Flight Attendant Says Some Airline Passengers Are Getting Ruder
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- After United Airlines physically tossed a customer, a California couple says Delta ordered them and their two infant children off a flight from Hawaii to Los Angeles, threatening to jail them.
Flight Attendant: "You and your wife are going to be in jail, and your kids..."
Brian Schear: "Okay, so my kids. Wait. We're going to be in jail, and my wife, kids are going to what?"
Flight Attendant: "It's a federal offense."
Schear: "I bought that seat."
Brittany and Brian Schear say they bought four seats on Delta so their two young children could be placed in car seats and not held in their parent's lap.
But for reasons that are still not clear, once seated, Delta tried to remove them.
Schear: "What are we supposed to do once we're off this plane?"
Flight Attendant: "That's not up to me."
Schear: "Well it should be."
Flight Attendant: "It's not. At this point you guys are on your own."
"That is an unfortunate response," a flight attendant, who wanted his name and voice concealed, told KDKA money editor Jon Delano on Friday.
The flight attendant insisted there could be a good explanation.
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"You don't know. Had that flight attendant been working all day, for twelve hours, and she's trying to get home."
Part of the problem is that the flying experience has become so miserable -- overcrowded and overbooked flights -- no room for your feet -- long lines at security.
Everybody is on edge, and that includes airline personnel and the flying public.
Flight attendants say some passengers are downright nasty.
"Ruder today, and it's only getting worse, only getting worse."
Even simple requests like turning off cell phones are ignored.
"The public is losing their rules."
And social media makes things worse, say some airline personnel.
Delano: "Do you think social media actually distorts what happens on a plane in a situation like this?"
Flight Attendant: "Absolutely, without hesitation. You don't see the whole picture."
In a statement, Delta has apologized to the Schears, saying, ""We are sorry for the unfortunate experience our customers had with Delta, and we've reached out to them to refund their travel and provide additional compensation. "
"Delta's goal is to always work with customers in an attempt to find solutions to their travel issues. That did not happen in this case and we apologize."
