Posted on 12/06/2011 7:40:57 AM PST by rawhide
PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. - Three women were escorted off a New York bound flight at Palm Beach International Airport Monday afternoon by airline staff and Palm Beach County Sheriff's deputies. The women claim they did not do anything wrong and that a flight attendant on board was the only one behaving poorly.
The women -- a lawyer, a therapist and a retired travel agent -- were complete strangers until they were seated near one another on AirTran Flight 1451 to White Plains, New York. They were buckled in and ready to take off when they said a male flight attendant began mishandling some overhead luggage.
"I said, 'Hey, I have breakables in that,'" said Marilyn Miller.
Miller said her plea was ignored and that the flight attendant even began shoving other bags into hers. "It was just like a bully and I found myself shaking."
Passenger Carol Gray also had a problem and requested attention from the same flight attendant.
"I said, 'Excuse me sir, my seat is broken,' and he looked at me and said, 'I'm not talking to you,' and poked me in the arm," said Gray.
Miller and Gray said the attendant was getting angry and threatened to throw both women off of the airplane.
"He said, 'Well, you're getting off.' I said, 'You've got to be kidding me,'" said Miller, who was escorted off of the plane into the jet-way.
The women claim two sheriff's deputies and some airline staffers arrived to take them away. Passenger Karyn Schorr decided it was time to speak up.
"I said, 'This is crazy, they didn't do anything. Why are you doing this to them?'" And he said, 'Throw her off too,'" Schorr said.
All three women said they were in shock when they were lead off of the airplane and back to the terminal.
"My seat was broken and it really was. Her bag was being mishandled. And this other woman came to our defense," said Gray. "Those are hardly causes to throw us all off the plane."
The women said the airlines should do a better job selecting the people that are in control in the air.
"Stewards have all the power when you're on an airplane, I get that," said Schorr. "But, this is a man who is not balanced."
AirTran and parent company Southwest Airlines have not responded to repeated requests for a comment. The company's website displays the mission of a flight attendant to "deliver friendly, enthusiastic and professional service...while making safety the number one goal."
The women were not cited or charged with any crimes and were offered a flight on another airline back to New York paid for by AirTran. They were told that someone from AirTran management would be contacting each of them directly.
"I've never seen this flight attendant and if I ever see him on a plane again, I'm getting off," said Miller.
I’ve witnessed gay male flight attendants really go off on women, for no reason.
I gave the lady a UA “comment card” and told her “It’s not just for compliments!”
You would think a male flight attendant would be flirting with them. Oh, wait, I guess not. My bad.
I’m usually somewhat skeptical of stories like this, especially where I’m only getting one side of it. But when I came upon the second line where none of the three knew eachother, that pretty much sealed it.
Most male stewardesses are... you know.
Agreed.
...walk into a bar...
I know there's a joke in there somewhere.
-PJ
Another reason why I don’t fly, that any customer service issue has the potential to become a federal law enforcement matter.
Talk about making a fabulous exit.
-PJ
To me, it sounded like an intro to a new Fall lineup sitcom about 3 women who never met get onto a plane together and then..... “Fly Girls”, new competitor with the Pan Am series, whatever that is/was.
Power just trips some people out. Give them the power to throw people off a plane, and they will find a reason to do so.
I hope karma makes that jerk’s life hellish. But being a miserable human doesn’t give anyone the right to spread their misery to others through an abuse of power.
I’ve had run ins with this guy. Well, at least a guy like him. Once I had a guy threaten to throw me off the plane when I pointed out that the bag that was keeping the overhead from shutting was a crew bag. (something about the big neon “CREW” tag was my first clue.) He blew up and said that was completely not true and started in on me about the TSA, babbling. I didn’t really have time for a run in with security, so I sat down. The other passengers around us were cracking up, trying to contain their laughter.
Registered my displeasure on how these three women were treated, suggested a firng of this guy, and restitution to the three women here.
http://www.airtranairways.com/contact/contact_us.aspx
Wait a minute.
Wasn't that the problem in the first place?
On another note, a good friend flies for a major airline. The stories he tells about the male attendants make me cover my ears and say, 'lalalalalalalalalalalalalalala"!
a lawyer, a therapist and a retired travel agent
My line was going to be:
"walked into a bar."
Maybe someone will complete the joke...
:: he looked at me and said, ‘I’m not talking to you,’ and poked me in the arm,” ::
I’d have filed assualt charges after demanding to be let off the flight.
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