Posted on 01/22/2007 10:51:57 AM PST by MotleyGirl70
Meet Elly Kulesza, Terror Toddler.
In her finer moments—mainly when she’s on land — 3-year-old Elly is an adorable and sweet-mannered child, a blue-eyed charmer who likes to dance and harbors a particular fondness for Thomas the Tank Engine.
“She’s a typical 3-year-old,” said her mother, Julie Kulesza of 7 Primrose St. in Worcester. “She has her moments like all 3-year-olds, but she’s not like one of those ‘Nanny 911’ children you see on TV.”
Elly’s dad, Gerald Kulesza, is a full-time EMT in Boston who also attends nursing school full time, and he did so well last semester that Elly’s mom surprised her husband with a trip to Florida to visit his parents, who live in Bonita Springs. So on Jan. 11, the family flew from Logan Airport to Fort Meyers on AirTran Airways, and even though it was Elly’s first plane trip she behaved like a dream and spent most of the flight coloring in her coloring book and watching movies on a portable DVD player.
“She was great,” her mom remembered. “When we made our descent into Florida we could see the water and she shouted, ‘Look, mommy, there’s the beach where we go swimming,’ and everyone laughed.”
Yes, it was a heartwarming moment for all concerned, and the trip was great, too. The family swam and went sightseeing, and on Jan 14 they drove back to the airport for the return trip home. They checked their luggage — a suitcase and a car seat. As they waited for their flight to be called, Elly contentedly munched on a bag of Cheetos and watched out the window as the planes took off and landed.
Then came … The Boarding. Suddenly and without warning, angelic little Elly morphed into every parents’ nightmare.
Her mom thinks it may have been because of the ear surgery Elly underwent earlier this month, and perhaps her memory of the discomfort and ear pressure she endured during the plane’s descent into Florida. For whatever reason, when they got on the plane, Elly started to cry and wouldn’t stop. Nor would she sit down — she plopped herself down on the floor in front of her seat and proceeded to throw a temper tantrum.
“I was trying to console her and the stewardess came over and said, ‘Did you buy that seat for her?’ remembers Ms. Kulesza, 31, who is four months pregnant. “I said yes, and she told me my daughter needs to sit in it. I told her I was trying.”
Moments later, an AirTran Airways employee armed with a walkie-talkie addressed Mr. Kulesza.
“Sir, you need to get her under control,” she said.
“We’re trying,” Mr. Kulesza noted.
The passengers, meanwhile, were quite understanding and one of them offered the toddler a lollipop, which she rejected. Then the walkie-talkie woman returned to the Kuleszas’ aisle and displayed the raw tact and diplomacy of Donald Trump.
“Sir, you need to get off the plane,” she announced.
“What?” a stunned Mr. Kulesza asked. “Are you serious?”
“Sir, you need to get off the plane now.”
They got off the plane, while their luggage and car seat flew on to Boston. In the terminal they were directed to an AirTran supervisor, who told the couple that the stewardess was uncomfortable “because you have an unruly child who struck a woman on board.”
Mr. Kulesza was incredulous. “That was her mother,” he explained. “She hit her on the arm. Lady, this is a 3-year-old child we’re talking about.”
“Sir, we don’t differentiate between 3 and 33,” the AirTran supervisor replied. Mr. Kulesza said the woman proceeded to lecture him about child discipline, and how she would never tolerate her children behaving in such a manner, at which point Mr. Kulesza said, “You really need to stop talking now.”
The couple were also told that, since they had been ejected from the plane, they were banned from flying with AirTran for 24 hours. So they were forced to return to Bonita Springs for the night, and Mr. Kulesza missed a 16-hour work shift, and the next day they returned to the airport and can surely be forgiven if they fed their daughter enough Children’s Benadryl to fell a stallion. I exaggerate, perhaps, but it’s certainly what I would have done. In any case, Elly slept through the return flight home.
The incident has sparked varied responses from those who heard the story. While many people — mostly parents — sympathize with the Kuleszas, others are less inclined. For example, when I related the tale to an unnamed colleague and asked if he had ever heard of an airline bouncing a child from a flight he said, “No, but I’m all for it. Couldn’t they have checked her with the baggage?”
This colleague, as it happens, has no kids.
AirTran, meanwhile, has apparently had a change of heart. After the airline received a phone call Thursday from yours truly, an AirTran customer service rep called the Kuleszas, apologized profusely for the incident and refunded them the $595 cost of their tickets.
“We do believe the situation could have been handled differently,” said AirTran spokeswoman Judy Graham-Weaver. “We will use this case as a means to train our agents on dealing with this type of situation on our flights … While there are FAA regulations that mandate all passengers have to be securely fastened in their seat belts before a plane can depart, we need to work with our customers in situations like this to help them — and that is what we will focus on.”
Ms. Kulesza is appreciative of the response, but believes she could have calmed her daughter down, if given the chance.
“It wasn’t like she had a bomb strapped to her waist,” she noted.
AirTran also extended another offer to the Kuleszas — free airline tickets to the destination of their choosing. The offer has been declined.
“I said I appreciated it, but I told them not to bother,” Ms. Kulesza said. “We won’t ever be flying with that airline again.”
I realize the plane can't move until everyone is in their seats. It just seems they could have let the parents walk around holding the child for a few minutes to see if the kid calmed down.
Well we weren't there and probably don't know that the airline in fact didn't give them some time to calm the child. From the sound of the story I would postulate that the child was totally out of control.
Do the parents have some medical condition that made it impossible for one or both to pick the kid up off the floor?
The entire flight was held hostage because these parents couldn't force the kid into a seat. So what if she was screaming?? She could scream just as loud in the seat as on the floor. And if the flight had taken off with her sprawled on the floor, and she had been injured, her parents would have sued. Instead, they got a free flight because they couldn't control a 3 year old. Pretty clever of them.
They evidently couldn't do that. They couldn't manage to get her off the floor.
I agree, I'd rather sit next to the small child than squeezed into 1/2 of a seat while someone takes up a seat and a half next to me.
You seem to do a pretty good job at it ...
We had the same thing happen with us when our youngest was 2 1/2. We did give him Benedryl before we got on the plan, but it didn't make him sleepy. He screamed for 2 hrs straight. He finally cried himself to sleep on the cabin floor under my seat about 45 minutes before we landed.
Luckily, we had some really great people around us. All of them had "been there and done that".
I think this thread shows the hostility that our society has towards children. It's coated in the niceties of complaining about manners, but it's really about lack of acceptance.
Sometimes, even the best behaved children will act like children.
*taking notes*
Some cry more than others, I've found.
I am 57 and have crossed the country more times than I can count, the Atlantic 18 or 20 times, plus trips into Africa. Baby's are a part of life and flying has become common, it is not for you to say where they can go.
Until they were 6 or 7 I would never take mine into a fancy restaurant. For years it was pizza, Mexican food and spaghetti restaurants. I didn't want to bother others, but flying is a different matter.
OH and I took my first flight at 3 months, from Houston to Baltimore where dad played for the Colts.
So, according to you, a kid shouldn't be able to see his grandparents until he's what, 10? 12? What's the proper age?
I understand that kids can be hard to predict and harder to control, but if he can't get in and be strapped in his seat, he can't fly, (the pilot can't even legally take off) and that is not the fault of the airline. Beyond that, they also have a duty to the rest of the passengers to not allow one to annoy everyone else. If the kid's not going to settle down, better to find that out while the plane is still on the ground than when it's at 30,000 feet.
I fly in shorts because it's more comfortable. Why be cramped in a too-small seat, in a hot, stagnant airplane, AND still be wearing very uncomfortable clothes in the process?
Grandparents can fly, and most don't have to be at work on Monday. :~)
Hyberbole not withstanding ... children 5 and older are usually ok on airplanes
EXACTLY !!!!!
Many parents don't realize that Benadryl can actually have the opposite effect on babies when they are on airplanes.
I have no idea why. But it is apparently so.
When we flew with our 8 month old to Ireland to visit the grandparents (which according to some on this thread was an unnecessary trip), we didn't give her anything to sleep.
But we put numbing drops in her ears and made sure she sucked on a pacifier during take off and landing.
Unfortunately the parents in front of us with the 6 month old did not. But, with the sounds of the plane, the crying wasn't that bad.
So's flatuation but I try not to subject everyone else to it
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.