Toddler kicked off of Airtran Flight!

[candicenicole19]

I was watching the news last night and they said that a toddler and family were kicked off of the flight because the kid was have a tantrum! We are flying with 3 kids ages 1, 3 and 7. I am sure one will have a breaking point on our flight so keep your fingers crossed for us tomorrow morning that we make it with out them pulling us off! Now i doubt that my kids would refuse to take a seat going to Disney but getting them to take a seat on the way home may prove difficult! lol, just keep your fingers crossed!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070123/ap_on_re_us/flight_tantrum


This time tomorrow we will be at Chef mickey's! YIPEE!

 

[eliza61]

I'm gonna have to go with the airlines on this one (and I'm the mom of 3). I understand how hard it is some times to get kids to behave but I have been on long distance flights with children from "@#$%", and its not pretty. How much time did they want to calm the child down?

 

[blondeeinmichigan]

I am 100% with AirTran on this one too.

I think refunding their tickets AND giving them 3 more is well BEYOND what should even be expected of them.

However, some people feel like the world revolves around their needs and wants. That just seems like the attitude with this story.

Exactly Eliza...how long did they expect the airline to hold up the other 100+ passengers because their little princess wasn't behaving???

Yep.

AirTran did it right.

 

[annie1995]

I agree with Airtran too. I am shocked that airtran was as generous to them as they were. Geez, I'll take the 3 free tickets to anywhere airtran flies . Some people, I just don't get.

 

[wyodan]

Boy I agree. I can't believe all that Airtran gave them. They wouldn't have the problem with her if she had been disciplined. My kids will throw a fit, they all do when pushed, but they also know when enough is enough. When the look is given from Dad they know they have pushed the limit.

Airtran made the correct action, until the PR guys got involved. And just why was this news???

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!

 

[kctwinmommy]

I am 100% with AirTran on this one too.

I think refunding their tickets AND giving them 3 more is well BEYOND what should even be expected of them.

However, some people feel like the world revolves around their needs and wants. That just seems like the attitude with this story.

Exactly Eliza...how long did they expect the airline to hold up the other 100+ passengers because their little princess wasn't behaving???

Yep.

AirTran did it right.

Yep! I agree too! I was surprised at how many people I've talked to DO agree with Air Tran! Yet the media makes it into this bleeding heart, awful, mean story - whatever! It was nothing against the family, it was nothing personal, but the airline has a job to do, and if you can't get it under control, then sorry - but wait until the next flight then.

And, you figure that some people had been on the plane for maybe 15-20 minutes while they're boarding. So, they should have done pre-board, since they're traveling with a small child, then they would have had like 30 minutes to get her under control. So if they couldn't after that amount of time, then too bad!

 

[mermaid&cinderella]

I agree with the airline. If that child was disciplined properly she would have been sitting in her chair.

 

[DawnMarie]

I agree with Airtran too. Parents(I am one) have to control their kids. It's just to fair to everyone else esp., on on airplane.

 

[WillCAD]

Way to go, AirTran!

Kids who get a little fussy are one thing, but a screaming 3-year old who climbs under the seat and kicks and hits her parents instead of getting into her seat for takeoff is a horse of a different color - AirTran's flight crew was absolutely in the right to take the kid off!

I don't look at this as a "kid" issue, I look at it as an "Air Rage" incident. There is plenty of precedent for passengers who are throwing tantrums being removed from planes; the fact that this passenger was only 3 years old makes no never mind.

The mother said:

We weren't given an opportunity to hold her, console her or anything

Well, if Mom and Dad hadn't been irresponsible enough or neglectful enough to allow the little angel to climb under her seat in teh first place, maybe they could have held her. But since she was under the seat, you couldn't have held her anyway, and they WERE gien an opportunity - the flight was delayed 15 minutes.

I wonder how long before the family files some sort of a discrimination lawsuit?

 

[Kellyscrapbooks]

Woo hoo Air Tran! I can't believe the parents think people are going to feel sorry for them. If you can't control your child then don't subject your child to other people. My son has thrown some monster fits, but never has he defied me like that. To read that the child was HITTING her parents... sheesh!

 

[Marc A.]

AirTran 1, no control parents 0
My Dw and I were discussing this at dinner last night and I laughed so hard when my wife said that all she would do in that situation would be to just ask the stewardess for one minute alone in the bathroom with our DD and thats all that would be needed. A good spank worked for us when we were young.

 

[Joel110]

I wasn't there, but I'm sure removing the family had to be a last resort for the crew and warranted. I would say this sounds like an excellent the "customer is NOT always right" case study. Too bad they were rewarded with basically six free airfares (refunded this trip and given 3 more RT tix). Could have some desparate parents hopping up their kids w/preflight sugar hoping to score the same.

 

[Goofyluver]

I don't know what I think about this. I personally have never been in the situation where my child threw a fit in public. At home, yes. But, never in public. I don't know what I think.

 

[hematite153]

It's odd that I feel the need to voice a dissenting opinion since I don't have kids, but....

The article you pointed at did not indicate that they had waited 15 min for the child to calm down but rather that the flight had ALREADY been delayed. It sounds to me like the flight was late before this incident and they did not give the parents time. The one time I flew with AirTran they did not have a pre-boarding for young kids--in fact one single mother was told that she and her kids (inc. toddler) should board last.

Yes, I agree that the compensation was sufficient and I understand that airlines need to make decisions on behalf of the majority of their passengers. However, I also think that people are jumping to unfair conclusions with regards to the parents. If they weren't given a chance to settle their child then we cannot make judgements about what they would have done. JMHO

 

[hniki234]

It's odd that I feel the need to voice a dissenting opinion since I don't have kids, but....

The article you pointed at did not indicate that they had waited 15 min for the child to calm down but rather that the flight had ALREADY been delayed. It sounds to me like the flight was late before this incident and they did not give the parents time. The one time I flew with AirTran they did not have a pre-boarding for young kids--in fact one single mother was told that she and her kids (inc. toddler) should board last.

I don't have kids either, but I have flown and I agree with AirTran on this one. I see what you're saying about the 15 minute delay. The flight was delayed because of something other than the child, but that also means that the parents had 15 minutes to get that child in a seat and buckled for take-off.

I don't know what really happened, so I won't pass judgment on the parents. (Plus, as I mentioned, I don't have kids.) But I do think AirTran acted in the best interests of the other passengers. When a flight is already delayed, I wouldn't want to have to wait 15 more minutes because of some kid throwing a tantrum. While I don't know what happened, I think I can safely assume that the flight attendants didn't make a quick decision. I'm sure the parents had time to get their child "consoled."

 

[desertbloom]

I sooooo agree with AirTran on this. My child would NEVER have a fit like that. She knew by "the look" that enough was enough, even at 3. I can understand needing a few minutes extra to get a small child like that under control but they had the whole 15 min delay time to get a grip on the situation. Geesh...let's keep in mind that there is a whole plane full of people to think about. Suing the airline because they were inconvenienced? Talk about self centered! Lets hold up a whole plane full of people because WE need extra time. Having said that, I see so many parents who feel some sense of "entitlement", raising children to be selfish, rude, and inconsiderate. I'm not saying that those particular parents are doing that, just that it is time for parents to be held accountable for encouraging these behaviors. Not only in their children but themselves too. Raises my blood pressure just thinking about it....lol!

 

[hematite153]

The flight was delayed because of something other than the child, but that also means that the parents had 15 minutes to get that child in a seat and buckled for take-off.

See, this is the point on which we disagree. As I read the statement that AirTran issued, it sounds like the plane boarded late. I.e. the parents were in the terminal during the delay. Given that on my one experience with AirTran they made a parent board last (so that her kids would have less time to wait) I suspect that it is possible the parents weren't given any time to settle their daughter before the decision was made.

That said....

I repeat that I support airlines making decisions that are in the best interest of the majority of their passengers. I simply disagree that we know enough about the situation to pass judgements on people we do not know.

 

[byoung]

I'm also with the airline.

 

[WillCAD]

I repeat that I support airlines making decisions that are in the best interest of the majority of their passengers. I simply disagree that we know enough about the situation to pass judgements on people we do not know.

Fair enough.

However, your dissenting opinion does exactly that - you pass judgement on the actions of the flight crew who made the decision to put the screaming 3-year old and her parents off the plane in order to get the other 112 people into the air.

And of course, you're also passing judgement on those of us who pass judgement on others. Not that I'm complaining; passing judgement is part and parcel of what it takes to live. It's an integral part of the human experience that is not a bad thing, it's a nessecary thing, because if you don't JUDGE, then you have no sense of right and wrong.

You and I disagree on what was right and what was wrong in this case, based on the information at hand. If new information comes to light, I will certainly re-evaluate my judgement.