fivebyfive
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- Joined
- Feb 14, 2008
09 JUL 2008: Southwest Airlines refused to board a woman, her sister and four children on the second leg of their Detroit to Seattle trip, claiming they were too unruly. There are always at least two sides to every story so here are three versions of what happened:
The family
The family admits they were asked twice by flight attendants to quiet the children but said they didnt expect to be denied travel.
The mother Wendy Slaughter told Seattle Television station KIRO-7: The children were out of control on the flight you know; they were restless, excited and worked up, and they are kids.
Other information from the family: it was their first flight. One of the children is autistic, another has cerebral palsy, and the sister is pregnant.
Southwest
A Southwest spokeswoman said, They were being disruptive and unruly on the plane, and for the safety of our customers and the flight crew, we decided to not allow them to travel on to Seattle at that time. Typically if its a threatening behaviour, its not safe to travel 30,000 feet in the air in a contained environment.
A fellow passenger
Southwest passenger Pat McElroy passenger was on the flight with the Slaughter family. He told a local TV station that, It was the flight from hell. I never experienced anything like it in all my years of flying.
The passenger said the children kept moving around when the seatbelt sign was on. He also said the kids were shouting, going up and down the aisle being disruptive.
The consequences
When the flight from Detroit to Phoenix landed, Slaughter was met by police who escorted her and her family from the plane. Police detained the family, and explained that they were simply too unruly to board their connecting flight to Seattle.
According to local reports, police officers donated food and a motel room to the family for the night and a grandmother paid $2,000 to get them on an Alaska Airlines flight
So?
Apparently Southwest was well within its rights to act as it did. The safety and comfort of all passengers is the responsibility of the carrier and it must do what it can to ensure it.
The airline also said that they will be giving a refund to the family but stopped short of an apology.
While Southwests action has its detractors, so far the reaction to the incident leans heavily in the airlines favour. And, while its easy to say the carrier was too harsh, and they were just kids, would you think the same way if you were on the flight?
The family
The family admits they were asked twice by flight attendants to quiet the children but said they didnt expect to be denied travel.
The mother Wendy Slaughter told Seattle Television station KIRO-7: The children were out of control on the flight you know; they were restless, excited and worked up, and they are kids.
Other information from the family: it was their first flight. One of the children is autistic, another has cerebral palsy, and the sister is pregnant.
Southwest
A Southwest spokeswoman said, They were being disruptive and unruly on the plane, and for the safety of our customers and the flight crew, we decided to not allow them to travel on to Seattle at that time. Typically if its a threatening behaviour, its not safe to travel 30,000 feet in the air in a contained environment.
A fellow passenger
Southwest passenger Pat McElroy passenger was on the flight with the Slaughter family. He told a local TV station that, It was the flight from hell. I never experienced anything like it in all my years of flying.
The passenger said the children kept moving around when the seatbelt sign was on. He also said the kids were shouting, going up and down the aisle being disruptive.
The consequences
When the flight from Detroit to Phoenix landed, Slaughter was met by police who escorted her and her family from the plane. Police detained the family, and explained that they were simply too unruly to board their connecting flight to Seattle.
According to local reports, police officers donated food and a motel room to the family for the night and a grandmother paid $2,000 to get them on an Alaska Airlines flight
So?
Apparently Southwest was well within its rights to act as it did. The safety and comfort of all passengers is the responsibility of the carrier and it must do what it can to ensure it.
The airline also said that they will be giving a refund to the family but stopped short of an apology.
While Southwests action has its detractors, so far the reaction to the incident leans heavily in the airlines favour. And, while its easy to say the carrier was too harsh, and they were just kids, would you think the same way if you were on the flight?