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SoCal Family Thrown Off Overbooked Delta Flight Over Child's Seating
A Southern California family says they were kicked off an overbooked Delta airplane because they refused to yield a seat held by their young son. The Schear family of Huntington Beach says they were flying from Hawaii to Los Angeles last week when airline staff asked them to give up a seat occupied by their 2-year-old son and carry him on their laps for the duration of the flight. (abc7.com) עוד...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
Quoted from NPR:
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/05/05/527071539/delta-apologizes-to-family-that-was-kicked-off-a-plane-over-a-toddlers-seat
The last 2 paragraphs kills me:
- After flashing a thumbs-up, Schear then rises, saying, "We need someone to help with our car seats, to carry them off."
- "How'd you guys get on the aircraft?" the crew member asks, in a question that speaks volumes.
Hmmmm...yeah DL agent.....how did this family could get inside the cabin w/o your acknowledgement? So much for safety, huh?
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/05/05/527071539/delta-apologizes-to-family-that-was-kicked-off-a-plane-over-a-toddlers-seat
The last 2 paragraphs kills me:
- After flashing a thumbs-up, Schear then rises, saying, "We need someone to help with our car seats, to carry them off."
- "How'd you guys get on the aircraft?" the crew member asks, in a question that speaks volumes.
Hmmmm...yeah DL agent.....how did this family could get inside the cabin w/o your acknowledgement? So much for safety, huh?
This situation should have been resolved at the gate. Not on the plane. The Delta agent was pretty brutal to these people. Although, if your name is not on the boarding ticket...it's a no go. It's all about security. It all has to match up. Never do you hold an infant in your lap. That rule was initiated after UAL 232, July 19, 1989 in Sioux City by the AFA. All children should be buckeled in with an FAA approved car seat. Safest place for your child is in a government approved child safety restraint system. ( CRS ), not on your lap. Getting back to Flight 232-
A lap baby was killed, who would have survived if only that baby had a seat and appropriate restraints. Mother lived. Common sense and education about aviation rules and Regs to passengers might help alleviate these kind of situations. And Employees need to brush up on training. Let's face it...passengers wanted lower fares...they got it! But look what it did to the Commercial Aviation Industry!
A lap baby was killed, who would have survived if only that baby had a seat and appropriate restraints. Mother lived. Common sense and education about aviation rules and Regs to passengers might help alleviate these kind of situations. And Employees need to brush up on training. Let's face it...passengers wanted lower fares...they got it! But look what it did to the Commercial Aviation Industry!
the video I have seen shows one or two people in uniform telling the father he must move the child or be removed from the aircraft..someone also says if he does not do that, his children will be taken away ..this once again was a very poorly handled and communicated incident by delta personnel..the man states he had purchased the other seat for his teenage son who opted to go on another flight..it is never mentioned in the video by he ,his wife or the flight attendant whether or not the reservation for his son was cancelled,which in itself might have led to his misunderstanding..passengers are boarded by a computer reading of what is on a boarding pass as they enter the jetway, and by law, the names must match..if boarding is complete and a person is not shown as having gotten on board with that seat, his or her reservation is cancelled automatically and the seat is given to a standby passenger..this appears to have been the case here as the mention of standby is heard on the video...this was a 2 way disconnect of information and even if the man had paid for a ticket for his son who was not on the flight,the seat is considered available if no person with that name and a boarding pass was shown as getting on the flight..infants or children under 2 years of age as a general rule fly as a "lap child" and are not issued a boarding pass or seat,but are listed as "infant" for the captain..i worked gates for many years and unless rules have drastically changed, this is how its handled and its done prior to boarding the entire aircraft..the seat number, the name and the manifest must match,and if a flight is not full, a flight attendant may move people around to accommodate the travel needs of a family..this was a flight from Hawaii to the mainland per the report,so they probably did need a seat or two to accommodate others..there was no mention of oversales here either..
There should be a rule that all must be sorted prior to boarding. Once you walk past the gate (except for criminal / illegal infractions) your assigned seat is yours at your option - no exceptions.
That empty seat he was talking about was supposed to be for his son, that went on an earlier flight, thus thats not his seat anymore!!
The problem is they were occupying a seat that wasn't theirs.
If so, the problem began at the gate. Who can argue a seat not being yours if you don't
posses the assignment card? Multiple assignment of a same seat is rare - otherwise . .
posses the assignment card? Multiple assignment of a same seat is rare - otherwise . .
The problem began with the parents trying to use a ticket for someone who was not with them. From Deltas ticket rule page •Tickets are valid for the named passenger only and are not transferable.
Pretty self explanatory as to why they gave the seat to someone else.
http://www.delta.com/content/www/en_US/traveling-with-us/planning-a-trip/booking-information/fare-classes-and-tickets/ticket-rules-restrictions.html
Rules & Restrictions
Rules
•Fares and schedules are subject to change without notice.
•All fares are subject to the restrictions that apply to the particular fare.
•Seats are limited and all fares may not be available on all flights.
•Tickets are valid for the named passenger only and are not transferable.
•When you purchase a ticket here at delta.com, you can view the complete fare and ticket rules at the time of purchase. Look for the Taxes/Fees link next to every quoted fare during your shopping experience.
•Itineraries priced at delta.com include government-imposed transportation taxes & fees.
•Only the actual purchase of your delta.com e-ticket(s) will guarantee the quoted fare at delta.com.
•Your e-ticket purchased from delta.com can be canceled without penalty here if it qualifies for Risk-free Cancellation.
Pretty self explanatory as to why they gave the seat to someone else.
http://www.delta.com/content/www/en_US/traveling-with-us/planning-a-trip/booking-information/fare-classes-and-tickets/ticket-rules-restrictions.html
Rules & Restrictions
Rules
•Fares and schedules are subject to change without notice.
•All fares are subject to the restrictions that apply to the particular fare.
•Seats are limited and all fares may not be available on all flights.
•Tickets are valid for the named passenger only and are not transferable.
•When you purchase a ticket here at delta.com, you can view the complete fare and ticket rules at the time of purchase. Look for the Taxes/Fees link next to every quoted fare during your shopping experience.
•Itineraries priced at delta.com include government-imposed transportation taxes & fees.
•Only the actual purchase of your delta.com e-ticket(s) will guarantee the quoted fare at delta.com.
•Your e-ticket purchased from delta.com can be canceled without penalty here if it qualifies for Risk-free Cancellation.
Once boarded, did the family have / have not an issued seat assignment card for the seat? If not, the family illegally occupied it, and were at the mercy of the true assignee to use it.
The family did not have a valid ticket for the extra seat.
Can't do this. The 18 year old "no showed" and the seat was reassigned. This may or may not have been intentional on Schear's part.
The only thing Delta is guilty of is getting caught in the grey area of lap child vs. two year old. Got caught on that one myself a couple of times back in the day.