The woman was heading home to Portland, OR and was in the process of boarding her connecting flight in Phoenix earlier this week, reports the Washington Post. She says there were some lines, some crowding, some complaints from passengers — the typical behavior on a flight.
But as she was waiting in the aisle to get to her seat and chatting with another passenger nearby, she says a flight attendant started yelling at her, accusing her of not listening to him, when she hadn’t heard him the first place.
“Stay right there,” he shouted, according to the passenger, “I asked you three times.”
She was confused and asked what was going on, to which he allegedly replied, “You can get off this flight. I’ll kick you off of this plane right now.”
He wasn’t wearing a name tag, she says, and refused to give her his name, instead dismissing her with a “Go.”
Once she sat down in her seat, she started crying, as other passengers tried to comfort her. She says he then started opening overhead bins and asking where her bag was, repeatedly telling her she was getting off the plane.
Another flight attendant then came over to her and told her she’d have to come off the aircraft, while a fellow passenger furtively filmed the scene from the row behind her.
“Why are you guys so mean to me?” she says in the video, sobbing. “I didn’t do anything.”
When she finally got up to leave, others on the plane started voicing their support for her, booing the airline.
“Are you serious?” one woman said. “That’s the last time I fly American,” the man sitting next to her said. “Shame on American!”
She says she still doesn’t understand why she was booted off the plane — perhaps the flight attendant was mad that he’d asked her to make space in the aisle, but according to her, there were four people between them and she didn’t know he was addressing her until he began yelling.
Her theory? The crew was making room on the plane for another passenger who took her seat almost immediately after she was asked to leave.
“It’s a little coincidental that I’m being attacked verbally for no reason, and then all of a sudden another guy is getting my seat,” she said.
American Airlines didn’t explain what had happened either, instead issuing one of those statements that sort of accepts guilt, but doesn’t tell the crew’s side of the story or provide a reason for her removal from the flight.
“We are in contact with the passenger and have apologized,” the statement reads. “We have addressed the issue with our team members to ensure we provide a consistent, quality travel experience for our customers in the future.”
The passenger said a customer service representative offered her a $250 voucher, but she told them she wouldn’t ever use it. Instead, she was offered the money in cash. She’s seeking legal counsel instead.
‘Shame on American!’ Airline booed after weeping woman is thrown off a flight [Washington Post]
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist
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