STFU and sit down in his seat. He helped nothing about this situation with his John Wayne act.

  12. If I had been crying on the plane, the internet would have exploded with laughter. I have full sympathy for the mother, but effing hate this sexist society, and progressive women that want equality but play up chauvinism when it suits them.

  13. This makes me sick as I am sure anyone with children. I applaud the man who stood up and tried to to help. He’s the real hero! This employee should be terminated. I am not sure if AA employees are “at-will” but if he is he is gone. Today we’ll see if AA has a better PR team and legal team who wants to work on the weekends. They have a chance to make this situation better. The flight attendant seemed to have a better grasp of the situation offer water and trying to help the women. Will most work email I always write as if the whole world could see it. AA employees need to be trained on if the whole world will see it. The pilot was not trained well as he just stood and did nothing. Lack of leadership. What is sad is this is what are tax dollars have given us after FED buyouts and mergers. Mark my words. The only industries that understand real customer service are Amazon, Apple, Walmart, and Tesla understands how to use tech to improve the customer experience. I would not be surprise if one of them will try something. Amazon already has prime airplanes and Apple has crazy money. In closing, judgement is the key to these situations on united and AA. Lack of it by employees will cause settlements and legal fees. At the end of the day costly mistake. AA needs to send out some online videos to its employees to watch during down time. I live in Flower Mound a burn of Dallas and this makes me sick.

  14. That flight attendant should be fired. He should be fired if he hit the woman with the stroller during a violent confrontation (this isn’t on the video), but even if that didn’t happen the way he responded to the male passenger shows he should be fired just for the way he conducts himself. Taunting the guy to hit him? Sorry not professional and there is no place for that with airline staff. If AA does not fire this person then they will have failed. Staff should never egg on a customer into a fight. On a side note I would have been ok with that belligerent passenger being arrested for threatening the crew. It does not seem like he had any part in this yet he exited his seat and made clear threats towards the staff. To me that warrants an arrest no matter what the staff had done or said to a third party. I wouldn’t want to be on a plane in a confined space with some hothead like that.

  15. @Damon that man was not a hero. He was a thug who got up and threatened violence. I don’t condone what the AA staff did here and that one employee should be fired, but it is not proper in a civil society for someone to get up and threaten violence. Hero is never a word I would use to describe that man’s actions.

  16. @Zmaster Totally agree. It seems like the staff were trying to sort out the issue and that jackass made everything soo much worse.

  17. I have a hard time believing the airlines are sympathetic to these situations. All they are worried about is the bad press. As an AA EXP I would have liked to see an email sent to all Advantage members about the incident. It could have been the exact same email as the one published to the media but just the extra step would make it feel more genuine.

  18. There is also a reddit post from another passenger on the plane that indicates the woman started screaming at the flight attendant when he told her she could not store the stroller in the overhead bin and even yanked the stroller out of his hands and struggled with him over it which led to the entire confrontation., so it sounds like she is hardly innocent in this whole scenario. In any event the flight attendant was still wrong in how he handled the situation, but if she comes around trying to file some sort of lawsuit I am not sure she deserves a dime.

  19. I agree that passengers do not listen to announcements but any other industry where employees treated customers like this would be out of business. Flight attendant could have calmly said sir sorrry you are upset but I need you to take your seat before this gets worse and walked away and got security. The passenger was wrong but this is not good service.

    I was on a united flight where people moved to economy plus which is wrong but instead of the fa saying unfourtunetly these are paid seats and you have to go back she immediately was like ” oh no way this can’t be… you can’t sit there …this ….and the ran to the front and brought two more fa and all stood there and all three talking….

    I have never seen this on Asian airlines or even when I fly Alaska air.

  20. This is becoming the norm these days and the airlines are going to make things even worse with their stupid cheap fares where people are not allowed to use the overhead bins. Passengers especially mainline passengers have had enough and they are starting to push back. Flight crews are poorly trained in conflict resolution and management is only concerned about squeezing every penny out of people no matter what the consequences.. This particular flight attendant acted completely improperly. I don’t care if the stroller had to be checked there is no excuse for violently grabbing it and nearly hitting the baby with it. What also infuriates me is why the pilot didn’t get involved. This was his aircraft and he could have easily diffused the situation. He allowed this to get completely out of control while he stood there and did absolutely nothing. I see this stupidity all the time but fortunately now people are recording it for all to see and the airlines are getting caught on camera. Kudos to the people recording these.

  21. I think some FA’s have taken the airline’s customer service hostage out of resentment over labor issues. I have seen over the past ten years increasing authoritarian behavior by FA’s just daring passengers to “say another word and I’ll have you removed.” This is not tolerated in an open society to act like an unreasonable (i.e. no attempt or possibility to reason) dictator who can imperiously banish you for asking their name.

    The solution to this is emphasized by this article. Everyone should pull out their cell phones and document the behavior as thoroughly as possible. This ends the dictator’s reign but more importantly acts as a damper on the behavior by others since the most egregious cases like this will be seen around the globe and the perp pointed out wherever they go for years.

    There will always be authoritarian bootlickers who in dictatorships play the role of jackboots and enablers because of a need to have a strong leader to tell them what to do. You need to be reminded that in this country what is considered patriotic since its founding is to question authority, not kowtow to it, that because we have no history of dictators (like Russia) your efforts to enforce totalitarian behavior is going to end up on the junkheap of history along with your fat Trumpian dictator daddies.

  22. The FA erred in how he handled the situation. The reaction is 100% on the flight attendant. Its unfortunate it happened but its a much different situation then what just happened with United. This is an easily correctable situation. I do not believe strollers are allowed as carry on items for any US airlines.

  23. Am I correct that this would almost never happen on JetBlue, Virgin America or Alaska and possibly Southwest? What is the difference in their cultures that preclude this crew behavior? Are these labor grievances being acted out on the public? I’ve chatted with stressed FA’s before who often have a long list of grievances about being devalued to wage slavery even though they are critical frontline safety responders who are trained and tasked to save lives in emergencies.

  24. They should all be sent to Guantanamo! And to threaten a FA is a federal crime, so Mr. Hero should go to jail and then Guantanamo

  25. @Gary… totally disgusted with the behavior of this particular FA and the pilot on this flight but your deceptive headline “Wants to Fight” is also irresponsible. The FA dared the male passenger to hit him, I wouldn’t call that “Wants to Fight”. Maybe saying Dares passenger to hit him would have been more appropriate. If you’re going to cover events like this at least be accurate in the way you create a headline otherwise you distract from the story. Thanks.

  26. The flight attendant should have informed the captain that the woman refused to comply with airline safety policy. She then should have been removed from the plane, at the discretion of the captain. The “hero” passenger should have been removed from the plane immediately and charged appropriately. The rest of the passengers should have all been compensated for this unfortunate disturbance and delay.

  27. So what? Stop crying, lady. Sit down, shut up, and follow crew instructions.

    There are OTHER people on the airplane that need to get somewhere.

    If you want attention and sympathy, hire a therapist.

  28. Why didn’t the ticket taking AA employee inform the woman that strollers aren’t allowed on the plane before entering the gateway? Or if it was a long ramp, then at the doorway of the plane? That has long been been standard operating procedure. Someone fell down on their job, and as a result, an unnecessary situation resulted for all concerned.

  29. Not surprised by this or the recent UA incident because I know they suck for many years! just wish we had far more competition on domestic flights. We need to allow foreign carriers to compete for domestic flights. I ALWAYS TRY TO AVOID any US carriers when flying out of or in to the country. That means NO UA, AA or DELTA. They are just terrible. Bad you are flying alone or with family with a child. The customer service on phone, the counter and gate agents and the flight crews , though not all but too many of them are ARROGANT, CONDESCENDING, RUDE & ALWAYS DISCOURTEOUS

  30. @WilliamC

    Typical authoritarian bootlicker. Probably a Trump supporter, fat, objectify women who won’t even look at you.

    The lady didn’t speak English and didn’t understand why they were taking away her stroller, which needed to be explained in her language. But then that opens up your whole can of morbidly obese racism, right?

    Do you fat rednecks have any idea how sick civilized people are of YOU!?

  31. @Gary… The FA didn’t dare the passenger to fight him he dared the passenger to hit him. There is a huge difference and you know that. You’re too smart to claim otherwise. Don’t try and be the National Enquirer.

  32. @Mark I’m genuinely not trying to be obtuse, and maybe I’m being too colloquial in my language, I think daring someone to hit them is daring them to fight.

  33. I”ve flown with a stroller over a hundred times. You are NEVER allowed to bring a stroller on a plane. NEVER. They are ALWAYS gate checked–domestically, internationally, big plane, small plane, whatever. The gate agent ALWAYS makes sure the stroller has a gate-check tag I’m quite sure the woman, limited English or not, was told that she had to leave the stroller in the gate check area, and got a gate-check ticket, and she simply refused and took it on the plane anyway. I understand post-United why AA reacted the way it did, but the woman in question should have been kicked off the plane, with her two babies.

  34. @Gary, I would never call you obtuse. Andy Dufresne got a month in the hole for calling someone obtuse.

    I have no argument with the headline. But I think the point about the headline is a semantic one. When someone “wants” to fight, they are usually the one who “picks” the fight. In this case the FA did not pick the fight, and he seemed to retreat when the aggressor advanced. However, the FA taunts the aggressor which can be interpreted as wanting to fight.

  35. I think the constant crying was a bit much. You couldn’t pay me enough to be a flight attendant, too stressful.

  36. David – absolute rubbish – many strollers are allowed on board, some even designed to collapse to SPECIFICALLY meet the carryon dimensions.
    I am astounded (not really) by the “experts” who weren’t there but know exactly what happened. I read a report that said that a FA told the mother the stroller could be on board if room could be found and while she was looking the male FA came and grabbed the stroller while the mom was trying to explain! Who knows if that account is true – I wasn’t there. I do know that a FA confronting an upset passenger with “hit me….go on hit me” is NOT ACCEPTABLE behavior under any circumstances.
    Look at AA rules – it says strollers up to 20 lbs. MAY, not MUST be checked at the door. I wouldn’t want to fly with a FA who behaved like this – clearly he is more concerned with his ego than my safety 🙁

  37. I’ve flown in several countries and on 4 continents. It seems since 9/11 the culture of U.S. FA changed dramatically from service and patience to ordering customers around. Even countries with lower economic status than the USA do much of the passenger organisation upfront before the plane is boarded. Also, boarding in the US is a long, slow, painful process with FA’s barking at everyone. In other countries, boarding is smooth and quick and the FA’s seem to know where all the passengers are. On U.S. flights there is a lot of drama about seating, storing bags, and using the toilets. People are generally uptight and nervous from the boarding line up until after takeoff. Why do US airlines “have to” serve alcohol? On short flights, why do they have to serve anything. It is not a gracious “thank you” to the passengers as it once was. Now it is a chore begrudged by most attendants, who act like they are being inconveniences. The message int he US seems to be if you can’t afford to fly first class, we can’t afford to provide a comfortable environment.

  38. All the comentors about the strollers never being allowed on planes is not true. When I used to travel with small children, about 3 years ago, I was allowed to bring my small collapsable strollers on plane if room allowed. I am talking about us doemstic flights. Internationally, flight attendants would help with your bags to your seat if you were holding small children.

  39. I was offered to store my small stroller in the aircraft closet. So it’s been done. Then again it was a European airline. Also, as far as the guy is concerned, why should ANYONE get escorted off the plane for talking back to an FA EVER, as some have suggested. That’s why I take my business to the foreign airlines where I’m treated with dignity, care, hospitality and respect. I feel like the US FA’s act like Air Marshals there to make sure u don’t open your mouth or move .

  40. Attitude and Ability,

    FA must develope a positive attitude, and have the ability to understand others.

    God gave then 2 ears and one mouth.

    I am Lifetime Platinum with AA, they are a great company, and so us United,

    99% if the FA are great.

  41. Estelle Gregory, you are completely wrong about AA rules; strollers under 20 pounds can be gate-checked, but they still can’t be brought onto the plane. Here is the info from AA’s website:

    Strollers

    Each ticketed customer is allowed 1 stroller. Only small, collapsible and light strollers (up to 20lbs/9kgs) can be checked at the gate. Any stroller that weighs over 20lbs/9 kgs, is too large or is non−collapsible must be checked at the ticket counter.

    Customers are allowed 1 stroller and 1 car seat per ticketed passenger. Both items may be checked at the ticket counter or one item can be checked at the gate and one at the counter. These items are checked at no charge, when traveling with a child or to adopt.

  42. @Gary,

    One thing that has been missed in all of this discussion — the unequal enforcement of rules. Airlines have created a pressure-packed environment where it is not only likely but completely predictable that things are going to get out of control. In this kind of setting, where every little liberty you enjoy outside a plane can be taken away at the whim of a flight attendant, nothing is more aggravating than the unequal and arbitrary application of rules.

    As a super-duper Unobtanium AAdvantage member, I sometime fly first class, and sometimes in coach. In coach, flight attendants go ape-puckey if you lean your seat back during take-off and landing. In business or first, they don’t care at all. All airlines ask (for no good reason, from what I’ve read) that you set your phone to airplane mode during take-off and landing, but half the people don’t. How does that make the rule-followers feel? Or the ones who sit when asked, then watch as the flight attendants do little or nothing when others clog up the aisles.

    The airline industry lives on feeding feelings of inequality as they make more room for the wealthy and squeeze the less fortunate. They should not be surprised when some passengers, already on a hair-trigger, can’t take someone acting like a jerk just because they’re wearing a uniform.

    United, American, and the rest are completely responsible for these incidents because they have created an environment where they are bound to happen, with regularity. Instead of addressing the problem, they now empower their personnel to threaten people with arrest for the most minor infractions of a set of rules that no-one understands and which are applied unequally.

    I’m not sure the White Knight dude was in the right, but I certainly understand his anger when he sees some self-important martinet making a woman cry.

  43. 1. Did anyone catch what the mother had left on the stroller? I couldn’t hear through the accent what personal belonging was left on the stroller.

    2. Did anyone else notice that the male flight tucked his Identification (pointlessly at the end of the day, honestly) into his shirt pocket?

  44. In a strange way, the Alpha Male, did the flying public a favor, by exposing a FA who was wound too tight. The Alpha Male, after all, did not give the FA a direct threat… he prefaced his statement with “IF,” and said something would have to be done to himself, first. Well that sent the FA over the edge. Not airworthy, imo.

  45. Only in America, lately

    I only fly international routes but I’ve never seen things like this going on in the planes I fly.

    Only in America

  46. Clearly the male flight attendant was out of line. But it seems like there could be lots of faults in multiple other places? I have read several differing accounts of this incident. One said the woman had twin babies (an awful lot to try handling on a plane) but I’m not sure that’s true. (Even with one baby you have to wonder why she hadn’t taken advantage of early boarding – and if it was two babies you would have hoped she had made prior arrangements with American for help). Another report said it was a double-stroller and that the stroller had already been tagged as for gate check. If that’s the case you have to wonder whether the woman passenger was pushing the limits intentionally, or why ground personnel failed to stop her long before she got to the cabin door, or both. (Bringing a stroller into the aisle creates a potential disaster for all the passengers on that flight if an emergency were to occur. Isn’t it against FAA rules?) Lots of questions.

  47. I would like every one of you to take this situation and place it as if you were the employee. What is the culture today that ONE incident an employee needs to be FIRED? All of you are missing facts that are missing are making assumptions that are not shown in the video.

    Where have we become in a society where it is ME ME ME and I I I am right regardless of the facts. When I was in school the teacher was always right. The nuns hit you. Your parents spanked you and there was no “grey arears” The FA job is to do their job not baby sit a bunch of holiday goers who have NO RESPECT FOR ANY one else.

    As for the guy 2F he challenged the FA and got involved when he had NO business to do so. HE was inciting more of a problem then there really was. The other FA offered the PAX water to help calm her down. That guy just wanted to show off that he and a big one.

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